WACKY GADDAFI TO PITCH TENT ON PARIS’S LAWN

at the Hôtel Marigny

Somewhere in Libya, which is somewhere in Africa, which is outside of the US

Port city of CYRENE founded by Greeks in 631BC

• Born c. 1942• “…came from a rural nomadic

tribe” (Collins 1974:16)• Devout Muslim• Worked his way up the military

ranks• “…at the forefront of student

rebellions” (Tremlett 1993:97) – a visionary leader who grasped the inequities between the Arabs and the Western imperialists

• September Coup, 1969• Turning Point: Suez Crisis of 1956,

anger at Anglo-American imposition on Arab affairs

• May 22, 1969: Oil agreement with Iraq and Algeria made to “Confront the exploiting [Western] companies”(Tremlett 147)

• King Idris seen as not serving the best interests of Libyans; a Western puppet who must be (and is) deposed

• “Led by an adamantly Arab nationalist Revolutionary Command Council chaired by Colonel Muammar Qaddafi,” the revolt promises to fight Western ‘imperialist’ influence (Collins 1974:3)

• To solidify his hold on power, Qaddafi uses clever techniques to destabilise the country in order to be the lone leader who rises above the internal strife– Pitts different classes of

people against one another (El-Kikhia 1997:85)

– Jamahiriya (State of the Masses) “ensures ‘direct popular democracy’ without the constraints of a national constitution, parliament, or political parties”

• “Qaddafi retains almost total power without accountability”(Ogunbadejo 1983:155)

• The African Union• seen by many Africans as a

humanitarian, $$$ into sub-Saharan states.

• BUT, highly controversial intervention in Chad in the late 1970s-early 1980s)

• “…attempt[ed] to justify his actions on the basis of Muslim-Arab affinities between the peoples of the Sahel and Libya” (Kokole 699); historical accuracy of stated link between peoples debated (700)

• Nigerian President Kountche intimated that Gaddafi did not represent true Islamic beliefs were “unable to control their quest for conquest,” and pursued a “hegemonic vision” over the Muslim Blacks (700)

Gamal Abd al-Nasser of Egypt was one of Qaddafi’s idols, but plans to successfully emulate Nasser’s work fall through; despite ideas of Arab unity, Gaddafi does not consider the different histories and cultures of the various Arab states (El-Kikhia 84)

• “Repeatedly, he calls upon the Arab states to unite against Israel and the West”(Tremlett 144); a common threat to the security of all Arab nations

• “advocates a pan-Arab oil policy, pooling all national resources against Israel” (147); trying to expel a Western-supported enemy in the Arabs’ midst, can only be together

• Libya establishes a common oil policy withIraq and Algeria

which “confront[s] the exploiting [Western] companies” (147)

• Explicit adoption of Islamic culture in the Libyan flag and coat of arms – both adopted in 1977 – and national anthem (“Allahu Akbar”) – adopted on September 1, 1969

• Islam seen as link between the Arab world and the peoples of the Sahel

• desire to unify the Arab-Islamic world belies the personal motives which guided him to pursue his deeds

• “…sees a visionary role for himself as the Arab leader and his country as the base…to achieve the much desired unity (Obundejo 157)

• Gaddafi has been “impelled to unite the Arab world…[so that he could] provide correct leadership to the Arab people” (Zartman 18)

• “sought to fill any neighbouring vacuum…particularly when Gaddafi saw socioethnic affinities as well”(19) – sees himself as ‘The Great Unifier’

The WordLibya – the place to take your armyLibya goes GreenLibya: foreign military free since 1970Italy and Libya kiss and make up The Security Council isn’t my friend:

GaddafiThe guilty party assigns the blameMother Russia’s cold winter was revenge

enough

This is your continent. This is your continent on structural adjustments

Libya 1, UN 0: ME&A cheer Libya onWill an unaligned nation please stand up?Memo to US and UK: no one thinks you’re

neutralGuilty before proven innocentUS redefines assault as compassionate

aid of a third party they’re really mad atOut, out damn imperialists!

Human Rights in Gaddafi’s Words...

• The Green Book, by Gaddafi, published 1975

• The Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era, adopted 1988

Unfair Trials• From The Great Green Charter of Human

Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era:– Article 9 - “Jamahiriyan society guarantees the

right to plead before a court and the independence of justice. Each of its members is entitled to a fair and honest trial.”

• Gaddafi called for abolition of People’s Court; finalized January 2005

• But many imprisoned by Court remain behind bars – Human Rights Watch

• From The Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era:– Article 2 – “Imprisonment may be used only against

an individual whose freedom represents an danger or a contamination for others.”

