Revolutie in Libi� #116: Met vallen en opstaan

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CNN Nic Robertson: Libyan woman bursts into hotel to tell her story of rape (Mar 26, 2011)

SPOILER: Alex Crawfort 'Bab-al-Aziziyah interview' en 'Gaddafi's hat' Noy Alooshe Remix

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SPOILER: eerdere topics

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SPOILER: UN / NATO info

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Libya: Bloody Vengeance in Sirte

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Former revolutionaries joining state institutions

During Thursday’s press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Awad Al-Barasi reiterated the government’s support for the integration of former revolutionaries into the police and army, noting that all brigades would have to join these state institutions. In future, the existence of such brigades would be illegal.

Exactly when this will happen is still unsure. The head of the SSC in Tripoli, Hashim Bishar, said in October that the organisation would cease to exist by tomorrow, the end of the year. But since then Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has told the Libya Herald that it would still continue “for a while”. Nonetheless, many SCC members have been signing up to join the police and army, despite the fact that the pay in both organisations is lower than in the SSC.

Earlier this month it was announced that in just two days some 1,500 members of the SSC in Benghazi had applied to join the police there.

Since taking office, Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail has laid out clear plans to get the country’s security on track trough the collection of weapons, increased policing, the formation of a professional army and security forces. However, Shuwail’s immediate concern has been the deteriorating security situation in Benghazi.

The city, known as the cradle of the revolution, has become an epicentre of violence and targeted killings, particular after the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and more recently following the assassination of Benghazi’s police chief Faraj Drissi. The city’s police force has come under repeated attack leading to the death and injury of several police officers. This wave of lawlessness has been tied to attempts to release a suspect arrested in Drissi’s murder, as well as a show of force by armed groups beyond state control, generally believed to be extremists.

Friday’s “Save Benghazi Friday” protesters came out in support for the army and police, and to put an end to all militias. According to activist Bilal Bettamer, security forces were on hand to protect and direct the protest, and were greatly applauded for the role they played.

Bettamer was among those who organised “Rescue Benghazi”, a mass protest against armed groups that took place in the wake of the US consulate attack in the city. The lead organiser of the protest, Naji Hamad, narrowly escaped an attempt an his life earlier this month, however, the assault killed Hamad’s brother -in-law, Anees Al-Jahani.

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Op zaterdag 29 december 2012 17:55 schreef zuiderbuur het volgende:

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Ik mag echt wel eens wat optimistischer zijn, en wat harder zoeken...

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Libya church blast kills two Egyptians

Tripoli (AFP) – An explosion rocked a Coptic church near the Libyan city of Misrata, killing two people and wounding two, all of them Egyptians, a diplomat told AFP on Sunday.

“Two men were killed and two others wounded,” said the diplomat at the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli who declined to be named, adding that it took place late Saturday but the embassy was only informed on Sunday.

“The blast was yesterday at 11:30 pm (2230 GMT) at the church of Mar Girgis (St. George) in the town of Dafniya in Misrata (province). We were informed at 6 am,” he said.

The embassy has dispatched the consul to Misrata to get details about the blast.

“We still don’t have clear information” about what caused it, the diplomat said.

But he added that, according to initial reports, the blast took place in an annexe of the church.

Earlier, a security official said the blast occurred on Sunday, killing an Egyptian and wounding three others.

“An investigation is now underway,” the security source said.

Another security source said the explosion struck “during prayers” but the embassy official could not confirm that a service was underway at the time.

Dafniya is a Mediterranean town 30 kilometres (20 miles) west of the city of Misrata, where brigades made up of former rebels hold a major checkpoint.

There were an estimated 1.5 million Egyptians living and working in Libya before the 2011 armed revolt that toppled Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi. About two-thirds left during the war but many returned in 2012.

Before the revolt Libya had a population of around 6.3 million – including some 1.5 million African immigrants many of whom fled during the fighting – that was 97 percent Muslim and only three percent Christian.

Christians in Libya are mostly expatriates, including migrant workers from neighbouring Egypt where Coptic Christians are the largest religious minority.

In August, the International Committee of the Red Cross shut its operations in Misrata, 180 kilometres (110 miles) east of the capital, after armed assailants laid siege to a staff residence.

Libya’s first elected authorities are keen to boost security but the fledgling army and police are often helpless in the face of well-armed militias made up of former rebels.

Extremism has become a source of growing concern in post-Gaddafi Libya, with several international agencies and diplomatic missions targeted this year by attacks blamed on radical Islamists.

The deadliest was a 11 September assault on the US consulate in second city Benghazi, which killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

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Head of Libya’s Copts speaks out on Misrata killing

The head of the Coptic Church in Libya, Father Timothaus Bishara Adla, today condemned the bomb attack in the port city of Misrata that left two Egyptian Christians dead and several more wounded.

Father Timothaous Bishara Adly told the Libya Herald today that he visited Misrata yesterday to visit the church in Dafniya that was targeted by a bombing late on Saturday night, saying the families of those killed were facing a “very difficult situation.”

He said that the two men killed in the blast had been attending a service late on Saturday night in a building attached to the church when the bomb went off.

Members of the congregation present at the time of the attack told Adly that there was a “huge explosion”, which they thought had been caused by a bomb placed next to the building some time before. Adly, however, was keen to stress that the investigation into the attack was in its early stages, and that it was impossible to give more precise details at this time.

Adly said that the two victims of the attack were both male, and had been living and working in Libya with their families for some time.

Both men were married he said, and one, 42, had three young daughters who are also living in Libya. The second, he added, was 25 years old, and his wife was six months pregnant.

Adly said that the church, Saint George’s, was a focal point for the Coptic community in Misrata, and catered exclusively to Egyptian Christians, estimating that there are around 20,000 members of the church in Libya.

The attack seemed to have been totally unexpected, as Adly told the Libya Herald that there had ben “no threats at all against the churches here in Libya,” pointing out that “on the other hand, we had very good relations with Muslims here in Libya”.

Saturday marks the first attack specifically targeting a church in Libya since the revolution last year, and at the time of publication, it is not clear who was responsible for the bombing.

Officials from the Interior Minstry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had been in contact with the head of the church in Misrata, Father Marcus Zaghloul, Adly said, to condemn the “terrorist incident”, and had reassured him that they would launch an investigation into the attack immediately.

Adly said that the Egyptian ambassador in Tripoli, Hisham Abdul Hamid, had called for more security outside Libya’s Coptic churches, and the Egyptian foreign minister had also condemned the attack.

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Op maandag 31 december 2012 11:31 schreef RobertoCarlos het volgende:

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Dat zijn wel heel erg weinig mogelijkheden Hoe zie je dat 'installeren' van Saif voor je? Denk je niet dat daar heel veel geweld aan vooraf gaat tegen juist die arme mensen die jij wilt helpen?
Maar ik ben het wel met je eens dat de 1e prioriteit in Libie de veiligheid is, als je dat eigenlijk bedoelt. Maar er zijn natuurlijk wel meer mogelijkheden...

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Op zaterdag 5 januari 2013 12:57 schreef HiZ het volgende:
Er zijn opvallend veel Libiers die met vakantie komen naar Istanbul.

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Libya’s fight for the rule of law

On Sunday, March 31, armed gunmen stormed Libya's Ministry of Justice. The gunmen (reportedly militia members under the Supreme Security Committee) threw Justice Minister Salah Marghani and his staff out of the building in protest over recent televised remarks the minister made during an interview with Libya AhrarTV.

