Revolt against Muammar Qaddafi - Essay Example

Module Module ID: Revolt against Muammar Qaddafi The dismissal and murder of the renowned former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi (1942—2011) is undoubtedly a remarkable incident of the contemporary era world affairs, which was heard by the entire world under the feelings of great suspicion and astonishment. The present paper aims to explore the causes, chronicles of events and consequences of the formidable revolt against this apparently one of the strongest dictators of the modern world organized and executed by the Libyan subjects after forty-two long years of his rising at the helm of the governmental affairs. The main objective of the paper includes making the exploration of the actual political scenario of the Libyan politics, which had experienced a significant blow during the last few years in the name of so-called ‘awakening of the Arab nations’ for introducing imperative alterations to the Afro-Arab politics to a great extent. The paper will also examine the reasons behind the unexpected revolt against the Qaddafi regime. The paper is also interested in investigating into the external factors, including the US role, in respect of toppling the Qaddafi regime for the establishment of a pro-American political system in the lines adopted by the European powers of colonial era for turning the weak and backward states to be their subjugated domains in order to introduce and enforce the policies of their choice as well as to force the small countries for developing social, economic, business and trade relations with the USA. Hence, the paper will portray a comprehensive scenario paving the way towards 2011 revolt in Libya in the light of internal and external factors controlling and regulating the rebellion and rebels at large. Muammar Qaddafi served as one of the most dominant and influential figures of the twentieth century Afro-Arabian political world, which left indelible impact of his political and strategic achievements in the entire region during the second half of the last century till the first decades of new century. By dint of his exceptional intellect, deep foresight and outstanding wisdom, he successfully played the role of a central figure in the national politics of Libya for over four decades, where he was the sole decision-maker of the fate of his country and its masses at large. Though, apparently, he was considered to be unconquered and supreme in national politics, who would sustain power till the last day of his life, Qaddafi became the victim of purported Arab Spring appeared by the mid of December 2010 with the big powers in its back, and encompassing the large part of the Arab world in its fold turn by turn (Anderson). Not only this that the Libyan subjects witnessed the change of government after a long period of time, but their Egyptian, Yemeni, Syrian and Tunisian counterparts also experienced the same in the form of the ultimate end of the long term despotic rulers of their respective states, which had been regulating the national politics for several years without any interference or break as well as without any proper democratic system in such an era that is particularly famous for offering complete and unconditional liberty of thought and action to the people belonging to divergent social, cultural, religious and political set ups and regions of the world without discrimination. It is therefore the world media has declared the change as a milestone in the history of the nations that had been leading a life equivalent to slaves in this age of enlightenment and technological advancements in general under the dictatorial rules of despotic and non-elected political leaders. Though Qaddafi regime is aptly criticized and condemned for observing cruelties and ruthlessness towards the masses, yet the regime introduced several imperative measures for the socioeconomic uplift of his people. It is therefore Ruth Allen argues that Libya’s position on the Human Development Index (HDI), determined by the UN authorities, looks far better than its neighboring states in various fields. As a result, the Qaddafi administration had provided with almost all basic needs to the Libyan subjects including economic healthcare and education facilities, job and employment opportunities, profoundly subsidized energy and food, as well as affordable recreational activities to all and sundry without discrimination. Somehow, the fate of the Libyan masses was not much different from their neighboring counterparts in respect of the freedom of speech and action on the one hand, and the power to elect the representatives of their choice on the other for forming government on democratic foundations. On the contrary, the dictatorial Qaddafi administration had applied the cruel and merciless measures in order to suppress the people raising voice against any type of tyranny and affliction inflicted upon the torch-bearers of democracy, freedom and liberty. In other words, the dictatorial Libyan regime used to crush its opponents under the chariot wheels of vindictiveness and spitefulness without taking the demands and words of the protestors to least heed