Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World. Annual Report. 2004
Published July 2005

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Libya
 

Capital : Tripoli

Date of Independence : 15/6/1951
Area : 1,759,540 Km
Population (in millions) : 5.8 (est. 2005)
Rate of Population Increase : 2.39% (est. 2005)
Ethnic Groups : 97% Arabs & Berbers, 3% Greeks, Malts, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians & Tunisians

Religious Groups : 97% Muslims (Sunna), 3% Other religions
Illiteracy : 17%
No. of Provinces : 25 municipalities
Polity : Republic
Head of State : Colonel Moammar Khadafi
No. of Political Parties : There are no political parties
GDP (in millions)ppp : $ 37,480 (2004)
GDP per Capitappp : $ 6,760 (2004)
 

Overview

After centuries of Ottoman rule Libya was invaded by Italy in 1912, then occupied by the British in the wake of the Second World War. In 1951, the pro-Western king Idris of Libya succeeded in gaining his country’s independence. In 1969, Colonel Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi seized power in a military coup amidst growing anti-Western sentiments, particularly against the giant oil companies and the military bases in the region. During the 1980s and most of the 1990s Qadhafi espoused a policy of virulent hostility towards the West. His sponsorship of terrorism, specially towards Western interests, and his assassination of Libyan political dissidents living abroad, made him an international pariah. The suspected Libyan involvement in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland prompted the United Nations in 1992 to impose a broad range of sanctions on Libya. The United States on its own had already imposed sanctions on Libya because of its sponsorship of terrorism. With the economy stagnating and the country’s infrastructure in a state of advanced deterioration as a result of the sanctions Qadhafi took radical steps to end Libya’s international isolation. He handed over for trial in a Scottish court the two Libyans suspected of executing the Pan Am bombing (one was acquitted and the other sentenced to life), and paid billions of dollars in compensation to the families of the victims of the bombing. Likewise, he paid compensation to the families of those killed in the bombing of a French plane downed over Niger in 1989. While working to improve his image abroad, Qadhafi has become increasingly estranged in the Arab World. Increasingly critical of the Arab countries for not having supported him during his years of isolation, and for their political failure to assume a common policy with regard to the Palestinian and other problems, Qadhafi, once a foremost leader of Arab unity, now disengaged himself from his Arab neighbors and turned towards Africa.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

1. The Executive, Political Parties and Elections. The Libyan system (excepting that of Saudi Arabia) is unique among the forms of contemporary governments. It rejects political parties and considers any party activity treasonable. It likewise rejects the Western concept of democracy, espousing instead a so-called Third Way that is purportedly superior to both capitalism and socialism. In theory, the country is to be ruled through a series of grass-roots popular congresses, which together constitute the General People’s Congress (GPC). These congresses are then to select a General People’s Committee whose members are supposedly the heads of the various government ministries. The GPC is, ostensibly, the legislative forum. It is supposed also to act as the liaison between the masses and the ruler. In practice, however, Qadhafi exercises absolute authority by either direct intervention or through the manipulation of the various congresses and committees of this bizarre form of government.

2. The Judiciary, Trials and Detention. The Judiciary is not independent of the government. In fact there is no constitutional guarantee for its independence. A unique feature of the regime is that the Security forces have the authority to sentence people to prison terms without trial! Such summary judicial proceedings have been used as a means to suppress domestic dissent. Apart from the usual formal levels of courts of first instance, courts of appeal and the Supreme Court, special revolutionary courts try political offenses. Such trials are often held in secret, sometimes in the absence of the accused. The security forces have extra-judicial power, specially in political cases, that enables them to by-pass the judiciary entirely. Arbitrary arrests are commonplace and torture is routinely practiced. The private practice of law is illegal; all lawyers must be registered members of a special department in the Ministry of Justice. By law the government may hold detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods; many are held in unofficial detention centers controlled by the Revolutionary Committees. Under the Purge Law which is intended to combat corruption, drug trafficking and atheism, tens of businessmen, traders and common people have been arbitrarily arrested on charges of corruption or the funding of Islamic fundamentalist groups (who are perceived to be a serious threat to the regime).

In 2002, the People’s Court in Tripoli tried 152 professionals, who were arbitrarily arrested four years earlier, for involvement with Islamic organizations. Two were sentenced to death, 68 received life imprisonment, 66 were acquitted and the rest received various prison sentences. In that trial, lawyers were not permitted access to the case files, nor were they allowed to consult with their clients. In fact lawyers were even denied attendance of most sessions of the trial and the judge appointed court clerks to stand in on their behalf. Presumably the lawyers could only submit written briefs. The entire trial and the sentences handed down were such a blatant travesty of justice that, under international pressures, the Qadhafi Foundation (headed by Qadhafi’s brother) interceded with the government, asking that the accused be released and integrated into society since there was no evidence that they perpetrate any wrong-doing against the regime. In February 2004, Amnesty International was granted, for the first time, permission to visit Libya to check on its human rights.

