Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Libya's Revolution: Five years on
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 21 - 02 - 2016

London School of Economics (LSE) Students Union MENA Society hosted a panel discussion entitled ‘‘Libya's revolution: Five years on'' to mark the fifth anniversary of the Libyan revolution to discuss the political crises in the country.
The talk covered a range of topics, including the current political crisis, human rights, prospects for peace and democracy, and the role of regional and international actors. It was then followed by a Q&A session with the audience made up of Libyan diaspora and those interested in Libyan affairs.
The speakers were Anas El-Gomati, Libyan journalist, analyst and author; Mohamed Al-Hamali, Libyan economics/politics and law graduate; Alaa Murabit, Libyan women's rights activist and Mary Fitzgerald, journalist, analyst and author.
Anas El-Gomati noted in introducing the Libyan scenario that the conflict in Libya was a resource war. There are transitions within democracies and that in Libya there has been a marriage between ballots and bullets.
But Libya was also caught in the crossfire of external actors too. The Libyan situation is much more complex than it is made out to be he explained. He warned that while we may get a so called unity government (the UN-brokered Government of National Accord – GNA) currently being hammered out between the various power centers, however, there is no all-inclusive peace deal.
Mohamed Al-Hamali attributed the failure of Libya's transition to three main factors. First the lack of political culture in Libya since 1969 noting that anyone born since 1969 would not have had an opportunity to take part in a Libyan election.
The last elections to be held in Libya during the reign of King Idris I were held in May 1965. Gaddafi carried out a coup against the Idris in September 1969.
Hamali felt that the second factor was the international intervention by NATO and the subsequent security vacuum it created and left behind due to the widespread availability of weapons and plethora of militias.
Alaa Murabit said that looking forward, history was the best teacher. She noted that the 17th February revolution did not start as a revolt against Gaddafi but started simply as a protest against injustice by the mothers of the massacred Abu Sleem prisoners.
Their protest was a scheduled protest that took place every Saturday. They had asked for justice and not regime change. It was their lawyer who raised the stakes which had invoked a military response from the Gaddafi regime, she explained.
Looking back over the last five years since February 2011, there has not been justice in Libya she added. Moreover, Murabit was of the view that there will be no justice even if a peace treaty is signed and a (UN-brokered) Government of National Accord (GNA) is formed in the coming days.
She felt that both women and the youth have been excluded from the process and are not central to the GNA. The GNA will therefore, not succeed, she proposed.
Murabit felt that Libya's problems and hence solutions are much deeper. They are not political she contended. The Libyan problem goes much deeper into the country's social fabric, she proposed. ‘‘Extremism is the least of my worries. Social disintegration is the real problem'', proposed the women right's activist. ‘'All should be included at the dialogue and negotiations table. Nothing will change in Libya unless we as Libyans change it ourselves'', she concluded.
Mary Fitzgerald who was in Benghazi within days of the 2011 revolution and has spent much time in Libya since has noted a mood change in the country as the transition period has dragged on. She noted the role being played by the so-called ‘'revolutionary legitimacy'' in the country's politics and how some were considering themselves more legitimate than others.
She was worried by the polarization, lack of consensus dividing the country and the loss of optimism enjoyed in the early years of the revolution.
She noted the economic realities of Libya's drastic fall in oil production, the crash in international crude oil prices, depleting foreign exchange reserves and the high demands on the state budget in the way of state-sector salaries and subsidies.
She noted that Libyan politicians had not fully taken heed of the Daesh threat which after the Sousse and Paris attacks had changed Europe's thinking and the political dynamics. — Libya Herald


Clic here to read the story from its source.