The Current Events in Libya & Imperialism
Of all the nations that are part of the so-called "Arab Spring", Libya received mixed attention till the hunting down and killing of Muammar Gaddafi by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) backed forces in the Libyan leader's hometown and stronghold of Sirte. The killing of Colonel Gaddafi brought Libya to the centre stage of international media coverage which was described in its gory details by all the bourgeois mass media. Reuters reported the "liberation of Libya" and the "end of 42 years of eccentric, often bloody, one-man rule,"[1]i while the US President Barack Obama declared "the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end".[2]ii Amidst "exclusive footages" by the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, etc., showing Gaddafi's capture and brutal assassination, the questions that captured the media limelight concerned primarily about the circumstances in which the killing took place. Britain's Defence Secretary Philip Hammond expressed disappointment that the "former Libyan leader was killed before he faced justice in court" and told BBC in an interview that "it's certainly not the way we do things."[3]iii Despite the differences regarding the manner in which Gaddafi was killed, all the imperialist forces and their spokespersons remained unanimously unified about their opinion that Gaddafi is just another tyrant amassing large sums of money in Swiss bank accounts and Libya is essentially the same as Egypt and Tunisia. Hence in the background of the celebration of Gaddafi?s assassination, coupled with the cacophony of the debate about whether Gaddafi should or could have been captured alive, the larger question pertaining to what actually is happening in Libya and what is and has been the condition and role of the teeming millions of the Libyan population remained largely un-discussed. In addition, at the time when this article is being written - about a fortnight after Gaddafi?s murder, Libya has virtually been blacked out by all bourgeois media. We in this article will therefore try to understand from a proletarian view point, what is the real situation in Libya, what led to the so-called "Libyan revolt," what are the interests and the plan of the imperialist forces and very briefly touch upon the question of democracy in the Libyan context.
Two Stands: Why Libya is Different?
The professed left and Marxist groups, many of whom proclaim to uphold the banner of the revolutionary working class, have displayed enormous confusion over the events in Libya since it started during February 2011. On one hand, some groups and individuals denounced the anti-Gaddafi protests as a "counter-revolutionary struggle" and portrayed Gaddafi as "progressive", "anti-imperialist" and even a "revolutionary."[4,5]iv,v They saw in the events of Libya, a serious imperialist conspiracy designed to overthrow a revolutionary regime and consequently called for extending support to the pro-Gaddafi fighters. On the other hand, many self-proclaimed left organizations, while denouncing NATO intervention, equated the protests in Libya with the recent uprisings in Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Tunisia, etc and considered it to be a part of the "Arab Spring". Some even went a step further and capitulated to imperialist forces to the extent of supporting the military intrusion of NATO and justified the attack on Libya by echoing the blatant lies about a so-called "humanitarian" intervention to protect civilians. [6,7]vi,vii
Apparently, the protests in Libya began the same way as in Egypt or Tunisia or Bahrain, with a home-grown call for dissent against a dictatorship responsible for terrible repression, the massacre of prisoners and more. But a closer scrutiny of facts reveals that the trajectory of the following events in Libya had been significantly different from its Arab neighbors. According to CNN, the turmoil in Libya started when roughly 200 protesters took to the streets in Benghazi to show support for human rights activist and lawyer Fathi Terbil during February 16, 2011.[8]viii This was followed by a series of confrontations between anti-government protesters and Gaddafi government backed forces. On February 19, Gaddafi's forces allegedly fired on mourners leaving a funeral for protesters in the eastern city of Benghazi, killing at least 15 people, which propelled further protests in other parts of Libya. It is interesting to note that these protests were primarily directed against the atrocities of the Gaddafi?s regime but the demand for the overthrow of Gaddafi was not heard from any corner of Libya at early stages of the turmoil. It was only after March 11, 2011 when some European governments declared that Muammar Gaddafi can no longer be considered the leader of Libya and must step down immediately, the demand for Gaddafi?s overthrow gained local and international acceptance.[9]ix
Secondly, unlike the other Arab countries, where millions of people gathered and demonstrated, the Libyan protesters were fewer in number and armed from the very beginning. None of the media, who had been vociferous in condemning Gaddafi?s autocratic regime and supporting the "humanitarian" intervention of NATO could report anti-Gaddafi protests that resembled the spontaneous and essentially unarmed upsurges in Egypt, Tunisia or Bahrain. On the contrary Pravda accused the western media of suppressing the pro-Gaddafi demonstrations, where according to them "one million Libyans took to the streets of Tripoli (on June 17, 2011) to march in favor of their brother leader Muammar Gaddafi."[10]x Even after six months of sporadic protests, clashes and demonstrations, the Washington post reported that only "hundreds"1 of rebel fighters swept Tripoli on August 21 and took control of the symbolically significant Green Square in the heart of the city."[10]10