3. Civil Society and the Freedom of Association. The law permits the formation of civil associations, but the few that do exist are closely monitored by the government Revolutionary Committees and have little freedom. In November 2004, the RCs purged the association of Libyan writers from all individuals whose loyalty to the regime was deemed suspect, and in December 2004, the government again intervened in the Lawyers Syndicate and revamped its structure and by-laws. Independent trade unions and professional syndicates are prohibited, and workers are not permitted to organize in unions. Workers however, may join the National Trade Union Federation, which is controlled by the People’s Committee system. The Constitution does not provide for the freedom of assembly, and no public assembly is permitted without prior government approval which is denied unless the meeting supports the government’s positions.

4. Freedom of Speech and the Media. The Libyan Constitution guarantees the right of free speech “within the limits of the public interest and the principles of the Revolution”. This vague indeterminate clause has imposed a serious restriction on freedom of speech and opened the door to numerous violations by the government against the rights of citizens, facilitated and augmented by the operation of a pervasive system of informants that created an atmosphere of distrust at all levels of society. The 1991 law of “Fostering Freedom imposes capital punishment on anyone whose “life constitutes a danger to society or could lead to its dissolution” (!) or anyone who opposes the principles of the September Revolution.^* Thus all political activity is fraught with grave dangers. However, of late, the Libyan government has shown a greater level of sensitivity to the issue of human rights and in 2001, 2002 and 2003 has released hundreds of prisoners detained on offenses related to freedom of expression. In an odd move the Qaddafi Foundation on 17/3/2004 sued the Ministry of Interior for violating human rights. But it remains that freedoms of speech and the press are severely limited, especially with regard to criticism directed at Qadhafi or the government. The regime, however, has shown some tolerance to differences of opinion in the People’s Committee meetings. The government owns and controls both the print and broadcasting media. The state publishes a daily newspaper (with a circulation of about 40,000) and the Revolutionary Committees publish several smaller newspapers. The government does not permit the publication of any opinions contrary to its own. All foreign publications are severely censored. JANA, Libya’s official news agency, is the designated organ for the regime’s views. Access to the Internet and Satellite television is widely available.

5. Freedom of Religion. Freedom of religion is restricted only in so far as concerns militant and fundamentalist forms of Islam. Other faiths are tolerated. Most Islamic institutions are under state control, and Islamic groups whose beliefs and practices deviated from the state’s approved teaching of Islam were banned. Christian churches operate openly, but the building of churches is restricted by the government to one church per denomination per city. On 4/10/2004 Qaddafi expressed readiness to compensate Jews who fled Libya as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict, with the proviso that these Jews have not taken over in Israel a home that previously belonged to an Arab.

6. Women and the Marginalized. The Libyan Constitution prohibits any discrimination based on gender, but traditional attitudes and practices continue to discriminate against women. Qadhafi has called for greater opportunities for women in education and the workplace, has enlisted women in the military, and established a committee for the purpose of greater incorporation of women in public life. In 1980s Qadhafi sought greater freedoms for women by challenging traditional Islamic customs that impeded women’s emancipation. He criticized imposition of the headscarf for women, or the necessity of a male guardian to accompany a traveling woman. But by the mid 1990s Qadhafi modified his liberal policy toward women in order to counter and preempt the Islamists’ criticism of his regime. In 2003, however, women were enlisted in the traffic police force, and were called upon by Qadhafi to take up military training and to assume a greater role in development of their community. Although the status of women remains unequal to that of men, the opportunity for women to make notable social progress has increased in recent years. Thus female participation in the workforce, particularly in services, continues to increase despite the persistence of traditional mores that do not encourage women’s participation in public life.

The Berbers: The small tribal Berber minority in Libya continues to suffer overt discrimination. Public display of their culture is prohibited nor is it permitted to use Berber names in registering birth certificates or in any other official document. Law No. 24 of 2000, seemingly with an eye on the Berbers, has also banned the use of any language other than Arabic. But in November 2004 permission was granted to form an association that would study and disseminate the history and culture of the Libyan Berbers.
 

Prospects for Democratic Change
 

The Libyan regime is a dictatorship relying on an extensive security apparatus. However, there are some strong indications that the near future will witness a significant opening in the regime. Two steps are particularly telling. In May 2003, Qadhafi suddenly declared that “the people do not understand Socialism, hence it shall be abandoned in Libya”. This was followed by steps to privatize most public sector industries and encourage foreign investments. This shift to a free market–oriented capitalist economy is likely to promote a corresponding measure of political liberalization. The second element pushing in that direction also is Qadhafi’s new rapport with the West following the removal of sanctions against Libya. It is not far-fetched to expect that Qadhafi would court Western economic help to revive his country’s ailing economy after years of stagnation, by showing greater concern for democratic values and the human rights of his people. The authoritarian structure of the regime remains, however, unchanged, and it is difficult to imagine any genuine democratic change so long as the present regime remains in power.