even. As a result, no significant revolt could appear in the country that could create impediments and hurdles on the way to the dictatorial steps taken by the despotic rule in order to suppress their voice raised in demand of democratic political system in Libya for several years to go. Nevertheless, the country had witnessed tremendous growth in economic and financial matters, where Libya appeared to be independent one in making its national policies and implementing the same without any external threat or foreign aid altogether. The trade was brisk and people were leading a happy and prosperous life under Qaddafi. In addition, the Libyans were also granted with the share in the oil production, where their share used to get transferred in their personal accounts every month as royalty from the national product. It was actually the strong economic position of the country that Libya would survive under harsh and painful trade and economic restrictions implemented by the pro-American nations of the world in order to isolate it for challenging the American might and by going against the US policies regulating the world affairs in the name of purported New World Order. Thus, the Libyans looked leading a life amid the state of international isolation and national prosperity, along with the negation of their fundamental right of choosing the government through their votes. On the one side, the government was engaged in making big claims of changing the fate of the nation, and on the other side, all members of the Qaddafi-family were busy in plundering the assets of the country with both their hands in order to lead such a luxurious life, which could only be dreamed of in such a developing state like Libya. Muammar Qaddafi had handed over most of the governmental affairs to his sons, where they were thought to be his legal and constitutional heirs one by one after Qaddafi’s natural death one day (Ghali et al.). Qaddafi himself had turned his days and night such dreamful and luxurious that no one could expect from an enlightened leader of the contemporary era. His palace contained every sumptuousness and lavishness life offers to man, and he had designed his attires and residence out of the wealth attributed to his nation. In addition, he had appointed the beautiful and charming Amazonian female guards for his service, attendance and security, gorgeous appearance and exquisiteness of which could dazzle the eyes of the viewers at large. Nevertheless, fate decides its own rule to penetrate into the life of humans as well as to make decisions regarding the end of rules and governments at large. The same was the case with the mighty, affluent and supreme Libyan leader Qaddafi, whose despotic rule was gradually advancing towards its ultimate end eventually. Additionally, instead of restoring the constitution, in the aftermath of the situation had come to normalcy, Qaddafi enforced the law of his personal choice in according with the Green Book he had written in 1975. Consequently, the people wanted the restoration of the original constitution abolished by Qaddafi as well as the removal of despotic rule. Hence, the people appeared to be outrageous against the massive corruption, nepotism, favoritism and cruelty inflicted by the Qaddafi family on their opponents as well as all the people seeking peace, freedom and democracy in their country. Though the Libyan public denied any existence of democracy in the country, Qaddafi regime frequently claimed its presence in the country, where local government system had been in vogue since late 1970s, and Qaddafi served as mere a ceremonial head only. However, no one can deny the very reality that the totalitarian Libyan government used to move round the personality of Qaddafi, and they administration sought guidance from him at every national and international issue at large. The same was actually in fashion in the Libyan politics due to the truth that Qaddafi had appointed his closest relations, companions and confidants at various positions in all key military and civilian posts. As a result, the general public did not enjoy the basic rights attributed to the people of advanced and enlightened states of the world. The beginning of the year 2011 brought the news of the ouster of Qaddafi family from the Libyan politics for good. It was the second week of January 2011, when the protestors started raising demonstrations against the wide scale corruptions observed and patronized by the Qaddafi regime, particularly the corrupt sons of Muammar Qaddafi. The main issue appeared in the scenario included the corruption in the construction of building units, which gave a go to the rash of the people, who started organizing violent demonstrations in the big and important cities and trade hubs including Benghazi, Derna and Beyda. In the beginning, the situation appeared to be controllable one, and the Qaddafi administration did not find any serious threats to its survival. However, the violence erupted in other cities and regions too, encompassing the entire country in its fold within few days only. The Qaddafi administration started crushing the protestors by applying force, which made the protestors violent