Marghani (second from left) had spoken out against unlawful detentions and the practices of prisons being run by armed militias. He promised that all prisons will be brought under the control of the ministry's judicial police and the attorney general. Marghani, like Prime Minister Zeidan (pictured at the podium), is making an effort to act as an honest communicator with the Libyan people. Marghani is handling the issue in the same responsible manner as he did in his response to the Human Rights Watch report on Libya: in that case, he publicly admitted the country's failure to prevent human rights abuses and promised to take urgent action on the issue.

His honesty and transparency did not, however, prove popular with the armed militias and groups running their own secret prisons and detention facilities. The gunmen demanded that Marghani be sacked from his post and accused him of trying to help former regime officials escape (laughable allegations even by militias' standards).

Marghani and Prime Minister Zeidan held a joint press conference just a few hours after the storming of the ministry in which they condemned the incident. They both refused to give into pressure to allow militias to control prisons or hold prisoners. Standing firm, they stressed that the decision to prevent militias from holding prisoners would not be changed.

Since it took charge a few months ago, the government has successfully maintained its media presence by holding at least one press conference a week.

Most Libyans welcome the government's tough line. The responses on social media and television show that public support for Zeidan and his government appears to be getting stronger by the day. This is what Zeidan and his team have been working hard to achieve, but the tough talk needs to be translated into action on the ground. This is ultimately what matters to Libyans.

A battle is under way between two forces in Libya. The government is striving to establish the rule of law, while the militias, clinging to revolutionary legitimacy, want things done their own way, with general disregard for the law. This is the core issue. Everything else is secondary.

The government cannot win without the support of the Libyan people. Zeidan and his cabinet ministers echo this sentiment whenever they get the chance. Moreover, in a clear contrast to the position of the previous government led by Prime Minister el-Keib (which allowed the growing influence of militias), the minister of justice has commended the people of Benghazi for the mass demonstrations, famously known as the "Benghazi Rescue Friday" on September 21, 2012 -- and the "Benghazi Won't Die Friday" on December 28, 2012, that were held against militias and armed groups in the city. He has urged all cities, especially Tripoli, to follow this path.

The government has already set up a joint task force to clear Tripoli of all armed militias and groups, and has so far cleared 36 locations out of 500 possible locations including private residential villas that belonged to former regime figures in the capital. A similar effort will follow in Benghazi. The government is clearly determined to establish control throughout Libya, and it seems to be making progress. In addition, public tolerance of militias is diminishing as ordinary Libyans' support for the state (and, implicitly, for its monopoly on violence to maintain order) increases. This provides a real opportunity for the government to act decisively.

Minister Marghani put it perfectly during his press conference with Prime Minister Zeidan following the storming of the Ministry of Justice: "The building may be stormed and the justice minister may get killed, but justice won't die, for justice is God and justice is truth, and falsehood and intolerance won't prevail over truth and justice."

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Aanslag op Franse ambassade Libi�

In de Libische hoofdstad Tripoli is vanochtend een aanslag gepleegd op de Franse ambassade. Dat heeft een medewerker van de ambassade laten weten.

"Er is een aanval geweest op de ambassade en we denken dat het een autobom was'', aldus de functionaris. Volgens hem was er behoorlijk wat schade aan het pand. De aanslag werd gepleegd met een autobom. Bij de explosie raakten twee bewakers gewond. Wie er achter de aanslag zit, is nog niet bekend.

In september vorig jaar was de Amerikaanse ambassade nog doelwit van een aanslag. Bij die aanval kwamen de Amerikaanse ambassadeur Christopher Stevens en drie andere Amerikanen om het leven.

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Tripoli conference produces Sebha peace deal

Rival groups who have been the cause of continuing instability in Sebha and elsewhere on the south of the country today signed a peace deal under which both agreed to disarm and put aside past animosities.

Representatives from Tebus and the Arab tribe, the Awlad Suleiman, were brought together this morning at the Congress building in a reconciliation conference organised by the government and the General National Congress.

Sebha and the surrounding area have been the scene of intermittent clashes for over a year despite ceasefires and peace agreements.

Fighting between Tebus and Arab residents in the town, mainly from the Abu Seif tribe, broke out in March last year in a dispute supposedly over a vehicle. Some 150 people were killed and 400 wounded in the following few days before a ceasefire was brokered. Later, the conflict turned into one between the Tebus and the Awlad Suleiman.

Today’s conference, entitled ‘Reconciliation in the South of Libya’ and organised with the help of a number of reconciliation committees and elders following long negotiations between the rivals, was opened by the Chief of Staff, Major-General Yousef Mangoush.

It was attended by the President of Congress, Mohamed Magarief, the Prime Minister, Ali Zeidan, and Defence Minister Mohamed Bargathi as well as several members of Congress.

In his opening remarks, Mangoush said that everyone was aware of the problems in Libya during its present transitional stage. The challenges, he stated, were massive and difficult.

Magarief said reconciliation was the right path for the new Libya. There had been “enough Libya wounds, enough Libya bleeding, enough Libya sensitivities, enough Libya barriers”. More than ever, the country needed “reconciliation with ourselves and with our history”. The conference would set the pattern “for reconciliation in all parts of the country”, he stated.

For his part, Ali Zaidan, said his government hoped that this reconciliation process would build the new Libya, but that what was needed was determination. Reconciliation would not happen, he said, unless people returned to the values and morality of their fathers and grandfathers.

At the end of conference, a representative from each of the two groups signed a peace agreement, but not before a heated exchange of words by some of those attending the conference almost wrecked it.

A number of attendees said that they did not approve the deal and that the views of some of the conflicting parties had been ignored. The Misrata representatives quit the conference complaining they were not mentioned in the reconciliation programme.

Following the departure of Magarief and other officials, two journalists covering the conference became embroiled in a dispute with GNC security guards and were beaten. One, Mohamed Al-Ghariani, a cameraman with Al-Aan TV, had to be hospitalized as a result. The other, a freelance photographer, was able to walk away.

In a statement later today, Magarief said it was the result of misunderstanding by both sides and high emotions but he still condemned it. “Any attack on journalists is an attack on freedom of speech”, he said. However, he called on both sides to exercise restraint in future.

twitter:

Rana_J01 twitterde op dinsdag 14-05-2013 om 18:46:42 Officials 2day- #Benghazi #Libya blast "could have been 'accidental' all being investigated" Wld have bn helpful if that was said frm start. reageer retweet

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Benghazi blast an 'accident', Libya ministers say

A blast outside a hospital in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday might have been an accident, ministers say.

The government initially said that a car bomb exploded in a "terrorist act" that killed three people.

But on Tuesday, Interior Minister Ashur Shwayel said "all the signs point to an accidental" blast, in a car transporting explosives.

Security remains precarious in Libya since the uprising against long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The city was terrorized, a 16-year old died, investigations need to be concluded”

Since then, Libya has been hit by a wave of bombings - often blamed on militant Islamists or Gaddafi loyalists - and battles between rival militias who fought the ousted regime.

Justice Minister Salah al-Mirghani said it was "too early to draw any conclusions" about Monday's car explosion.

"Even if it was detonated accidentally [by those inside] as it was heading somewhere else, or whatever the reason - it is not normal to be driving around with explosives like that," he told the BBC from Benghazi.

"The city was terrorized, a 16-year old died, investigations need to be concluded. There are two unidentified bodies, but we also have not concluded whether they were the ones in the car or not."

He said he could not discount reports that the explosives might have been transported by fishermen, who often use such material to catch fish.

A report by an explosive expert from Libya's ministry of defence said a grey Mazda exploded while it was travelling with material used to make anti-tank mines, says BBC Libya correspondent Rana Jawad.

In the immediate aftermath of the blast, government officials and eyewitnesses said a grey Toyota parked near the hospital exploded.

