Libya and Arab Spring - [PDF Document] (2024)

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SPECIAL REPORT: Libya after Gadhafi

Future of Libya with Derek Stoffel - September 8, 201111:44

Arab Spring Revisited24:00

The latest:

Libyan rebel fighters have captured the airport and other partsof Sabha, a southern city that

is one of the last remaining strongholds of Col. MoammarGadhafi's forces.

The push to capture Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and the mountainenclave of Bani Walid, however, has

been stymied by well-armed loyalist forces, which have foughtback with rockets and other heavy

weaponry.

Since rebels captured Tripoli a month ago, the ousted Gadhafihas been in hiding. He has not been

found.

Amnesty International reportsthat forces supporting Gadhafikilled and injured scores of unarmed

protesters, made critics disappear, used illegal cluster bombs,launched artillery, mortar and rocket

attacks against residential areas and, without any legalproceedings, executed captives. Amnesty says

that anti-Gadhafi forces "also tortured and ill-treated capturedsoldiers, suspected 'mercenaries' and

other alleged Gadhafi loyalists."

In a recent speech in Tripoli, National Transitional Councilchairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil told a crowd of

10,000 in Martyrs' Square that the NTC strives "for a state thatwill have Islamic shariah law as the basis

of legislation."

In the latest statement attributed to Gadhafi that was read onSyria's Al-Rai TV, he is quoted as saying,

"There is nothing more to do except fight until victory."

Canadian diplomats, including ambassador Sandra McCardell,areback on the ground in Libya,

refurbishing and securing the mission so they can resume normaldiplomatic relations. And Canada is

moving to unfreeze$2.2 billion worth of Libyan assets, ForeignAffairs Minister John Baird said on Sept.

13.

China has officially recognizedthe National Transitional Councilof Libya as the ruling authority in Libya.

Oil production has reached 160,000 barrels per day at the Sariroil field in eastern Libya.

The fight for Libya

Background: Libya in crisisWho: Although Gadhafi, who has ruledthe North African country since 1969, had vowed to fight to the

death, his spokesman said on Aug. 28 that the embattled Libyanleader was willing tonegotiate a

transfer of power

. Sincepro-democracy demonstrationsbegan on Feb. 18, theembattled leader

hasvariously accused themof being the work of Westerninfiltrators, drug-addled youth and al-Qaeda.

AnInternational Criminal Court arrest warrantalleges Gadhafi andhis inner circle plotted a "state policy

aimed at deterring and quelling by any means including by theuse of lethal force the

demonstrations by civilians against the regime."

The people: To this day, most Libyans identify themselves basedon tribal alliances.

Where: Early battles in the Libyan civil war focused on areas inthe rebel-dominated east, such as the

cities ofBregaandAjdabiya. All along, NATO planes, includingCanadian jets, targeted Libyan air

defences, especially around Tripoli and the western city ofMisrata. After consolidating their positions in

the east, the anti-Gadhafi forcesclosed in on Tripoli.

The resources:

UN intervention: TheUN Security Council votedon March 17 toapprove ano-fly zonein Libya and air

strikes against Gadhafi forces but stopped short of puttingtroops on the ground. On March 31,

NATOassumed controlover the military operation, taking over fromthe U.S., France and Britain, which

had been leading the mission, and installing Canadian Lt.-Gen.Charles Bouchard as commander of the

operation.

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The International Organization for Migration estimates more than345,000 people have fled Libya since

the conflict began, including many onboats to Italy.

Canadian impact:Canadian troops are part of the NATO-led missionin Libya, and while visiting the

United Nations on Sept. 20, Prime Minister Stephen Harperannounced that he would ask Parliament for

a three-month extension to the Canadian mission.

"We will participate in the mission until armed threatsemanating from Gadhafi forces are eliminated fromthe country,"Harper told reporters in New York. "We will ask Parliament toextend the mission by three

months but I'll be frank with you in saying, we're prettyoptimistic that we'll achieve our objectives well

before that timeline."

The House of Commonsvoted overwhelminglyin favour of a previousthree-and-a-half-month mission

extension in June.