and aggressive subsequently. As a result, conflict and peaceful demonstrations turned into bloody clashes between the supporters and rivals of the government, and the demand for the ouster of Qaddafi at any cost and without any further delays. Though the government announced heavy aid of worth €20 billion (Weaver), in order to support the housing units project, it was too late to make amendments, as the situation appeared to be beyond any control altogether. The writers, intellectuals and teachers also added their share in the entire development by urging the masses to stand as firm as rock for their freedom and liberty by breaking the shackles of slavery, suppression, oppression and humiliation they had been undergoing at the hands of the cruel dictators and his family, friends and aides at large. The writings and encouragements accelerated the pace of the passion and ambitions of the rebels, who made joint efforts to successfully establish their check posts and military zones in various areas of the country. The fall of the great cities of Benghazi, Mistara and others was a sure feather in the cap of the rebels, which forced the allies of Qaddafi to start resigning from the civil and military positions gradually. Hence, the Qaddafi’s doomsday looked at hand by the end of February and mid of March 2011, though he ordered his forces to become more violent and ruthless towards the rebel in order to break their backbone eventually. On finding the situation getting worsened day by day, the US-led foreigner forces started deploying in Libya in the name of maintaining peace in the country. First of all, the Royal Canadian Navy Frigate launched its warships at the northern areas of Libya, which were supported by US, British and French military, navy and air-forces in order to force Qaddafi to surrender his power to the rebels (Dwyer). Somehow, Qaddafi turned out to be a hard enemy, who fought till the end. By June 2011, Qaddafi submitted to the people’s demand for free and fair elections; though neither the rebels nor the foreigner military forces paid any heed to it. On the contrary, Libya was bombarded by the Allies air-force, which was strongly protested by the Qaddafi administration. However, it provided a support to the rebels, who occupied many important areas of the country by September 2011, and confined the Qaddafi forces to Bab Al-Azizia and Sirte only. The anti-Qaddafi NTC forces applied blockade to the region, and at last killed Qaddafi in cross firing, along with hundreds of men, women and children belonging to the city. Hence, the dictatorial rule of Libya came to an end eventually on 20 October 2011 (Malone). To conclude, it becomes evident that dictators certainly meet a sorrowful end, though it takes a long time to get rid of them. Though the people’s role could not be denied in raising revolt against Qaddafi, yet it was actually the foreign intervention that decided the downfall and murder of the Libyan dictator. Consequently, safeguarding and projecting of the US political, economic and cultural interests in the entire region appears to be one of the most significant reasons behind the political upsurge in Afro-Arabian countries. Qaddafi’s son Saif-ul-Islam carried on his resistance till he was captured alive while attempting to flea from the southern part of the country. Works Cited Allen, Ruth. “Beyond Qaddafi: Libya’s Governance Context.” MercyCorps. Mercy Corps, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. < http://www.mercycorps.org/countries/libya/25657> Anderson, Lisa. “Demystifying the Arab Spring: Parsing the Differences between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.” Foreign Affairs, 90.3 (May/June 2011): 2-7. Print. Dwyer, Devin, and Luis Martinez. “Libya: U.S. Tomahawk Cruise Missiles Hit Targets in Libya.” ABC News. ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! - ABC News Network, 19 March 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. < http://abcnews.go.com/International/libya-international-military-coalition-launch-assault-gadhafi-forces/story?id=13174246> Ghali, Amine, Ibrahim Hegazy, Salam Kawakibi, Eberhard Kienle, Elham Manea, Saadawi Samir, Tobias Schumacher, and Jan Völkel. “The Arab Spring: One Year After Transformation Dynamics, Prospects for Democratization and the Future of Arab-European Cooperation.” Transformationsindex BTI 2012. Bertelmanns Stiftung, 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. Malone, Barry. “Gaddafi Killed in Hometown” Libya Eyes Future.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. < http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-libya-idUSTRE79F1FK20111020> Viscus, Gregory. “Qaddafi is no Mubarak as Regime Overthrow May Trigger a ‘Descent to Chaos’” Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P., 23 Feb. 2011.Web. 21 Dec. 2012. < http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/qaddafi-is-no-mubarak-overthrow-may-mean-descent-to-chaos-.html> Weaver, Matthew. “Muammar Gaddafi Condemns Tunisia Uprising.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 21 Dec. 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/16/muammar-gaddafi-condemns-tunisia-uprising> Read More