Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Libya's future

The NY Times has an article ("Libyan Militias Turn to Politics, a Volatile Mix") about Libya's doubtful future. Some hope elections will bring more stability but it seems likely that some militia's will put pressure on "their" citizens to vote a certain way.

Some quotes:

In a poll of Libyans conducted in December and January by a research arm of Oxford University, only 15 percent of the more than 2,000 respondents said they wanted some form of democracy within the next 12 months, while 42 percent said they hoped Libya would be governed by a new strongman. Perhaps most worrisome: a significant minority, about 16 percent, said they were ready to use violence for political ends.
[...]
When a peaceful demonstration in Benghazi urged federalism, the interior minister — a militia leader from Misurata — publicly threatened to lead an armed force from his hometown to fight what he called a threat to national unity.
[...]
Former Qaddafi officials, who are also talking about forming a political party, say they hear an echo of the past. “They are speaking the same language we did,” said one former Qaddafi adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity for his safety. “We used force. They are using force. Nothing has changed but the flag and the national anthem.”


The solution would be for the West and all the other countries that supported the revolution to advocate the interests of all the disadvantaged groups of the moment like the Bedouin, the Gaddafi supporters and the black. Unfortunately this seems very unlikely given how hate-driven Western politics is nowadays.

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