Libya photo galleries

CBCNews.ca has about 20 photo galleries on Libya, including oneonCanadas Air Force in Libya.

To help find them, use thisGoogle search link.

On Aug. 9,Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announcedthatCanada had declared diplomats at the

Libyan Embassy in Ottawapersonae non gratae and ordered them toleave the country, freezing their

bank accounts in the process.

Canada has recognized the rebel-formed National TransitionalCouncil as the legitimate government of

Libya.

On June 9, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said the Canadianmission in Libyahas cost $26 millionand

could rise to $60 million by September. That includes the costof fuel for fighter planes and patrol craft as

well as the 300 laser-guided bombs dropped between March 19 toJune 2.

Canada has sevenCF-18 fighter jets, twoCP-140 Aurorapatrolplanes, two CC-130 Hercules tankers

and a refueller in the region helping to enforce the no-fly zoneand arms embargo against Libya, and the

warshipHMCS Charlottetownwas there butis now home. TheHMCSVancouverhas arrived in its place.

At the height of the mission, there were about 650 Canadianpersonnel in the area. About 435 personnel

are still there.

PHOTOS: Gadhafi through the years

________________

2011 Libyan civil war

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For more details on this topic, seeTimeline of the 2011 Libyancivil war.

Cities underNational Transitional Councilcontrol

Cities underMuammar Gaddafi's control

Ongoing fighting

Date 15 February 2011 ongoing (221 days)

Location Libya

Status Ongoing

Anti-Gaddafi forcescapture and

holdTripoli,Benghazi,Misrata,Bayd

aand other Libyan cities

92 countries

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andUNdiplomatically

recogniseNTC as sole governing

authority for Libya

Belligerents

National Transitional

Council[1]

National

Liberation Army

Free

Libyan Air Force

Anti-Gaddafi

tribes[2][3][4]

Foreign military

coordinators

UN member

statesenforcingUNSC

Resolution 1973:

NATO

Jordan[5]

Qatar[6]

Sweden

UAE[7]

full list[show]

Tunisian Army(border

clashes)

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Libyan Armed

Forces

Libyan Army

Libyan Air

Force

Libyan Navy

Paramilitary forces

Pro-Gaddafi

tribes[2][3][10]

Foreign mercenaries

[11][12][13][14][15][16]

[17][18][19]

Commanders and leaders

Mustafa Abdul Jalil

(Chairman of theNTC)[20]

Abdul Hafiz Ghoga

(Vice-Chairman of

theNTC)

Mahmoud Jibril

(InterimLibyan Prime

Minister)

Jalal al-Digheily

Omar El-Hariri[21]

Suleiman

Mahmoud[22]

Muammar Gaddafi

Muammar Gaddafi's

sons:Saif al-Islam Gaddafi

Khamis al-Gaddafi

Al-Mu'tasim-Billah al-Gaddafi

Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi

Military leaders:

Abdullah Senussi

(Head of Military

Intelligence)

Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr

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Abdul Fatah

Younis[23](KIA)

Khalifa Belqasim

Haftar

Mahdi al-Harati

Abu Oweis

Abdul Hassan

Khalid Shahmah

Anders Fogh

Rasmussen

(Secretary General)

James G. Stavridis

(SACEUR)

Charles Bouchard

(Operational

Commander)[24]

Ralph Jodice

(Air Commander)

Rinaldo Veri

(Martime Commander)

Carter Ham

Stephen Harper

(Prime Minister of

Canada)

Marc Lessard

(Commander

ofCEFCOM)

Lars Lkke

Rasmussen

(Prime Minister of

Denmark)

Knud Bartels

Nicolas Sarkozy

douard Guillaud

Silvio Berlusconi

Rinaldo VeriJens Stoltenberg

Harald Sunde

David Cameron

(Prime Minister of the

UK)

SirStuart Peach

(Chief of Joint

(Minister of Defence)

Massoud Abdelhafid

(Head of the secret police)

Baghdadi

Mahmudi(POW)

(Libyan Prime Minister)