Angry crowds protested at the scene, blaming militants for the bombing and urging the authorities to drive them out of the city.

Many demonstrators chanted "Rise, Benghazi!"

There were wildly conflicting reports on casualty figures, with Deputy Interior Minister Abdallah Massoud saying that up to 15 may have been killed and at least 30 wounded.

On Tuesday, the health ministry, said it reached a "definitive toll" of three dead and 14 wounded in the explosion.

At least three police stations were bombed in Benghazi last week - causing damage but not casualties.

Earlier this month, the UK said it had withdrawn some of its embassy staff in Libya because of "ongoing political uncertainty".

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Op maandag 10 juni 2013 00:19 schreef JaJammerJan het volgende:

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Lijkt me tijd voor de NATO om in te grijpen en die milities eens flink kapot te bombarderen toch? 'vredige' demonstraties worden immers met zeer dodelijk geweld neergedrukt. En zo ging dat toch ook in de tijd van Ghadaffi en daar werd ook ingegrepen.

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Ik wed dat die demonstraties, (net zoals in het begin van de 'revolutie') helemaal niet vredig verliepen. Zoals hier beschreven staat worden het al 'rellen' genoemd en bij het nieuws van nu.nl staat dat de 'demonstranten' mogelijk zelf ook wapens hadden.

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Echter, de eerste 'demonstraties' tegen Ghadaffi begonnen ook met het in de fik steken van auto's en politiegebouwen, en daar zullen behalve wapens als molotov cocktails, ook zwaardere wapens gebruikt zijn, wat tot het aantal doden van onze subjectieve media gedeeld door 10 leidde.

Verzin er nog wat leugens bij zoals bij Ghadaffi is gedaan: huurlingen, luchtaanvallen, wrede dictator, verkrachtingen.
en hoppaa, je hebt er bijna weer een 'revolutie' bij.

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Violence Against Libyan Protesters Threatens to Undercut Power of Militias

BENGHAZI, Libya — Gathering here to bury nearly 30 civilian protesters killed the night before by a powerful militia, mourners said Sunday that they hoped a backlash after the massacre would finally cow Libya’s freewheeling brigades into submitting to the central government.

“It is sad that whenever we reach our goals we have to lose souls in the process,” said Naja Abdel Wanis, 28, an engineer. The militia, known as Libya Shield, had already fled, he said, adding, “There is no longer a Libya Shield.”

Militia leaders argue that Libya’s weak transitional government still badly needs their superior firepower. But after this weekend’s clashes, there were signs on Sunday that Libyans’ shock at the violence against civilians might undercut the influence of the biggest militia leaders just as they appeared poised to consolidate their political power.

On Sunday afternoon, the transitional Parliament said it had accepted the resignation of the government official closest to the militia leaders, Yousef al-Mangoush, the military chief of staff and the brigades’ chief advocate. Libya Shield’s compound here was all but deserted, and its fighters were scattered after the melee on Saturday night. A handful of looters pawed over the rubble of a burned-out car, a tank and a rocket launcher left in the yard.

The militia’s leaders appeared to be in hiding; in a telephone interview late Saturday, a spokesman declined to disclose his location because of safety concerns. By Sunday night, several other militias reportedly announced their own dissolution as well.

After weeks of anonymous bombings and assassinations aimed at the former security forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, new police officers in blue uniforms appeared for the first time since the revolution on the streets of Benghazi. A contingent of regular, uniformed troops was also patrolling the cemetery to deter any new violence, and about a dozen soldiers were lined up in a row along the road outside.

“This is a historic day for our revolution,” said Jamal Bennor, a judge who attended the burials. “Now all the people are determined that there is no room for ‘security committees’ or ‘militias’ outside the official authorities,” he said. “Be satisfied. Everything is going well. The local government has no power, but the power is with the people.”

The Libya Shield militia has been a bellwether among the many autonomous brigades that emerged out of the revolt against Colonel Qaddafi two years ago. Although the militia was outside government control, its leaders distinguished themselves by offering their services to help quell regional unrest. Government officials cited it as a vital, “legitimate” militia, and it became a template for a handful of other brigades, which adopted the names Libya Shield 2, 3, 4 and so on.

But as the transitional government came to depend on Libya Shield and its imitators, the militia leaders also used their leverage to influence the government, most notably in pushing for the passage last month of a law barring former senior Qaddafi government officials from public posts for 10 years.

The broad legislation had the effect of disqualifying many of the big militias’ leading civilian opponents. And to push it through, armed militia members surrounded the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs as well as the transitional Parliament, implicitly threatening the use of force.

The Parliament’s swift acquiescence had appeared to seal the militia leaders’ hold on power, and Wissam bin Hamid, the leader of Libya Shield, was chosen to lead a committee of top brigade leaders who would advise the civilian government.

Then on Saturday, what began as a dispute with neighbors over the deed to Libya Shield’s compound escalated into a lopsided slaughter. A swelling crowd of hundreds attacked the compound with rocks, and a few fired Kalashnikovs. The ill-trained militia inside retaliated with heavy gunfire, antiaircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and at least one round of mortar fire.

Thirty-one people were killed, officials said Sunday, raising the death toll from the 27 reported the night before. Only two were members of Libya Shield, its leaders said, and the rest were protesters.

In a radio interview on Saturday night, Mr. Bin Hamid of Libya Shield was unapologetic, portraying the protesters as angry members of a local tribe, Qaddafi loyalists and “federalists” aiming to break up the country into a union of three autonomous states.

“They had strange demands,” Mr. Bin Hamid said. “We did not understand what they wanted.”

But on Sunday, some mourners said that Mr. Bin Hamid had badly damaged his image. “He looked for bogus excuses,” said Nasser Ghaffer, 32, a former brigade leader who put down his weapon to resume civilian life. Libya Shield’s “legitimacy,” he said, is just “decoration.”

Mr. Abdel Wanis, the engineer, said: “His blood is wanted, as we say in Libyan culture. He can no longer come here. He is finished.”

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Picking Up the Pieces in Libya

During the week of July 22nd, 2013, three Libyan officials were killed in a wave of violence that shook Libya as a whole, and the city of Benghazi, in particular.

Since the country’s liberation from the regime of Muammar Ghaddafi, assassinations have become an increasingly common phenomenon.

Attacks against two Libyan army officials, Colonel Salem Al Sarah (head of police in southern Libya) and Lieutenant Khattab Younis Zwai (a local Benghazi police officer) followed the usual pattern. As with previous attempts, these assassinations aimed to quash efforts to establish a national army and police force to replace the militias that continue to run Libya.

But, the third victim of these attacks, prominent activist and lawyer, Abdulsalam Al-Mismari, highlights a shift in targeting practices – civil society is now on the hit list.

Al-Mismari was the founder of the February 17 Coalition, a collection of activists at the forefront of the country’s uprising. He had always been outspoken, and had previously received death threats for speaking out against Islamist factions in the former interim government, the National Transitional Council.

Most recently, Al-Mismari had publically expressed concerns about the assassination of General Abdelfatah Younis, who was killed on July 28th, 2011, and criticized the Muslim Brotherhood for attempting to sway the government through the use of armed groups.

Al-Mismari’s assassination sparked nation-wide protests condemning the violence and calling for the disbanding of all militias.

To date, Libya’s spate of assassinations, which began with the Younis killing, has claimed 62 victims. Perpetrators have yet to be identified or brought to justice in these cases.

A Sobering Reality: Have We Reached a Breaking Point?

As assassinations and violence increased over the last 2.5 years, Libyans persevered and continued to remain hopeful.

Recent events have, however, definitively shattered this bubble.

