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{{toofewopinions|date=March 2011}}
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{{Politics of Libya}}
{{Politics of Libya}}

''For other uses, see [[Oxymoron]].''


The [[Kingdom of Libya]], from 1951 to 1969, was heavily influenced and educated by the British and American oil companies. The King was very westernized and Libya also had [[Constitution of Libya (1951)|a constitution]]. The kingdom, however, was marked by a [[Feudalism|feudal]] regime, where [[Libya]] had a low [[literacy]] rate of 10%, a low [[life expectancy]] of 57 years, and 40% of the population lived in [[Shanty town|shanties]], [[tent]]s, or [[cave]]s.<ref name="dailynews"/> Illiteracy and [[homelessness]] were chronic problems during this era, when iron shacks dotted many urban centres around the country.<ref name="bbc_libya"/>
The [[Kingdom of Libya]], from 1951 to 1969, was heavily influenced and educated by the British and American oil companies. The King was very westernized and Libya also had [[Constitution of Libya (1951)|a constitution]]. The kingdom, however, was marked by a [[Feudalism|feudal]] regime, where [[Libya]] had a low [[literacy]] rate of 10%, a low [[life expectancy]] of 57 years, and 40% of the population lived in [[Shanty town|shanties]], [[tent]]s, or [[cave]]s.<ref name="dailynews"/> Illiteracy and [[homelessness]] were chronic problems during this era, when iron shacks dotted many urban centres around the country.<ref name="bbc_libya"/>

Revision as of 04:31, 27 February 2012

Politics of Libya

Arab League Member State of the Arab League

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For other uses, see Oxymoron.

The Kingdom of Libya, from 1951 to 1969, was heavily influenced and educated by the British and American oil companies. The King was very westernized and Libya also had a constitution. The kingdom, however, was marked by a feudal regime, where Libya had a low literacy rate of 10%, a low life expectancy of 57 years, and 40% of the population lived in shanties, tents, or caves.[1] Illiteracy and homelessness were chronic problems during this era, when iron shacks dotted many urban centres around the country.[2]

From 1969 to 2011, the history of Libya was marked by the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (where jamahiriya means "state of the masses"), a so-called "direct democracy" political system established by Muammar Gaddafi,[3] who nominally stepped down from power in 1977, but remained an unofficial "Brother Leader" until 2011. Under the Jamahiriya, the country's literacy rate rose to 90%, and welfare systems were introduced that allowed access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing. In 2008, the General People's Congress has declared the Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era.[4] The Great Manmade River was also built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.[1] In addition, illiteracy and homelessness had been "almost wiped out,"[2] and financial support was provided for university scholarships and employment programs,[5] while the nation as a whole remained debt-free.[6] As a result, Libya's Human Development Index in 2010 was the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia.[1]

In 2005, the US government-funded Freedom House gave low ratings for political rights and civil liberties, and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free".[7] In 2010, Amnesty International published a critical report on Libya, raising concerns about cases of enforced disappearances and other human rights violations that remained unresolved, and that Internal Security Agency members implicated in those violations continued to operate with impunity.[8] In January 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report analysing the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's human rights record with input from member nations, most of which (including many European and most Asian, African and South American nations) generally praised the country's progressive efforts in human rights, though some (particularly Australia, France, Israel, Switzerland, and the United States) raised concerns about human rights abuses concerning cases of disappearance and torture, and restrictions on free press and free association; Libya agreed to investigate cases involving disappearance and torture, and to repeal any laws criminalizing political expression or restricting a free independent press, and affirmed that it had an independent judiciary.[9]

Political, ethnic and religious oppression

In the early 1970s, Gaddafi created the Revolutionary Committees as conduits for raising political consciousness, with the aim of direct political participation by all Libyans rather than a traditional party-based representative system. In 1979, however, some of these committees had eventually evolved into self-appointed, sometimes zealous, enforcers of revolutionary orthodoxy.[10] During the early 1980s, these committees had considerable power and became a growing source of tension within the Jamihiriya,[11] to the extent that Gaddafi sometimes criticized their effectiveness and excessive repression,[10][11] until the power of the Revolutionary Committees were eventually restricted in the late 1980s.[11]

The Revolutionary Committees had been accused of resembling similar systems in Totalitarian countries; reportedly, 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for these committees, with surveillance taking place in government, in factories, and in the education sector.[12] They also posted bounties for the killing of Libyan critics charged with treason abroad.[12][13] Opposition activists were occasionally executed publicly and the executions were rebroadcast on public television channels.[12][14]