Mahdi al-Arabi(POW)

(Deputy chief of staff of the

army and commander of

special forces)

Moussa Ibrahim

(Libyan government

spokesman)

Mohamed Abu Al-Quasim al-Zwai(POW)

(Secretary-General of

theGeneral People's

Congress)

Abuzed Omar

Dorda(POW)

(Head ofNational

Intelligence)

Khouildi

Hamidi(POW)

(Deputy head of the secret

police)

Salih Rajab al-Mismari

(Minister of Public Security)

Rafi al-Sharif

(Head of the Navy)

Ali Sharif al-Rifi(General and Head of the

Air Force)

Ali Kana

(General and commander of

southern forces)

Awad Hamza

(Infantry leader)

Bashir Hawadi

(General and field

commander)

Mustafa al-Kharoubi

(General and military

strategist)

Nasr al-Mabrouk

(General and primary police

commander)

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Operations)

Barack Obama

(President of the United

States)

Carter Ham

Sam Locklear

Abdullah II

Hamad bin Khalifa Al

Thani

Sverker Granson

Khalifa bin Zayed Al

Nahyan

Mansour Dao

(Head of Gaddafi's personal

guards)

Strength

35,00040,000 defecting

soldiers and volunteers

International Forces:

Numerous air and

maritime forces (see here)

20,000[25]40,000[26]soldiers

and militia

Casualties and losses

5,1326,522 opposition

fighters and supporters

killed, 1,7751,894

missing (seehere)

1 airman killed in

traffic accident in

Italy[27][28][29]

3Dutch

Marinescaptured (later

released)[30]

2 soldiers killed[31]

2,0702,321 soldiers killed

(seehere),

792+ captured[32]

Estimated total casualties on both sides, including

civilians:

30,000 killed, 4,000 missing[33]

The 2011 Libyan civil war, also known as the LibyanRevolution[34][35][36][37][38], is an ongoing armed

conflict in the North African state ofLibyabeing fought betweenforces loyal toMuammar Gaddafiand his

regime and those seeking to depose him.[39][40]The situationbegan on 15 February 2011 as a series of

peaceful protests which were met with military force by theGaddafi regime. The protests escalated into

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an uprising that spread across the country, with the forcesopposing Gaddafi establishing a government

based in Benghazi named theNational Transitional Councilwhosestated goal is to overthrow the

Gaddafi-led government and hold democratic elections.[41]

TheUnited Nations Security Councilpassed aninitialresolutionfreezing the assets of Gaddafi and ten

members of his inner circle, and restricting their travel. Theresolution also referred the actions of thegovernment totheInternational Criminal Courtfor investigation,[42]and an arrestwarrant for Gaddafi was

issued on 27 June.[43]This was followed by an arrest warrantissued byInterpolon 8 September.[44]

In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards andre-took several coastal cities before

attacking Benghazi. A furtherU.N. resolutionauthorized memberstates to establish and enforce ano-fly

zone over Libya.[45]The Gaddafi government then announced aceasefire, but failed to uphold it.[46]

In August, rebel forcesengaged in a coastal offensiveand tookmost of their lost territory, andcaptured

the capital city of Tripoli,[47]while Gaddafi evaded capture andloyalists engaged in a rearguard

campaign.[48]

Until 16 September 2011,Libya under Gaddafiwas officially knownas theLibyan Arab Jamahiriyaby

theUnited Nations.[49]The UN now recognises the NationalTransitional Council as the legal

representative of the country.[50]On 20 September, theAfricanUnionofficially recognised the National

Transitional Council as the legitimate representative ofLibya.[51]

Background

Main article:History of Libya under Gaddafi

Leadership

Muammar Gaddafiwas thede-factoruler of Libya since he led amilitary coup that overthrewKing Idris

Iin 1969.[52]He abolished theLibyan Constitutionof 1951, andadopted laws based on his own ideology.