Hassan Al-Amin, a human rights lawyer, opponent of the Ghaddafi regime, and former representative from Misrata in the General National Council (GNC), Libya’s interim parliament, has continuously spoken out about the issues plaguing the country.

Al-Amin resigned from the GNC in May, in opposition to the forced passage of the controversial political isolation law. The law prohibits officials with ties to the Ghaddafi regime from working in the government for a period of ten years. The legislation was passed under duress, after various militia groups threatened violence if the law was not approved.

Since stepping down from office, Al-Amin has continued to speak out against the chaos in the country.

“Libya has reached its breaking point, the situation is getting worse by the day” he observes.

In a country where militias are strong and the government weak, the current crisis can only be described as inevitable.

Since Ghaddafi’s ouster, the militias, which were created to battle the regime, have been prone to fighting amongst themselves. These conflicts have typically been about settling scores that more often than not are extensions of tensions between other factions in Libya.

The government has attempted to incorporate the militias into the national security services. Nevertheless, many militia groups continue to pursue local and individuals interests, instead of the public good, making them ill-suited to provide security for the general population.

“Militias are divided, they can’t work together. They have differing views, demands, and have gained status, prestige, and power that they are not willing to give up on easily,” says Al-Amin.

The troubling situation is compounded by internal tensions within the Libyan army, which is national only in name. As the country’s circumstances continue to deteriorate, army heads are consistently shuffled around with no real ground being made.

Local police forces across the country are uncoordinated. Most critically, they lack a central intelligence system, which makes, rampant violence, like on-going assassinations, impossible to resolve.

Outside forces, whether regional or international, also play a role in destabilizing the country. Those with vested interests, which may or may not align with peaceful developments in the nation, constantly threaten to push Libya to its limits. It is commonly believed, for example, that Libya’s Islamists are backed by regional forces that will not rest until an Islamic state is established.

These experiences are further aggravated by the inexperience of the Libyan government and the GNC and their collective unwillingness to genuinely address the issues threatening the country’s security.

In the face of growing violence, both bodies have been complacent to say the least. Each assassination has been met with vague, though prompt, statements condemning violence and promising justice. Little effort has been made, however, to investigate these crimes, capture responsible parties, and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

On top of all this, the government remains disconnected from the street and has made little effort to cultivate support among the Libyan population.

“The government and parliament are an illusion. They have no standing or power in the country” says Al-Amin. He suggests that, for the first time in its history, Libya has begun to resemble the early days of post-war Iraq, where constant power struggles were a recurring phenomenon.

Al-Amin is firm when assigning responsibility for Libya’s failures, which he lays at the feet of numerous individuals and government bodies, particularly the interim parliament.

The GNC has failed to follow through on its responsibilities. The body was created for one reason: to help elect members for a constituent assembly that would draft a new constitution for the country.

No real headway has been made on this goal. A draft election law for the constitutional committee has been prepared, but has stalled while debates continue about representation in the assembly for Libya’s various constituencies.

Within the GNC, political parties pursue their own agendas. As with all political groups in the country, these parties were established after the country’s liberation. There has simply been insufficient time for these groups to develop real relationships with their constituencies, making it inevitable they would pursue the interests of a few over the many.

The Way Forward

In light of the recent assassinations, some have called for a boycott of the GNC.

It is clear the GNC and the government are too busy accommodating pressure groups to pursue the public interest. Nevertheless, their authority must be maintained.

The process for creating the constituent assembly must be accelerated. Once formed, the body must be empowered with the necessary tools to swiftly complete the task of drafting and voting on a constitution.

The government must approach Libya today as a country in a state of emergency. Great effort must be made to stabilize the country and engage the population in this work.

Redirecting the transitional period along these lines would help rectify the country’s current problematic course.

But, how does a fragmented nation, with the government on one side and the people on the other, forge a new path? Al-Amin maintains that honesty and transparency can mend ties between the government and the masses.

“It is not too late to restore the country but the government needs to clearly articulate a program of change. They must be honest and reveal who calls the shots, name the forces that are becoming obstacles. The people need to see a clear and innovative leadership, flexible but firm. The government needs to be smart about presenting the truth; gain back the respect of the Libyan street, then ask of them what they want.”

Al-Amin stresses this long overdue conversation should be televised, and occur sooner rather than later. Waiting too long will only make the situation worse and lead to more bloodshed.

Opportunity for Change

Many Libyans wish to see change but feel paralyzed.

How can the government become stronger when faced with militias that are fighting one another and undermining any attempts to create a professional state security service?

Al-Amin remains resolute that if the government acts wisely now, the country can be salvaged.

He suggests the government begin to cultivate relationships with young people who are interested in the political process and invested in creating a better future for Libya.

His logic is irrefutable. Including Libya’s disenfranchised youth in this transitional period would be a game changer.

In particular, Al-Amin believes reviving or in most cases introducing volunteerism among young people to establish localized security would create a viable alternative to current efforts at developing a police force and army, which are moving at a snail’s pace. Al-Amin believes money has been a factor in the militias’ ability to hold onto power, and that a volunteer force would re-establish loyalty to the state, neighborhood by neighborhood.

Efforts to engage young people could tap into on-going youth-led efforts, like Stand for Libya, which work to foster a more inclusive political sphere.

Stand for Libya is a coalition of several youth led NGOs across the country established in response to Libya’s instability. Malak Bouod, a founding member of the coalition, describes the goals of the initiative:

“We all have our own political opinions but have come together under one goal, to deliver Libya out of this ordeal. We are in agreement that this phase requires unity and synchronized efforts. Many NGOs and political parties have lost sight of what is important right now, to put pressure on the congress and the government until we make our way out of this crisis situation.”

“What good is it to us if Libya is dragged into a civil war, that we leave it to the disposal of terrorists and extremists? Now is the time for cohesion, once security and the state are established, we can all go back to our individual efforts,” explains Bouod.

Reservations and Obstacles

There are many hurdles to moving past this difficult time in the country’s history.

For instance, Ghaddafi sympathizers continue to use media and other forms of propaganda to undermine the revolution and break down all that has been achieved so far.

The continued absence of a unified, professional security apparatus is, obviously, a significant problem for stability in the country

The media has become a major obstacle post-revolution as well. Most media outlets subscribe to a distinct agenda and are devoid of journalistic integrity and ethics.

Rather than supporting the democratic process and cultivating the kind of national unity that existed during the uprising, Libyan media has become a divisive agent and has failed to provide the people with accurate information. It acts as a distracting force, deflecting attention away from important issues by broadcasting political rumors and baseless accusations.

Adding to the country’s many challenges, civil society has failed to step up to the plate. Reflecting the state of Libyan society, civic activities remain exclusive, localized, and disorganized.

Civil society in Libya, though nascent, would benefit from outreach, coordination, and consistency in its work. Furthering such efforts through comprehensive awareness and education campaigns would allow for civic-minded activities to become more widespread and continue for longer periods of time.

The Egypt Debate

In Libya, reactions to current events in Egypt vary.

Some insist the two countries have little in common: Egypt has a strong army while Libya does not; Egypt has suffered at the hands of one group (the Muslim Brotherhood) while Libya has been victimized by many organizations; the political arena in Egypt is well developed while Libya’s remains nascent.

Others believe Libya would be wise to learn from its neighbors.

Political activist and nationalist, Ayman Grada, believes that, in light of Egypt’s current turmoil, Libya has a chance to expel unwanted forces, like the Muslim Brotherhood, which threaten the state’s legitimacy.

He describes the country’s current political dynamics as a conflict between nationalists and Islamists. A power vacuum left behind post-revolution has allowed Islamists to thrive. Grada argues that Islamists, which include a matrix of radical jihadists, Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), all share the same goal of establishing a caliphate.