In 1988, Gaddafi criticized the excessive measures taken by the Revolutionary Councils, stating that "they deviated, harmed, tortured" and that "the true revolutionary does not practise repression."[15] That same year, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya issued the Great Green Document on Human Rights, in which Article 5 established laws that allowed greater freedom of expression. Article 8 of The Code on the Promotion of Freedom stated that "each citizen has the right to express his opinions and ideas openly in People’s Congresses and in all mass media."[9] A number of restrictions were also placed on the power of the Revolutionary Committees, leading to a resurgence in the Libyan state's popularity by the early 1990s.[11] In 2004, however, Libya posted a $1 million bounty for journalist Ashur Shamis, under the allegation that he was linked to Al-Qaeda and terror suspect Abu Qatada.[16]

Until recently, foreign languages were not part of the school curriculum. One protester in 2011 described the situation as: "None of us can speak English or French. He kept us ignorant and blindfolded".[17] The US State Department claimed that ethnic, Islamic fundamentalist and tribal minorities suffer discrimination, and that the state continues to restrict the labour rights of foreign workers.[18] In 1998, CERD expressed concern about alleged “acts of discrimination against migrant workers on the basis of their national or ethnic origin,” which the United Nations Human Rights Council also expressed concern about in 2010.[19] Human Rights Watch in September 2006 documented how migrant workers and other foreigners were subjected to human rights abuses,[20] which have increased drastically against black Africans under the National Transitional Council following the 2011 Libyan civil war.[21]

The Libyan Arab Jamhairiya rejected the allegations against the country. They pointed to how their country is founded on direct people's democracy that guaranteed direct exercise of authority by all citizens through the people's congresses. Citizens were able to express opinions of the congresses on issues related to political, economic, social, and cultural issues. In addition, there were information platforms such as newspapers and TV channels for people to express their opinions through. Libyan authorities also argued that no one in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya suffered from extreme poverty and hunger, and that the government guaranteed a minimum of food and essential needs to people with low incomes. In 2006, an initiative was adopted for providing people with low incomes investment potfolios amounting to $30,000 to be deposited with banks and companies. [22]

HIV trial

One issue was that of the HIV trial in Libya, in which six foreign health workers (five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor) were accused of deliberately infecting 426 children with HIV-tainted blood in a hospital in 1999. On 6 May 2004, a Libyan court sentenced the workers to death. They were eventually freed in 2007, following European diplomatic mobilisation.

Abu Salim prison massacre

Main article: Abu Salim prison

In 2006, Amnesty International has called for an independent inquiry into deaths that occurred there in Abu Salim maximum security prison in the 1996 riot.[23] In 2009, Human Rights Watch believes that 1,270 prisoners were killed.[24][25] However, Human Rights Watch states that they were unable to independently verify the allegations. The claims cited by Human Rights Watch are based on the testimony of a single former inmate, Hussein Al Shafa’i, who stated that he did not witness a prisoner being killed: "I could not see the dead prisoners who were shot..."[26]

The figure of 1200 killed was arrived at by Al Shafa’i allegedly calculating the number of meals he prepared when he was working in the prison's kitchen. At the same time, Al Shafa'i stated "I was asked by the prison guards to wash the watches that were taken from the bodies of the dead prisoners..." [27]

At the same time, the Libyan Government rejected the allegations about Abu Salim. In May 2005, the Internal Security Agency head of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya told Human Rights Watch that the prisoners captured some guards and stole weapons from the prison cache. The prisoners and guards died as security personnel tried to restore order, and the government opened an investigation on the order of the Minister of Justice. The Libyan official stated that more than 400 prisoners escaped Abu Salim in four separate break-outs prior to and after the incident: in July 1995, December 1995, June 1996 and July 2001. Among the escapees were men who then fought with Islamist militant groups in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. [28]

In 2009, the Libyan government stated that the killings took place amid confrontation between the government and rebels from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, and that some 200 guards were killed as well.[29] In January 2011, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya confirmed that it was carrying out an investigation into the incident along with international investigators.[9]

The Libyan rebels claimed that 1270 people were buried at a supposed mass grave they discovered.[30] However, investigators from CNN and other organizations found only what appeared to be animal bones at the site.[31]

Torture

In January 2011, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stated that the practice of torture and ill treatment was forbidden in article 434 of the Penal Code, which stated that public officials who had ordered the torture of a person or had committed an act of torture were sentenced to 3 to 10 years’ imprisonment.[9] Gaddafi openly condemned the use of torture, as a criticism against several Revolutionary Committees that had condoned the use of torture.[15]