Under Gaddafi, Libya was theoretically a decentralized,democratic state run according to the philosophy

of Gaddafi'sGreen Book, with Gaddafi retaining a ceremonialposition. Libya was officially run by a

system of people's committees which served as local governmentsfor the country's subdivisions, an

indirectly-electedGeneral People's Congressas the legislature,and theGeneral People's Committee,

led by a Secretary-General, as the executive branch. Inpractice, however, these structures were

manipulated to ensure the dominance of Gaddafi, who continued todominate all aspects of government,

and the country's political system was widely seen asarubber-stamp.[53]

WikiLeaks'disclosure of confidential US diplomaticcablesrevealed US diplomats there speaking of

Gaddafi's "mastery of tactical maneuvering".[54]While placingrelatives and loyal members ofhis tribein

central military and government positions, he skillfullymarginalized supporters and rivals, thus

maintaining a delicate balance of powers, stability and economicdevelopments. This extended even to

his own sons, as he repeatedly changed affections to avoid therise of a clear successor and rival.[54]

Gaddafi, fearing a military coup against his government,deliberately kept Libya's military relatively weak.

TheLibyan Armyconsisted of about 50,000 personnel. Its mostpowerful units were four crack brigades

of highly equipped and trained soldiers, composed of members ofGaddafi's tribe or members of other

tribes loyal to him. One, theKhamis Brigade, was led by hissonKhamis. Local militias and Revolutionary

Committees across the country were also kept well-armed. Bycontrast, regular military units were poorly

armed and trained, and were armed with largely outdated militaryequipment.[55][56][57]

Development and corruption

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Most of the business enterprise has been controlled by Gaddafiand his family.[58]A leaked diplomatic

cable describes Libyan economy as "akleptocracyin which thegovernment either the al-Qadhafi family

itself or its close political allies has a direct stake inanything worth buying, selling or

owning".[59]Gaddafi amassed a vast personal fortune during his42-year rule.[60]

Much of the state's income comes fromits oil production, whichsoared in the 1970s, and was spent onarms purchases and onsponsoring violence around the world.[61][62]Gaddafi's relativesadopted lavish

lifestyles, including luxurious homes, Hollywood filminvestments and private parties with American pop

stars.[59][63]

Petroleum revenues contributes up to 58% of Libya'sGDP.[64]Governments withresource curserevenue

have a lower need for taxes from other industries andconsequently feel less pressure to develop their

middle class. To calm down opposition, they can use the incomefrom natural resources to offer services

to the population, or to specific governmentsupporters.[65]Libya's oil wealth being spread over a

relatively small population has given a higher GDP per capitathan in neighbouring states.[66][67][68]Libya's

GDP per capita (PPP),human development index, and literacy ratewere better than in Egypt and

Tunisia, whoserevolutionspreceded the outbreak of protests inLibya.[69]Libya'scorruption perception

indexin 2010 was 2.2, ranking 146th out of 178 countries, whichwas worse than that of Egypt (rank

98th) and Tunisia (rank 59th), two neighbouring states that haduprisings preceding Libya's.[70]One

paper speculates that such situation creates a wider contrastbetween good education, high demand for

democracy, and the government's practices (perceived corruption,political system, supply of

democracy).[69]

An estimated 20.74% of Libyan citizens were unemployed, andabout one-third lived below the national

poverty line. More than 16% of families had none of its membersearning a stable income, while 43.3%

had just one. Despite one of the highest unemployment rates inthe region, there was a consistent labor

shortage with over a million migrant workers present on themarket.[71]These migrant workers formed the

bulk of the refugees leaving Libya after the beginning ofhostilities.