In Libya, the Islamists have allied with various militias and have been involved in sporadic clashes with the Libyan Special Armed Forces, as well as the storming of the GNC earlier this year to forcibly pass the political isolation law.

Nationalists, on the other hand, are made up of a coalition of tribes from all over the country including those in the east that support federalism. This group calls for a national state and rejects the Muslim Brotherhood’s purported globalist agenda.

“The two groups are in a constant power struggle, reflected in a severe partisan ideological schism inside the GNC, that sometimes devolves into street fights,” says Grada.

Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood has already stirred trouble across the border. According to recent report, the Libyan chapter of the Brotherhood supplied Egypt’s Brotherhood with weaponry.

There is no clear indication where the Brotherhood’s loyalty lies, although it is certainly not with the state. Nevertheless, reconciliation efforts must be pursued to ensure the schism between Islamists and nationalists is resolved, and does not continue to hamstring the country’s progress

Conclusion

While specific details on events inside Libya are hard to come by, the general sentiment in the country is clear.

Libyans are outraged by violence that continues to torment their communities without resolution, and want a country that will protect their rights both legally and physically, through a national security service.

The people of Libya are reaching a point of no return. Should the government fail to act swiftly and engage the population, it will lose these individuals for good and further expose the country to terrorists and extremists.

The people of Libya must continue to remind the government and militias they have no more patience left – it is time for change in the country.

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Dispatches: A First Step toward Justice, for Some, in Libya

Libya is finally set to begin collecting evidence of crimescommitted by militias from the town of Misrata and people from Tawergha during the 2011 uprising to oust Muammar Gaddafi. This may be a first, hopeful step towards justice – but much needs to be done to ensure this difficult task is conducted fairly and thoroughly.

The Ministry of Justice announced on July 31, 2013, that a fact finding commission would begin its work, more than a year after the commission was established by a decree form the National Transitional Council.

Revolutionaries and civilians from Misrata have accused residents of neighboring Tawergha of siding with Gaddafi and his forces during the “17 February Revolution”. They have accused Tawerghans of committing serious crimes in Misrata, including unlawful killings, torture, and rapes, especially during the first months of the revolution, as Gaddafi forces besieged Misrata.

In August 2011, armed groups mostly from Misrata launched an onslaught on Tawergha, emptying the town, and subsequently looting and destroying its houses and rendering it inhabitable. Today, 35,000 Tawerghans were forced to leave their homes and now live in makeshift camps and private housing in Tripoli, Benghazi, and the South. Militias from Misrata have threatened Tawerghans with violence if they attempt to return. The Continued forced displacement of thousands of people amounts to a crime against humanity. Another 1,300 are missing or detained, mostly in Militia-run facilities in Misrata. Hundreds are dead.

The commission now has the daunting task of investigating these crimes and deciding which cases should be referred to the judiciary for prosecution and which people should receive compensation for their losses.

Despite the delay in launching investigations, this may be a step in the right direction. Authorities now need to show they are committed to justice by ensuring the commission is thorough, neutral, and independent. Much is at stake, and victims, from both sides, need to see a radical shift in the government’s attitude toward achieving justice.

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Seif Gaddafi Appears on TV in Libya for the First time

Tripoli—Gaddafi’s son Seif appeared on a Libyan TV channel Tuesday night for the first time since he was captured in 2011. He seemed nervous but in good health and insisting he would rather be tried in Zintan city.

In a brief interview obtained by Al Aseema TV channel, Seif Gaddafi said he was in good health, that he is being visited by human rights organizations and that he would rather be tried in the city of Zintan where he is being currently detained.

Prison authorities in Zintan agreed to the interview with Al Aseema TV after widespread rumours alleged that Seif escaped from prison and he had already left the country.

Both these authorities and the Libyan government in Tripoli wanted to bring an end to such rumours which have been used by some political factions to create instability in the country.

New details emerged in the interview about how Seif was captured in the early morning hours of 19 November 2011 in southern Libya.

Other new details were revealed in relation to the arrest in June 2012 of Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor as she smuggled electronic devices to Seif in prison. Taylor, a lawyer was appointed by International Criminal Court (ICC) to defend Seif.

Colonel Al Ajami Al-Atairi, commander of the brigade that captured Seif and which now securing his prison, revealed the name of the individual who was first to tip that there would be a VIP from the Gaddafi regime who was to secretly flee the country to neighboring Niger.

Not knowing who would be the VIP, Colonel Al-Atairi said he took necessary contingencies to monitor all escape routes that the suspected caravan may lead.

Al-Atairi was in command of a revolutionary brigade that was tasked with the mission to secure the southwestern part of Libya.

A few days later two SUVs appeared. In first there were two people including the driver, Yousef, who was also the desert guide and an aide to Seif with the rank of a Colonel.

Seif was in the second car with two other people. He tried to hide his identity by putting his face in the sand and decided to escape only to change his mind as a result of the heavy gunfire in the air.

Al-Atairi said he was rather surprised when one of the men who were riding with him said the man whose face was covered with sand wad Seif Gaddafi. They were all taken to a nearby camp and then were flown to Zintan, 800 kms to the north.

During the very brief interview with Al-Aseema TV, Seif was kind of nervous. In the beginning his lawyer, Mohamed Bousenna consulted with him and went back to the TV crew to tell them that Seif declined to go on TV.

Later Bousenna returned and told the interviewer that he could only ask three questions: one about his health, another about whether he is getting visitors from family and human rights organizations and the third about the place of his trial. Here is a translation to the full brief interview:

Interviewer: How is your health, tell about your health?

Seif Gaddafi: ‘Al-hamdu liallah’ (thanks to God).

Interviewer: Do your family and human rights organizations visit you?

Seif Gaddafi: Yes, ‘Al-hamdu liallah’ (thanks to God).

Interviewer: What is the secret behind your saying that you wish to finish your trial in Zintan and you do not want to be transfer to Tripoli?

Seif Gaddafi: Is not Zintan in Libya? There is no problem. What is the difference between it and Tripoli?

Interviewer: Do not you see that there is a problem in Zintan?

Seif Gaddafi: You, do you see that there is a problem?

Interviewer: I am asking you?

Seif Gaddafi: Is Zintan in Libya or outside Libya?

Interviewer: Inside Libya.

Seif Gaddafi: ‘khalas’ (then).

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Op zaterdag 16 november 2013 20:12 schreef Schurkenstaat het volgende:
Dat heeft het Westen allemaal keurig geregeld daar. Vrijheid, blijheid en democratie. Leve de revolutie.

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Op zaterdag 16 november 2013 21:58 schreef Aloulou het volgende:

[..]

Zoals je zelf al zegt heeft de overheid gewoon niet genoeg macht (militaire macht) om milities desnoods met wapengekletter te ontwapenen. Staat is zwak, vrijwel niet aanwezig. Niet alleen op dit gebied, maar alle gebieden. Zal nog wel aantal jaren duren op zijn minst, daarnaast blijft vergaand federalisme ook op de loer liggen.

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Op zaterdag 16 november 2013 23:31 schreef theunderdog het volgende:
http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/(...)eting-protest-libie/

Waarom doet de militie dit? De demonstranten vormde totaal geen bedreiging.

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Libya clashes: Misrata militia ordered out of Tripoli

"The demonstrations look as if they have been partly successful", reports Rana Jawad

Militia groups from the Libyan city of Misrata have been ordered to leave the capital, Tripoli, within three days following deadly clashes there.

Libya's deputy intelligence chief was abducted on Sunday but has since been freed, military sources told the BBC.