Torture was allegedly used by Libya's security forces to punish rebels after the rebellion hit north west Libya during the 2011 Libyan civil war.[32] Torture has been used extensively by rebel forces, who established unofficial detention facilities equipped with torture devices such as ropes, sticks and rubber hoses. The rebels have used torture against many suspected Gaddafi supporters, targeting black Africans in particular.[33]

2011 civil war

Main articles: Human rights violations in the 2011 Libyan civil war, Muammar Gaddafi's response to the 2011 Libyan civil war, and Protests against the 2011 military intervention in Libya

Various states and supranational bodies have condemned the use of military and mercenaries against Libyan civilians during the 2011 Libyan civil war, an allegation that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi denies.[34]

After an emergency meeting on 22 February, the Arab League suspended Libya from taking part in council meetings and Moussa issued a statement condemning the "crimes against the current peaceful popular protests and demonstrations in several Libyan cities."[35][36] Libya was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council by a unanimous vote of the UN General Assembly, citing the Gaddafi government's use of violence against protesters.[37] A number of governments, including Britain, Canada, Switzerland, the United States, Germany and Australia took action to freeze assets of Gaddafi and his associates.[38] The move was criticised as double-standard as numerous similar human right abuses in Bahrain, Yemen or elsewhere produced no action at all.[39]

On 26 February 2011, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in a resolution to impose strict sanctions, including targeted travel bans, against Gaddafi's government, as well as to refer Gaddafi and other members of his regime to the International Criminal Court for investigation into allegations of brutality against civilians, which could constitute crimes against humanity in violation of international law.[40] There are many reports of these sanctions being broken where support against Libyan government forces is the case.[41]

Rebel forces have been criticized for a number of human rights violations, including indiscriminate bombardment of heavily-populated cities, torture and killing of prisoners of war, and racist lynchings of black people.[21][42]

In June 2011, a detailed investigation carried out by Amnesty International found that many of the allegations against Gaddafi and the Libyan state turned out to either be false or lack any credible evidence, noting that rebels at times appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence. According to the Amnesty investigation, the number of casualties was heavily exaggerated, some of the protesters may have been armed, "there is no proof of mass killing of civilians on the scale of Syria or Yemen," and there is no evidence that aircraft or heavy anti-aircraft machine guns were used against crowds. It also doubted claims from the Western media that the protest movement was "entirely peaceful" and "presented no security challenge."[43]

In July 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had an interview with Russia Today, where he denied the ICC's allegations that he or his father Muammar Gaddafi ordered the killing of civilian protesters. He pointed out that he is not a member of the government or the military, and therefore has no authority to give such orders. According to Saif, he made recorded calls to General Abdul Fatah Younis, who later defected to the rebel forces, in order to request not to use force against protesters, to which Fatah responded that they are attacking a military site, where surprised guards fired in self-defense.[44][45]

During the Battle of Sirte, the rebels killed many civilians, including men, women, and children, while there were also reports of the rebels harassing and stealing from the locals. According to one resident, "The rebels are worse than rats. Nato is the same as Osama bin Laden." According to another local woman, "We lived in democracy under Muammer Gaddafi, he was not a dictator. I lived in freedom, Libyan women had full human rights. It isn't that we need Muammer Gaddafi again, but we want to live just as we did before." A local elderly woman stated "They are killing our children. Why are they doing this? For what? Life was good before!"[46]

In January 2012, independent human rights groups published a report describing the human rights violations committed by all sides, including NATO, anti-Gaddafi forces, and pro-Gaddafi forces. The same report also accused NATO of war crimes.[47]

