Gaddafi on the defensive

Libya is still in flames. A Gaddafi on the defensive tries his maximum to salvage his position. The more the protesters go on the offensive, the more he fights with his back on the wall. But going by the trends, the dictator is poised to taste defeat if not now, within one or two weeks. East Libya already under the occupation of protesters, Benqazi, next important city after Tripoli also under their occupation, their confidence too strong and are determined to fight to the hilt to force the dictator to flee the ‘throne', otherwise to kick him out. The man who well entrenched since 41 years in his saddle with nobody even to question or challenge his authority was drunk with power till recently. Because of that reason itself the first sign of resistance that too massive resistance has shaken him violently, it was something unexpected as far as he was concerned.

But his stubborn attitude of ‘not to say die' approach, his powerful militia and armory have so far helped him to launch a massive suppression - free killing almost 1000 citizens so far. Still he finds the resistance irresistible than he had expected and the thought of giving into the pressure of citizens he finds untenable. A man with king-size ego cannot even imagine in his dreams the thought of even inviting the protesters for a negotiation as he considers himself the Almighty of Libya whom nobody could even touch. It is really a dark wonder that the people of Libya were tolerating such a man, even afraid of this man who could force them dance to his tunes like puppets. But as anywhere a dictator, however powerful and iron-fisted he is will have to do a climb down in the face of massive resistance by citizens who can't any more resist the brutal ways of their ruler. Gradually step by step they group under one umbrella shedding their fears and apprehensions, go on the offensive, sometimes they might taste defeat, still not being taken aback they will group together to fight against the dictatorial menace.

We could read about several such dictatorships crumbling down under the might of collective resistance of citizens power we could witness many dictators fleeing away with their tails tucked in between their legs some even getting salvation even by angry mobs, pointing out each a difficult task as the list is endless, similarly is the fate of Muammar-al-Gaddafi like that of Tunisian dictator Zine-El-Abidine-Ben Ali, Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharaf, Nepal Monarch King Gyanendra etc etc.

With international pressure mounting on Gaddafi, his confidents are defecting one by one, army personnel too joining the protesters thus weakening Gaddafi's strangle-hold on Libya with the passing of each day. There are talks of forming a parallel administration by the defected leaders like Interior Minister and once a close confident of Gaddafi. Arab League has asked Gaddafi to stop the genocide and International Criminal Court is closely watching the situation. One day, if matters are going on like these we could very well see this man booked as a culprit by ICC. Security Council has passed a resolution asking Gaddafi to stop the brutal suppression herewith, US, Britain and France are busy mulling financial and weapons sanctions as also Germany. US President Barack Obama has asked Gaddafi several times to withdraw from the scene or to stop forthwith the killing spree of citizens. International pressure is mounting upon him and the man finds himself in a vicious circle. The thought of vacating the saddle is like conceding defeat for him and that is unimaginable with Libya in the grip of massive rebellion. International crude oil prices have jumped up reaching US $120 per barrel each day which threatens each nation. The price is likely to go up in the event of the conflict turning more bitter and violent.

Non-resident Indians as well as people from other countries in large numbers are stranded there, without finding any way out some even fleeing to other nations.

The matters are in such a fluid situation and nobody is in a position to predict how long this conundrum would last, how long this dictator would stick to his position. Before a determined resistance don't think Gaddafi can hold on to power indefinitely.

The Impossible Democracy In Libya

In those last days, some people started to repeat that a democratic reformation is coming to Libya, and there serious steps will be taking about it; we could hear that there are supervisors coming from EU to supervise the democratic electoral boxes in Libya too.

     After the independence for more than half a century*; the Libyan state had started and couldn’t be a democratic one, and when we review the Libyan political history till now, we find that there is one defect still stand to reach the point that even someone with crazy mind could say, “It’s a democratic state.” 

      We all know there are several kinds of democracy; kingdom and republic,  those can be different in their application to the democratic rule in many ways according to their distinguish conditions, but they share one consideration which is that all the members of community are the same before the law.

      Libya has fallen into ideological dilemma which made its citizen does not know until this day, what democracy really is?

      The ideological dilemma is that old Libyan thinking, which made the king ( Idris al-Sanousi ) and his family’s members and all those who pleased them, are not ordinary people like the rest members of the Libyan community, and so during the short life of Libyan kingdom, democratic ideology could not grow in Libya.

       Then came ( Alfateh ) revolution and Libya became republic which later becomes ( Jamahiriya ), and authority, army and wealth as they claim now in people’s hand; so the Libyans become very glad that its leadership is from common people not from that holly Libyan families.

        However, what really happen after the revolution and bringing down the holly royal system, itself becomes holly-revolutionary system, so colonel ( Gaddafi ), and members of his family and all the members of his tribe are holly ones not ordinary people like the others in Libyan community.

         The Libyan becomes able to criticize Allah, but not able even to dream that he wants simply to criticize ( Gaddafi ), or a member of his family or his tribe.

          So how my friends we could be able to dream that in the coming period there is a slight possibility of democratic regime in Libya, unless all the Libyan community’s members are equal before the law, and we all know, that it is impossible for ( Gaddafi) , and his family to become an ordinary people again not as now holly ones.

           Therefore, please believe that there is no democratic system in Libya and will not be any, until the disappearance of those holly Libyan characters who make the Libyan similar to idol worshiper, although he knows it does neither harm nor use.

Abdulrazig Almansori

Tobruk – Libya

November 9 , 2004

 *     1- The Libyan kingdom from December 24 , 1951 to August 31 , 1969 .

       2- The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from September 1 , until now  .

 Note : April 14, 2008 : This article first published in Arabic at ( akhbar-libya.com ) website , and this is the first translation to English by Miss ( Zahra Ali ) .

Libyan Revolution Feb 22nd Libya Revolution News Libyan Revolution

libia wikipedia In Tripoli, the capital, residents reported seeing heavily and fighter jets and helicopter gunships rained ammunition from the skies. viale libia roma Senior Libyan officials and diplomats resigned in outrage over the attacks against civilians, maria libia bandera libia viale libia Two Libyan fighter jets landed in Malta on Monday. The pilots reported that they had been ordered to bomb Libya's second-largest city, Benghazi, the cradle of the six-day-old uprising. But the pilots chose to defect instead.

capital de libia libano capital libia argelia la libia
rts that Gaddafi had fled his country grew to the point that he made a bizarre appearance on state television in the early hours of Tuesday. As rain fell in Tripoli, he appeared getting out of a car, gripping an umbrella. "I am in Tripoli, and not in Venezuela," he said during the brief appearance.

Earlier, there were street celebrations in Benghazi, where anti-government demonstrators had reportedly taken control of the city from the Libyan security forces. Even there, buildings smoldered, plumes of black smoke rising to the sky. Sirens from ambulances melded with the sound of gun battles throughout the day.

It was impossible to verify the scope or precise details of the events unfolding in Libya, an oil-rich North African nation. Foreign journalists have been denied visas, and Internet access, phone service and other forms of communications have been largely cut. But in interviews with Libyan residents, exiles, diplomats, as well as in videos posted online, a picture emerged of a nation in the throes of the bloodiest revolution to so far emerge from the populist upheavals sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa. (ArticlesBase SC #4286986)