Two years after its revolution, Libya still lacks a stable government.

The rival militias which helped topple Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 have so far refused to disarm.

No group has said it abducted the deputy head of the intelligence agency, Mustafa Nuh, but militias have seized senior officials before to get political leverage.

Mr Nuh was bundled into a car after arriving at Tripoli international airport on Sunday, but military sources told the BBC he was later released.

He was kidnapped with former rebel commander Alaa al-Hafs, who managed to escape, reports the BBC's Rana Jawad from Tripoli.

Mr Hafs told the BBC Mr Nuh had been taken captive by men from the western town of Zintan who had beaten him up.

Mr Nuh was freed following the intervention of the Shura Council of Zintan, made up of local elders, he said.

Zintan has the most powerful brigades in Tripoli and some of them are loosely attached to the defence ministry, our correspondent says.

Most of their bases are on the road leading to the airport, she adds.

Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was held hostage for several hours by gunmen in October, before being released unharmed.

Positive development

At least 43 people were killed on Friday and Saturday when Misrata gunmen opened fire on protesters who were demanding they leave Tripoli.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Misrata's local council and the council of elders said all militia groups from the city - without exception - must pull out of Tripoli within 72 hours.

The statement said Libya's national congress and government were responsible for securing Tripoli.

Shortly afterwards, Khalil al-Ruwaiti, who heads a unit under the Misrata Shield brigade, confirmed to the BBC that his fighters would leave the capital.

The Misrata Shield brigade is nominally attached to the ministry of defence, but - like other Shield groups - is viewed by people as having a semi-official status that can operate independently when it chooses to, the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli reports.

The brigade is not part of the militias which clashed with the protesters on Friday.

Emotions have been running high in Tripoli after the clashes, and Misrata's statement will be seen as a positive development, our correspondent says.
map

Dozens of protesters broke into the Libyan parliament on Sunday to demand action on keeping the militias out of Tripoli.

Libya's central government has struggled to keep control of militia groups from Misrata and other towns.

Tripoli remains tense and volatile. Most shops and schools are closed and many roadblocks have been erected by local residents and various armed groups.

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Op maandag 18 november 2013 21:50 schreef theunderdog het volgende:
Een miscommunicatie...

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"One of our sources reports that the Gharghour militia were under the belief that they were surrounded without a way out and called on their family and friends for help," the Shabab Libya website says. "Unfortunately, Misrata wrongly believed that the people active in the protest were Gaddafi loyalists and that this was a targeted attack on their city."

Misrata then responded by sending forces to Tajoura, on the eastern outskirts of Tripoli. The Libyan army denies running away in the face of their attack, but it does seem that militias – including the one from Souq al-Jumaa – were largely responsible for keeping Misrata’s forces at bay.

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Op maandag 18 november 2013 22:20 schreef Aloulou het volgende:

[..]

In die zin is het "goed" dat dit soort excessen plaatsvinden, verhoogt de druk op de politici en milities om te ontwapenen. Na dit weekend met vele doden is er weer heel breed vol afschuw gereageerd in Libie, van Tripoli tot halve separatisten in Benghazi. Men is het spuugzat, vandaar dat demonstranten zelf naar het kantoor van zo'n militie gingen. De regering heeft meer steun dan ooit om de milities ontwapenen.

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Maar Libie is sowieso een hardere samenleving dan veel andere Arabische landen. Men is heel eigenwijs en bereid problemen snel met wapens op te lossen, vaak op nogal een knullige manier. Een voormalige rebel gaat een geschil gewoon oplossen door met een rocket launcher die kerel thuis op te zoeken bijv....en ziet daar ook niets raars in. Of rijdt afentoe in zijn tank, die hij weigert af te staan aan de authoriteiten. etc etc.

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Op dinsdag 19 november 2013 06:19 schreef Gabrunal_2013 het volgende:

[..]

als khadaffi niet was afgezet, waren deze problemen er ook niet. Libi� was een vreedzaam en welvarend land totdat het westen zich ermee ging bemoeien en actief terroristen ging steunen.

twitter:

reportingLibya twitterde op woensdag 20-11-2013 om 20:10:09 #Libya Tripoli quiet again tonight. Barricades still up near Corinthia. Shops all closed but mood v calm. reageer retweet

twitter:

reportingLibya twitterde op woensdag 20-11-2013 om 12:50:48 #Libya Militias continue to leave Tripoli. Reports that some oil blockades east and west are to be lifted. Gas production back at Melittah. reageer retweet

quote:

Op dinsdag 19 november 2013 20:19 schreef Aloulou het volgende:

[..]

Ik heb Libiers altijd al dappere mensen gevonden. Eenvoudig, wat hard en "lomp" vaak genoeg, vaak traditioneel, maar de geschiedenis wijst uit dat als het moet ze echt hun mannetje staan tegen overheersers/onderdrukkers.

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Dit bloederige weekend zal de grote druk verhogen op de regering en milities om op te zouten. Men is ze echt helemaal zat en wil orde en wetten. In die zin kan de regering in deze daad om de milities op te heffen op heel veel steun rekenen.

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Hier een prachtige rap van een jonge anti-Khadafi strijder aan het front. Zijn liefde voor zijn land straalt ervan af, overigens maakte hij de video's tussen de gevechten door vaak. Prachtige foto's ook. En al voor de revolutie bekritiseerde hij Khadafi met gevaar voor zijn leven door liedjes anoniem op het internet te gooien:

ابن ثابت - الجبل الغربى Ibn Thabit - Western Mountains (of Libya)

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Op woensdag 20 november 2013 23:24 schreef Aloulou het volgende:

[..]

Na de revolutie ben ik er eenmaal geweest kort, vier dagen (Tripoli), omdat we familie daar hebben. Werken gigantisch veel uit Tunesie (mijn afkomst) en Egypte omdat Libiers zelf niet echt werken en de economie van eerder genoemde landen in puin ligt. Heb er zelf ook familie zitten (mannen) die er werken en dan een keer in de drie/vier maanden teruggaan voor lang weekend. Het is alleen wel erg onveilig helaas, je moet er echt uitkijken. Zou er nu niet snel meer naartoe gaan, ff wachten tot het wat rustiger gaat worden.

quote:

Eerst moet de regering het leger verder uitbouwen en meerdere milities in op laten gaan die wel loyaal aan de staat zijn. En dan kunnen ze pas ook met geweld desnoods andere onwillige milities ontwapenen. Denk dat het probleem is dat ze de militaire kracht er nog niet voor hebben. Gewone Libiers hebben al aardig grote wapens, laat staan milities.

quote:

Buiten dat heeft Libie een groot voordeel vergeleken bij Tunesie en Egypte (die ook revolutie kenden) en dat is dat het ontzettend rijk is qua grondstoffen. Met maar vijf miljoen mensen moet Libie dus ook economisch en financieel gezien goede stappen kunnen maken. Vandaar dat je ziet dat er ook internationaal wel interesse is om zaken te doen met dat land, ondanks de onveiligheid bijv. Ook in het leger kan men dus investeren.

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Libya's Army Finally Fights Back

In the early hours of Monday morning, the streets of Benghazi witnessed heavy fighting between the units from the national army's Special Forces units and extremists militants from the jihadi group Ansar al-Sharia. The clashes left nine dead and dozens injured, including civilians.

Ansar al-Sharia is the same group suspected of killing United States Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens during an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi in September 2012. The latest clashes erupted when Ansar al-Sharia militants targeted one of the Libyan army's special forces units in the city, according to Wanis Abu Khamada, the special forces commander. Ansar al-Sharia has been putting out a rather different version of events. The jihadis claim they were harassed by soldiers from the Special Forces at a checkpoint near their headquarters in Benghazi. In this version, the army was trying to provoke Ansar into fighting, thus giving the government an excuse to campaign against their presence in the city.