Some of the worst economic conditions are in the eastern partsof the state, once a breadbasket of the

ancient world. Gaddafi only extracted oil there.[72][73]Not muchhousing or infrastructure were developed

for 40 years. For example, the only sewage facility in Banghaziis over 40 years old, and untreated

sewage has resulted in environmental problems.[74]Under Gaddafirule, the poor medical system had

become an infuriating symbol of the spotty distribution ofresources in the country. The lack of decent

medical care often forced Libyans to seek medical care inneighboring countries such as Tunisia and

Egypt.[75]

The civil war is viewed as a part of theArab Spring, which hasalready resulted in the ousting of long-

term presidents of adjacent Tunisia and Egypt, with the initialprotests all using similar slogans.[76]Social

mediaplayed an important role in organizing theopposition.[77]

Human rights and violations in Libya

Further information:Human rights in Libya

According to the 2009Freedom of the Press Index, Libya is themost-censored state in the Middle East

and North Africa.[78]

Gaddafi created Revolutionary committees to keep tight controlover internal dissent in 1973. Ten to 20

percent of Libyans worked as informants for these committees.Surveillance took place in the

government, in factories, and in the education sector.[79]Thegovernment often executed dissidents

through public hangings and mutilations and rebroadcast them onstate television channels.[79][80]In

2011, Libya's press was rated as the most censored in the MiddleEast and North Africa.[81]Up to the mid

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1980s, Libya's intelligence service conducted assassinations ofLibyan dissidents around the

world.[79][82]As late as 2004, Gaddafi still provided bountieson his critics, including $1 million for one

Libyan journalist in the United Kingdom.[83]Until recently,foreign languages such as English and French

were banned from school syllabus and talking with foreignersabout politics carried a three-year prison

term.[84]Dissent was illegal under Law 75 of 1973, and Gaddafiregularly asserted that anyone guilty of

founding a political party would be executed.[79]

Anti-Gaddafi movement, beginnings of National TransitionalCouncil

Beginnings of open protest

Between 13 and 16 January, upset at delays in the building ofhousing units and over political corruption,

protesters inBayda,Darnah, Benghazi,Bani Walidand other citiesbroke into and occupied housing that

the government was building, and protesters also clashed withpolice inBaydaand attacked government

offices.[85][86]By 27 January, the government had responded tothe housing unrest with a 20 billion

investment fund to provide housing anddevelopment.[87][88][89]

The flag of the formerKingdom of Libya. It, or modifiedversions, has been used by many protesters as

anoppositionflag.[90][91]

In late January, Jamal al-Hajji, a writer, political commentatorand accountant, "call[ed] on the Internet for

demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms inLibya" inspired by

theTunisianandEgyptianrevolutions. He was arrested on 1 Februaryby plain-clothes police officers,

and charged on 3 February with injuring someone with his car.Amnesty International claimed thatbecause al-Hajji had previouslybeen imprisoned for his non-violent political opinions, the realreason for

the present arrest appeared to be his call fordemonstrations.[92]In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of

the Jamahiriya, met with political activists, journalists, andmedia figures and warned them that they

would be held responsible if they disturbed the peace or createdchaos in Libya.[93]

Uprising and civil war

Main article:Timeline of the 2011 Libyan civil war beforeintervention

A girl in Benghazi with a placard saying that the Libyan tribesare united, on 23 February 2011

The protests, unrest and confrontations began in earnest on 15February 2011. On the evening of 15

February, between 500 and 600 demonstrators protested in frontof Benghazi's police headquarters after

the arrest of human rights lawyerFathi Terbil. The protest wasbroken up violently by police, resulting in

clashes in which 38 people were injured, among them ten securitypersonnel.[94][95]The novelist Idris Al-

Mesmari was arrested hours after giving an interview withAlJazeeraabout the police reaction to

protests.[94]InBaydaandZintan, hundreds of protesters in eachtown called for an end of the Gaddafi

regime and set fire to police and securitybuildings.[94]InZintan, the protesters set up tents in the town

centre.[94]The armed protests continued the following day inBenghazi,DarnahandBayda. Libyan

security forces allegedly responded with lethal force. Hundredsgathered atMaydan al-Shajarain

Benghazi, and authorities tried to disperse protesters withwater cannons.[96]

The Libyan flag is flown from a communications tower in Bayda inJuly.

A "Day of Rage" in Libya and by Libyans in exile was planned for17 February.[93][97][98]TheNational

Conference for the Libyan Oppositionasked that all groupsopposed to the Gaddafi regime protest on 17

February, in memory of demonstrations in Benghazi five yearsearlier.[93]The plans to protest were