See also

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References

  1. ^ a b c Azad, Sher (2011-10-22). "Gaddafi and the media". Daily News. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b Hussein, Mohamed (21 February 2011). "Libya crisis: what role do tribal loyalties play?". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  3. ^ Robbins, James (7 March 2007). "Eyewitness: Dialogue in the desert". Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  4. ^ The Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan EraTemplate:Ref-en
  5. ^ Shimatsu, Yoichi (October 21, 2011). "Villain or Hero? Desert Lion Perishes, Leaving West Explosive Legacy". New America Media. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Zimbabwe: Reason Wafavarova - Reverence for Hatred of Democracy". AllAfrica.com. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Freedom in the World 2006" (PDF). Freedom House. 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2006-07-27.
    See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom
  8. ^ "Libya - Amnesty International Report 2010". Hundreds of cases of enforced disappearance and other serious human rights violations committed in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s remained unresolved, and the Internal Security Agency (ISA), implicated in those violations, continued to operate with impunity.
  9. ^ a b c d "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" (PDF). Universal Periodic Review. United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  10. ^ a b Ham, Anthony (2007). Libya (2nd ed. ed.). Footscray, Victoria: Lonely Planet. pp. 40–1. ISBN 1740594932. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  11. ^ a b c d Vandewalle, Dirk J. (2006). A history of modern Libya. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 0521850487. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  12. ^ a b c Eljahmi, Mohamed (2006). "Libya and the U.S.: Qadhafi Unrepentant". Middle East Quarterly.
  13. ^ The Middle East and North Africa 2003 (2002). Eur. p. 758.
  14. ^ David, Brian Lee. Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U.S. Attack on Libya.
  15. ^ a b Ham, Anthony (2007). Libya (2nd ed. ed.). Footscray, Victoria: Lonely Planet. p. 41. ISBN 1740594932. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  16. ^ Bright, Martin (28 March 2004). "Gadaffi still hunts 'stray dogs' in UK". The Guardian. UK.
  17. ^ "A New Flag Flies in the East". The Economist. 24 February 2011.
  18. ^ Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (6 March 2007). "Libya". US State Department. Retrieved 5 March 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "Libya Must End Racism Against Black African Migrants and Others".
  20. ^ http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/%7B6deb65da-be5b-4cae-8056-8bf0bedf4d17%7D/WRITTEN%20STATEMENT%20ITEM%209.PDF. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ a b Milne, Seumas (26 October 2011). "If the Libyan war was about saving lives, it was a catastrophic failure". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  22. ^ http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session9/LY/A_HRC_WG.6_9_LBY_1_Libya_E.pdf
  23. ^ "Investigation Needed into Prison Deaths". Amnesty International.
  24. ^ "Site news Bilal bin Rabah (the city of Al Bayda, Libya), a meeting with the Libyan Minister of Justice". Binrabah.com. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  25. ^ "Libya: Free All Unjustly Detained Prisoners". Human Rights Watch.
  26. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/27/libya-june-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison
  27. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/27/libya-june-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison
  28. ^ http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/06/27/libya-june-1996-killings-abu-salim-prison
  29. ^ Shuaib (6 September 2009). "Libya appoints judge to probe 1996 prison massacre". Reuters. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  30. ^ "Mass grave believed to hold more than 1,200 Libyan prisoners killed by Gadhafi regime in '96". The Washington Post. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 25 -09-2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  31. ^ "Libya hedges mass grave claim - CNN.com". CNN. 26 September 2011.
  32. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D.; Chivers, C.J. (5 April 2011). "Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi". The New York Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Henderson, Barney (12 October 2011). "Libyan rebels 'torturing suspected gaddafi mercenaries'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  34. ^ Walker, Portia (1 July 2011). "Gaddafi's son denies ordering use of lethal force against civilians". The Independent. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  35. ^ "Arab League Deeply Concerned by Libya Violence". Reuters. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  36. ^ "Arab League Bars Libya From Meetings, Citing Forces' 'Crimes'". Bloomberg. 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  37. ^ "Libya Suspended from Rights Body". Al Jazeera English. 1 March 2011.
  38. ^ "Gaddafi Sees Global Assets Frozen". Al Jazeera English. 28 February 2011.
  39. ^ "US Focuses on Libya, Neglects Abuses Elsewhere". RT. 18 March 2011.
  40. ^ "U.N. Security Council Slaps Sanctions on Libya". MSNBC. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  41. ^ "Report: Egypt Arming Libyan Rebels". RT. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  42. ^ "Deceit in Nato bombing of Gadhafi cities and loyalists revealed". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 23, 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  43. ^ Cockburn, Patrick (24 June 2011). "Amnesty Questions Claim That Gaddafi Ordered Rape as Weapon of War". The Independent. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  44. ^ "Gaddafi's son: Libya like McDonald's for NATO - fast war as fast food". Russia Today. July 1, 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  45. ^ Smith, David (1 July 2011). "Gaddafi's son claims Nato wants deal with Libya". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  46. ^ Sherlock, Ruth (2 October 2011). "Gaddafi loyalists stranded as battle for Sirte rages". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  47. ^ Shabi, Rachel (19 January 2012). "Nato accused of war crimes in Libya". The Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
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