Residents of Benghazi took to the streets in support of the army, denouncing the actions of Ansar al-Sharia and repeating the call for all militias in the country to be disbanded. (The photo above shows participants in the demonstrations holding a poster that says "I love Benghazi.") This is not the first time that Ansar al-Sharia has been the target of public anger and mass protests. Following the killing of Ambassador Stevens, thousands marched in Benghazi against the group and managed to drive them out of their bases and out of the city altogether. Nevertheless, Ansar al-Sharia returned to the city quietly a few weeks later. Its members carried on their activities with a special focus on charitable work in a bid to win public sympathy and support. But this public relations effort was successful only up to a point.

The latest clashes in Benghazi are significant because this is the first time that government forces have confronted armed militias in the city. After hours of fighting, the army units managed to push Ansar al-Sharia out of their strongholds in Benghazi and took control of their bases. It remains unclear where the bulk of the group's forces have gone, or if any of the militants have been arrested. On Wednesday morning, at least four special forces members were killed in a suspected Ansar al-Sharia attack on a checkpoint east of Benghazi. Over the last few days, the situation in Benghazi has been tense and fighting continues both inside the city and in towns to the East.

The Benghazi Local Council, civil society groups, and the council of elders in the city have called for a general strike until the authorities in Tripoli take serious action to shore up security. The national army and police have been sidelined for some time, while preferential treatment has been given to armed militias that have coerced the government to strengthen their position by demanding legal and political recognition (not to mention billions in financial support).

During his visit to Benghazi on Monday, Prime Minister Zeidan and other government officials supported the people's demands to disband the militias and to extend official recognition only to the national army and police forces. Yet there are still some significant political forces within the national parliament that continue working hard to protect the interests of militias that are linked to them either politically or ideologically.

Although government forces have successfully pushed Ansar al-Sharia out of Benghazi for now, many locals fear the militia may choose to retaliate. In particular, some observers worry that the group may be changing its tactics. As the people of Benghazi and the armed forces join hands against the militants, public places could become a prime target for attacks. These fears were reaffirmed when a member of Ansar al-Sharia's Shura Council appeared on Libyan TV and declared the government, army, and lawmakers to be infidels, while promising death to those who oppose the jihadis' strict application of sharia law. Other figures from Ansar al-Sharia tried later to play down his comments.

For the authorities in Libya to succeed in controlling the security situation and the threat that armed militias pose to the country's democratic transition, they need to localize their efforts. They have to empower local security agencies and commanders throughout the country by granting them appropriate authority to respond to local communities' needs. In addition, local police and army forces must have the political and financial support of the central authorities in order to feel confident that they can take full responsibility for local security arrangements. Localization would also help to counter recruitment campaigns by armed groups such as Ansar al-Sharia, which sometimes offer an attractive alternative to the many unemployed young men in the country.

U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Richard Schmiere came up with a fitting summary of the situation in Libya during his recent testimony to a Senate subcommittee: "Libya is not one big mess, it is a bunch of little messes that are not very related." The Libyan government and its allies in the West need to acknowledge this reality and incorporate it in their plans to bring stability. Security, political, and economic efforts must be localized to help resolve those "little messes." "One size fits all" won't work.

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Libyans Remain Optimistic About the Country's Future, Despite Security Concerns

Despite the slow pace of Libya’s political transition and continuing security concerns, a new public opinion survey reveals that Libyans remain optimistic about the country’s future even though they believe the government’s performance is poor and they voice growing dissatisfaction with Libya’s elected legislature, the General National Congress (GNC.) The survey also details citizen’s opinions on the development of Libya’s new constitution, the status of women, and views on Libyan political parties and leaders.

NDI, in partnership with Copenhagen-based JMW Consulting and the Libyan firm Diwan Market Research, surveyed 1,200 randomly selected Libyan nationals from across the country, ages 18 and older, from September 10 to 30.

The nationwide survey is the second in a three-part series launched in May to evaluate changes in Libyan public opinion as the political transition proceeds. Findings from the current survey reveal that most Libyans view elected institutions, leaders, and political parties with increasing negativity. At the same time, a majority of Libyans still believe democracy is the best form of government, and they associate democracy with elections and the protection of rights and freedoms. The findings provide Libyan leaders in political parties, civil society organizations and the government with timely, relevant information on public opinion that can inform policies and make them more responsive to citizens’ interests and needs.

Some key findings from the poll:

- Eighty-five percent of Libyans say that democracy is the best form of government and 89 percent identify elections, protection of rights and freedoms, and the right to criticize those in power as the most important characteristics of democracy.
- Sixty percent of Libyans now describe the GNC’s performance as poor, a 23-point drop in favorability from survey findings in May.
- Seventy-one percent of Libyans say that women should play a greater role in politics and 78 percent support a quota to ensure women’s representation in a future national legislature.
- Only 32 percent of Libyans think that the country is better off now than before the 2011 revolution, however 65 percent believe that in three years, Libya will be better off.
- Ninety-two percent of Libyans identify the right to education, right to medical care, right to work, and protection from torture or inhumane treatment as very important principles to enshrine in the new constitution.
- Libyans overwhelmingly support efforts to disarm militias that do not presently abide by government authority, regardless of whether these militias were formed during or after the 2011 revolution.
- Only 25 percent of Libyans feel Shari’a (Islamic law) should be the sole source of legislation in the new constitution, down from 37 percent who held the same view in May.
- This survey, the second of three NDI isl undertaking as part of its ongoing public opinion program in Libya, was funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Libya’s Cache of Toxic Arms All Destroyed

WASHINGTON — Even as the international effort to destroy Syria’s vast chemical weapons stockpile lags behind schedule, a similar American-backed campaign carried out under a cloak of secrecy ended successfully last week in another strife-torn country, Libya.

The United States and Libya in the past three months have discreetly destroyed what both sides say were the last remnants of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi’s lethal arsenal of chemical arms. They used a transportable oven technology to destroy hundreds of bombs and artillery rounds filled with deadly mustard agent, which American officials had feared could fall into the hands of terrorists. The effort also helped inspire the use of the technology in the much bigger disposal plan in Syria.

Since November, Libyan contractors trained in Germany and Sweden have worked in bulky hazmat suits at a tightly guarded site in a remote corner of the Libyan desert, 400 miles southeast of Tripoli, racing to destroy the weapons in a region where extremists linked to Al Qaeda are gaining greater influence. The last artillery shell was destroyed on Jan. 26, officials said.

As Libya’s weak central government grapples with turmoil and unrest, and as kidnappings and assassinations of military and police officers accelerate in the country’s east, American and international weapons specialists hailed the destruction of the Libyan stockpile as a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy security environment.

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Libya's football team

Something to celebrate

IF THERE was one image that captured Libya’s joy at winning the African Nations Championship final on Saturday night, it was a grainy shot of Tripoli teenager Ali Zoghdani draped in the Libyan flag and kneeling in jubilation as heavy rain drummed on his grinning, upturned face. The photograph, taken by his brother Omar on a phone as they celebrated with thousands others in the city’s landmark Martyrs Square, soon went viral on Libyan social media. "Football has reunited us in love for our one Libya," said Ali. "We get to smile again."

By beating favourites Ghana 4-3 on penalties in Cape Town's stadium, Libya clinched its first continental football title. Liby'’s best performance up to that point was playing the final of the main African Cup on home ground in 1982, when it lost to Ghana, again on penalties. But for Libyans, reaching and winning the championship final this year was always going to be about so much more than football.