– “Jamahiriyan society proscribes any punishment that would violate the dignity and the integrity of a human being, such as forced labor or long term imprisonment.”

• “Dozens and probably hundreds of individuals are in prison for engaging in peaceful political activity.”– Human Rights Watch

• Persons held up to 15 years without being charged – United Nations

Torture, Death Penalty, Disappearances• From The Great Green Charter of

Human Rights of the JamahiriyanEra:– Article 2 – “Jamahiriyan society

prohibits any and all injuries, whether physical or moral, against the person of a prisoner.”

– Article 8 - “The goal of Jamahiriyansociety is to abolish capital punishment. In view of this, the death penalty should only be ruled against and individual whose very existence constitutes a danger or is deleterious to society.”

• Numerous deaths in custody not investigated – AI

• Torture used to extract confessions and as punishment

• claim to be revising death penalty –executions continue

• 1999 – 5 Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian intern arrested for infecting over 400 children with HIV in Benghazi hospital

• 2004 – found guilty; sentenced to death by firing squad

• 2007 – settlement reached with victims’families; sentences reduced to life in prison

• 2007 – released from Libyan custody, return to Bulgaria; bargain struck between Libya and EU

• retracted confessions, made under torture

• guards charged with torture, acquitted

Freedom of Press & Association• From The Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the

Jamahiriyan Era:– Article 18 - “The members of Jamahiriyan society

protect freedom.”• From The Green Book:

– “The press is a means of expression for society: it is not a means of expression for private individuals or corporate bodies. Therefore, logically and democratically, it should not belong to either one of them.”

• Countless arrests made due to criticism of gov’t and peaceful protests

• 2003 Penal Code draft included “provisions that prescribe the death penalty for activities solely amounting to the peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and association.” – Amnesty International

• From The Great Green Charter of Human Rights of the Jamahiriyan Era:– Article 21 - “The members of Jamahiriyan society,

whether men or women, are equal in every human respect. The distinction of rights between men and women is a flagrant injustice that nothing whatsoever can justify.”

• From The Green Book:– “There is no difference in human rights between man

and woman, the child and the adult, but there is no absolute identity between them as regards their duties.”

• Unprosecuted violence against women, status of women before marriage, female circumcision, “social rehabilitation”

• “Religion contains tradition, and tradition is an expression of the natural life of the people. Therefore, religion is an affirmation of natural laws which are discerned therein. Laws which are not premised on religion and tradition are merely an invention by man to be used against his fellow man. Consequently, such laws are invalid because they do not emanate from the natural source of tradition and religion.”

• “There is no other solution but to be harmonious with the natural rule, i.e., each nation has a single religion. When the social factor is compatible with the religious factor, harmony prevails and the life of communities becomes stable, strong, and develops soundly.”The Green Book

• April 15, 1986: Reagan ordered bombing against Libya, in Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 45 Libyan military and government personnel as well as 15 civilians, as well as Qadaffi’s daughter Hannah

• Libya returned fire, but the missiles missed.

• claims to rule by direct, popular democracy and “Islamic Socialism’

• has made attempts to improve his image in the West, but often to no avail.

• seen as an experienced and wise statesman, and even a humanitarian

• Libya opened up their weapons program to the world, but it was ignored

• Libya’s second attempt was after September 11th, when they pledged to fight Al-Qaeda

• Gaddafi was one of the first Muslim leaders to do this

• Supporters of the Iraq War claimed that his pledge was simply out of fear

• “I oppose localized incidents such as aircraft hijacking and hostage taking. But they are nothing compared with the terrorism America is practicing. We believe America is practicing all kinds of terrorism against Libya. Even the accusation that we are involved in terrorism is in itself an act of terrorism”.”– “An Interview with

Gaddafi”, TIME, June 8, 1981.

• "Irrespective of the conflict with America, it is a human duty to show sympathy with the American people and be with them at these horrifying and awful events which are bound to awaken human conscience." -September 11, 2001, “CBSNews.com: Global Outrage at Terror Attacks

• "I have nothing but scorn for the notion of an Islamic bomb. There is no such thing as an Islamic bomb or a Christian bomb. Any such weapon is a means of terrorizing humanity, and we are against the manufacture and acquisition of nuclear weapons. This is in line with our definition of—and opposition to—terrorism.”– “An Interview with Gaddafi”, TIME,

June 8, 1981"

“By the way, have you read the novel The Fifth Horseman, in which you figure as an apocalyptic nuclear terrorist?

• “Yes, but I mock such ridiculous fiction”.

-“An Interview with Gaddafi”, TIME, June 8, 1981