Libya: the stolen identity

When Muammar Al Gaddafi became Libya's head of state Europe was confronted with left-orientated students protesting against the antiquated beliefs of the older generation: they accused their grand-parents from keeping up moldy conservative principles and their parents to take this circumstance lying down. Revolutionaries like Fidel Castro or Ernesto Che Guevara were admired as icons of a new progression. Police, judges, university professors, even the press media were figured out as handymen of the political exploiters. The U.S. played in their eyes the role of the great oppressor who acted only for their egoistic advantage. Victims seemed to be all countries and societies of the socialistic second and third world.

Gaddafi's political ideas based originally on the ideas of socialism. But the fatal combination with elements of nationalism and totalitarianism turned his vision into a reign of terror. He consolidated the former multi-ethnical population with partially drastic methods; everybody who and everything what was not compatible with his ideas of islamic socialism vanished in a short term period. The national anthem 'Libya, Libya, Libya', introduced in 1951,the year of independence, was banned and replaced. The same had happened with the origin national flag, the red-black-green striped banner with the centered white crescent and star, was substituted for a universal green standard. The Berber tribes were not allowed to maintain their culture and their Tamazight language. Whoever had hold a different view had to expect a common life in exile if he didn't want to be imprisoned or sentenced to death.

The regime had believed the roots of the former Italian colony and the later constituted United Kingdom were all torn out and in the course of time forgotten due to the fact that the younger generations, born and raised in the Arab Republic Libya, had no more references to the history. Today we notice that it was a big mistake. Gaddafi has underestimated the collective memory of his own population. It's the resistance movement who recovered the forbidden signs and songs and who is now waving and chanting them, starting few months ago in Benghazi and heading irresistibly towards south and west of the country, accompanied by a strong, self confident youth identifying themselves with the ideals and values of a time they haven't witnessed.

From day to day more isolated the self-proclaimed revolution leader has to face the fact that this strategy finally has failed and that his political ambitions ended up in a dead end street. His notorious speech dated Feb 22, 2011 naming his own people 'rats' marked the irrevocable decline of his era. The ICC declared him a war criminal and in the best case he will be caught alive and brought to The Hague where he will be confronted with all the crimes against humanity he has to take the responsibility for such as appeal for mass murder and rape. The problem is indeed his never-surrender-mentality, based on a combination of narcism, infatuation, obstinacy and mainly persecution mania. He still believes devoutly in a worldwide conspiracy against his person led by the White House and Al Qaeda. And he still seems to have the necessary financial resources to pay all the mercenaries who protect his life, offer resistance against the Libyan National Liberation Army and terrorize the civil population.

Estimating Gaddafi won't be reasonable enough to give up it is to expect that he possibly could be killed by an NATO- or NLA-launched attack in the foreseeable future. The risks of an occurrence like this are a potential stigmatization and radicalization amongst his devotees acting from that moment as an underground movement and spreading terrorist assaults. So let's hope this will not happen and the people of a freed Libya can rebuild their war-shattered nation in safety.

The miracle of Cairo

In the beginning of 2011 it was never to be expected what would happen until now in the Maghreb countries and the arabian peninsula. Everybody who believed in a better world and who cared for values and principles like freedom, peace, respect, self-determination, equality of rights or justice sensed the global situation as kind of static. After the last big shattering end of the 80's when the Iron Curtain was falling down and the communist regimes were vanishing with more - Romania, former Yugoslavia - or less - East Germany, former Czechoslovakia - violence, it looked like this had been a long-term incident. The last revolution which has not ended in a multinational war and which has influenced strongly the society around the globe dated around 200 years back so the people thought the next eruption of change is gonna be coming at the earliest in 50 to 100 years.

But it took only 22 years. It was small Tunisia who started an uprise against their aged ruler Ben Ali. Together with his loyal household he systematically squeezed out the money of the country and their inhabitants - over more decades. Arguing for the safety of his own people to defend them from religious radicals and terrorists he was back-upped by the western nations giving him credits and selling him arms.

Meanwhile the whole situation for the Tunisians became worser and worser. Jobs were rare, staple food like bread became more and more expensive, disposal spread all over the land. It needed only a spark to raise a storm of protest against those dishonorable circumstances: the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi on Dec 17, 2010 who only wanted to earn some money for his family's surviving struggle. Not even a month later Ben Ali fled from the more and more powerful demonstrations against him and his regime.

At that moment the majority still believed in an unique incident. But the Arab and North African World was full of potentates like Ben Ali. And with the help of the internet the news about the effective revolt reached finally the frustrated and the underprivileged classes from Casablanca up to Sanaa. Would or even could there be a next one disposer whose days will be counted from now on? After Tunisia's riddance protests began in Algeria against Bouteflika, but they weren't as effective as the Algerians hoped for. The uniqueness of the Yasmine Revolution seemed to be confirmed.

Then the rebellion began to spread over Egypt. The demonstrators had also their symbolic martyr, it was Khaled Said, a blogger killed by police guards during an examination on June 6, 2010. Starting as protests for the freedom of speech and against the rigid governance of Hosni Mubarak thousands of Egyptians moved to Tahrir Square which became in the weeks thereafter another symbol. I remember well the giant banner with the words: 'People demand removal of the regime'. Mubarak who followed up Anwar El Sadat in the beginning of the 80's tried to pull out all the stops. He sent policemen to break up the resistance against him, followed by civil security commandos, he let disconnect communication systems as phone and internet, he commanded his military generals to end up the peaceful sit-in with the help of tanks and armed soldiers. But the movement was stronger. More and more citizens joined the protesters and several parts of the armed forces opposed against their leader by sheltering the demonstrators. It seemed that time ran out for Mubarak but the old man still refused to retire. Heavy debates followed about his possible successor and a transition period. The movement and the opposition stood firm: Mubarak had to leave immediately and without any compromises. In the late evening of Feb 10, 2011 I was sitting on TV hypnotized by the overwhelming pictures of Tahrir Square where hundred of thousands non-violent protesters celebrated their will to achieve their demands. Even here in the middle of Europe the revolutionary atmosphere was seizable. Everybody was expecting Mubarak's speech and everybody was waiting for those few words they wanted to hear from their unloved ruler: 'From this moment on I am no longer president of Egypt.' A simple sentence some may say but the reality became in that night bizarre and dramatic. Instead of his withdrawal Mubarak made only vage and cryptic concessions about the power transition. I felt myself sad and confused, as well as the millions of protesting Egyptians all over the land of the Nile whose expectations were disappointed. Would that frustration turn over in the worst case, the begin of a civil war? I couldn't switch of the TV that night, zapping between the different news channels back and forth. No bigger clashes or riots reported. The people suffered the regime over three decades, their patience would therefore last another day, another week, maybe another month.

In fact it wasn't even another whole day. Finally Mubarak isolated himself and left Cairo on Feb 11, 2011. The protesters had won, their main requirements were fulfilled. When I heard about it I felt satisfaction and gratitude that the whole time the Egyptians persistently abandoned any kind of escalating violence. And I am glad having been a contemporary witness of this historic moment which seems to be the starter for a big wave of change we are facing at.

The last image I have in my mind are the people of Cairo cleaning up the streets around Tahrir Square and showing their fellow countrymen and the rest of the world their way back to normality after the successful uprising.