Three years after they rose up against their eccentric ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libyans are disillusioned with the pace of change in a country riven by growing factionalism and regionalism as it struggles in its journey from dictatorship to democracy. What optimism still exists is increasingly ragged, as polarisation across political and ideological lines deepens. The fact the African Nations tournament was initially scheduled to take place in Libya but was cancelled due to continuing insecurity was another painful reminder of the country’s challenges.

"Hope and despair have wedded this Libyan heart to a small yellow ball in Cape Town stadium," tweeted Libyan novelist Hisham Matar just before the kick-off. Crowds of jeans-clad youth and elderly men in traditional garb thronged squares across the country to watch the final on giant screens. Tripoli, the capital, came to a standstill as the game went into extra time and then penalties. The suspense was such that one Islamist member of congress said he could almost not bear to watch. When the Libyan team lifted the cup, every town and city echoed to a symphony of fireworks, celebratory gunfire and patriotic chants. The government announced a national holiday as the country celebrated more than it had at any point since the fall of Gaddafi.

The players, most of them in their twenties, are drawn from right across Libya, hailing from Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, Zawiya and other towns. No wonder then that several Libyans quipped that the country’s bickering and increasingly unpopular politicians could learn much from them in terms of working together. The footballers are expected to make a victory tour of Libya’s major cities on their return, beginning in Benghazi and taking in Sabha, the southern town recently wracked by clashes. More than simply winning a football match, Libya’s youthful team has brought a country and its people together—at least for one night.

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Libya: Critical TV Bans Setback for Speech

Reverse Punitive Scholarship, Salary Cuts for ‘Anti-February 17 Revolution’ Students and Employees

(Tripoli, January 27, 2014) �– A new decree passed by Libya’s parliament banning satellite television stations critical of the government and the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi violates free speech and Libya’s Provisional Constitutional Declaration. The decree was passed January 22, 2014. The government also slashed scholarship funding for students abroad, along with salaries and bonuses to employees who take part in activities “inimical” to the revolution.

“You’d think that Libyans learned long ago that suppressing speech, no matter how harsh, does nothing to foster security or peace,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. “The best way to confront opinions that the government doesn’t like is to challenge them with better ideas that will convince Libyans.”

Decree 5/2014, “Concerning the Cessation and Ban on the Broadcasting of Certain Satellite Channels,” passed by Libya’s parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), on January 22, instructs the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Communications, and [Mass] Media to “take necessary steps required” to halt the transmission of all satellite television stations that are “hostile to the February 17 revolution and whose purpose is the destabilization of the country or creating divisions among Libyans.” It further instructs the government to “take all measures” against states or businesses in territories from where the channels are broadcast if they do not block the transmission of these stations.

The decree violates freedom of expression because it censors a wide range of speech, including peaceful political dissent, and its broad and vague wording is open to arbitrary implementation, Human Rights Watch said. While the government could lawfully ban speech that is found to directly incite violence, it should not ban all of a satellite channel’s broadcasts even if some of the speech that it disseminates is found to incite violence. Human Rights Watch urged the government to revoke the resolution.

The ban appears intended to block satellite stations that have taken a pro-Gaddafi position in their editorial content; in particular, it appears aimed at a pro-Gaddafi station, al-Khadra Channel, and al-Jamahiriyah.

Libya’s government also passed Resolution 13/2014 on January 24, discontinuing scholarships to students studying abroad and salaries and bonuses to Libyan employees, for “taking part in activities inimical to the February 17 revolution,” which is widely understood to encompass statements and protests against the current government. It calls on Libyan embassies abroad and others to draw up lists of names and refer them to the Prosecutor General for prosecution.

“These efforts to sanction Libyans who don’t support the revolution or the current government should be an embarrassment for all those who pledged a new era of freedom for Libyans,” Whitson said. “Punishing students and employees who don’t toe the government’s political line is a tactic that should have ended with the fall of Gaddafi.”

The government’s effort to ban pro-Gaddafi media comes in the context of a difficult political and security environment. Seemingly pro-Gaddafi armed groups in southern and western Libya have engaged in pitched battles against pro-government forces, resulting in at least 154 deaths and 463 injured people according to an Agence France Presse report. In the past year, armed groups and unknown assailants assassinated at least 70 Libyans associated with the Gaddafi government, mainly former members of the Gaddafi security forces, but also political opponents of Gaddafi, and judges, with virtually no arrests by the government.

It is unclear how the Libyan government will enforce this ban against satellite stations operating outside of the country.

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Libya: Muammar Gaddafi's secrets finally revealed

Since Muammar Gaddafi's ignominious death at the hands of a rebel mob in October 2011 much has been written and said about him. But now a new film, with unprecedented access to those close to Gaddafi, provides a comprehensive study of Libya's brutal and contradictory long-time leader.

Ali Aujali, Gaddafi's former ambassador to the United States, is an exceptionally charming man.

He is also something of a magician. He began his career in the Libyan diplomatic service a couple of years after Gaddafi seized power in 1969.

In a series of postings from London to Latin America, he explained away the excesses of the Gaddafi regime. So I was rather surprised to sit with Mr Aujali surrounded by the staggeringly ornate Libyan embassy in Washington and hear him tear the colonel to pieces.

Mr Aujali defected to the rebels in February 2011 and became their ambassador to the United States.

According to him, there was literally nothing good about the man whose regime he had served most of his adult life.

Secret after secret spilled out. We checked as many of his claims as we could.

There were anecdotes we could not follow up, such as his claim that a young man had been tied to two cars and ripped in half after complaining that Gaddafi had had sex with his wife.

But there were other claims we could check.

One was that on 22 December 1992, almost four years to the day after Pan Am 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, a Libyan Arab Airlines 727 was shot down on Gaddafi's orders.

A total of 157 people - Libyans and foreigners - had died.

Its flight number, curiously, was 1103.

The wreckage of Flight 1103 on the outskirts of Tripoli

After Gaddafi fell, the British wife of one of the victims tried to get the new Libyan government to open an enquiry.

Reporters pieced together statements made by pilots of military jets in the area, air traffic controllers and airline employees.

But what was important about Mr Aujali's statement to us was that it was the first time a true insider had spoken out.

Was he sure? "100%," he said.

A bomb with a timer had been placed on board the plane. When it failed to detonate, Gaddafi ordered the plane to be knocked out of the sky, near Tripoli airport.

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Celebrations, and Unease, in Libya on Anniversary of Uprising

Rockets exploded in showers of sparkles over Martyrs’ Square here on Monday, and thousands of Libyans raced their cars up and down the coastal highway, flying flags and honking their horns in celebration of the third anniversary of the start of the uprising that overthrew the longtime ruler Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Libyans complain that their leaders have squandered the revolution, engaging in power struggles and enriching themselves while doing little to improve the lives of citizens. Carjackings and kidnappings are so frequent that some people even lament the bygone security of Colonel Qaddafi’s dictatorship and call for a new strong hand to control the many militias and criminals at large.

Yet the enthusiasm for the revolution that rid the country of the “tyrant,” as many refer to him, is still emphatic and widespread. The crowds in Tripoli, the capital, appeared undaunted even when a small car bomb exploded just yards from Martyrs’ Square. The front seats of the car were damaged, but no one was wounded.

“It means everything to me and to the Libyans,” said Abdul Hedi al-Kikli, 58, who took his family three years ago and went to join rebels in the mountains.

“We may have some negativity now, but it will not last,” Mr. Kikli said. “I don’t care about the situation now. What we have done is lay the foundations for change. It is for the next generation, even if our generation might not know democracy.”