Finally, and most importantly, the blatant discriminatory role of the imperialist forces in responding to the Libyan revolt clearly brings out the difference between Libya and the other Arab nations that were up against the ruling despots. To illustrate this point we look at the situation in Bahrain to see the utter hypocrisy of NATO and United Nations (UN). In Bahrain we have seen a mass movement of immense proportions. The government has responded brutally, shooting at unarmed peaceful demonstrators. Other Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have sent in troops and police forces to help the government quell the revolt. Where was the call for a UN force to defend the Bahraini people? What we witnessed was Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general expressing his "deepest concern" about what happed in Bahrain. Meanwhile, under the "Operation Odyssey Dawn" their Tomahawk missiles killed more than 10,000 people including several civilians2 in Libya only in the very first month after the attack was launched. The promptness with which the imperialist forces reacted, decided and carried out their operation was also unprecedented. On February 25, 2011, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a European-drafted resolution condemning Gaddafi for his crackdown and established a UN commission of inquiry to examine possible war crimes by Libyan authorities. On May 17, 2011 the International Criminal Court issued a request for an arrest warrant against Gaddafi for crimes against humanity and UN Security Council voted by 10 votes in favor against 5 abstentions to impose a "no-fly zone" over Libya. On the same day, a fatwa was placed against Gaddafi by a very influential Egyptian Islamic theologian, who additionally urged Egypt to support anti-Gaddafi forces.[11]xi On March 19 a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement UN?s Security Council Resolution 1973 and that very day Pentagon began "Operation Odyssey Dawn".[12]xii On March 24, NATO agreed to take control of the "no-fly zone," and on May 28, 2011 the G-8 (including Russia) demanded that Gaddafi should step down.[13]xiii Subsequently the largest military invasion since the invasion of Iraq was unleashed on Libya.[14]xiv
Some intriguing questions:
It seems obvious from the above discussion that though the Libyan revolt against the autocratic regime of Muammar Gaddafi might have taken its initial inspiration from Egypt or Tunisia, it was very soon usurped by imperialist hawks to dethrone Gaddafi. The question is why? Is it because the US wanted to take revenge of the long-standing animosity that it had with Gaddafi and the revolting people willingly surrendered to the imperialist "aid"? Or, were Gaddafi and his government really putting up a struggle against imperialist plunder or offering some resistance that they wanted to get rid of? Or was it necessary for US and the European imperialist forces to gain direct and total control over the oil and water resources of Libya and did not want an iota of intervention in between? Or is it a combination of all or some of these factors? More importantly, what should then be the stance of the revolutionary workers? No doubt that we should protest against the imperial intervention with all our might but should it tantamount to support Gaddafi as an ally against imperialism? However, to put any of these questions in perspective it is imperative to briefly look at the history and the creation of modern Libya under the Gaddafi regime.
A Brief Political Economic History of Libya
Libya is fourth in size among the countries of Africa and seventeenth among the countries of the world. Its coastline lies between Egypt and Tunisia - the two major countries involved in the "Arab spring." Prior to the discovery of the oil reserves in 1960s it was an extremely poor desert state whose only important physical asset appeared to be its strategic location at the midpoint of Africa's northern rim.[15]xv It lay within easy reach of the major European nations and linked the Arab countries of North Africa with those of the Middle East - facts that throughout history had made it an attractive geographical region for imperial control. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence of these ancient cultures. The Ottoman Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century. Libya remained part of their empire, although at times virtually autonomous, until Italy invaded in 1911 and, in the face of years of resistance, made Libya a colony.[16]xvi King Idris I, Emir of Cyrenaica, led the Libyan "resistance" to Italian occupation between the two world wars and became the constitutional king of Libya though the imperialist forces maintained their bases throughout Libya. Even after February 1943, when the allied forces declared the removal of axis powers from Libya. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica came under separate British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan thereby ensuring their presence and control. In accordance with a UN decision Libya became "independent" in 1951 as the United Kingdom of Libya, with King Idris I as the ruler.[15,16]15,16 Incidentally it was the first country to achieve "independence" through the UN negotiations which points out once again to the importance that the imperial powers had given to this country.
"Independent" Libya maintained a pro-western stance and was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States (Arab League), of which it became a member in 1953. The same year Libya concluded a twenty-year treaty of friendship and alliance with Britain under which the latter received military bases in exchange for financial and military assistance. The next year, Libya and the US signed an agreement under which the US also obtained military base rights in return for economic aid to Libya. The most important of the US installations in Libya was Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, considered a strategically valuable installation in the 1950s and early 1960s. Reservations set aside in the desert were used by British and American military aircraft based in Europe as practice firing ranges. Libya forged close ties with France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey, and established full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1955, but declined a Soviet offer of economic aid. As part of a broad assistance package, the UN Technical Assistance Board agreed to sponsor a technical aid program that emphasized the development of agriculture and education. Foreign powers, notably Britain and the US provided "development aid".[17]xvii
During this entire period Libya remained an extremely poor, underdeveloped, largely agrarian society, dependent on foreign aid where most people lived in utter poverty and misery. Farming was restricted primarily to the coastal regions. Livestock raising was also important. During the Italian colonial period in the first half of the 20th century and the campaigns of World War II almost all local industry and trade was destroyed. After "independence" in 1951, Libya was officially the poorest country in the world. No more than 10 percent of its people could read or write, and there were only a handful of college graduates. The per capita annual income was about $30 a year and the country?s principal export was scrap metal collected from World War II battlefields.[18]xviii
Discovery of Oil
In June 1959 research prospectors from Esso (later renamed Exxon) confirmed the location of major petroleum deposits at Zaltan in Cyrenaica. Further discoveries followed, which led to a rush of oil companies of Europe and US and commercial development was quickly initiated by concession holders who returned 50 percent of their profits to the Libyan government in taxes. In the petroleum market, Libya's advantages lay not only in the quantity but also in the high quality of its crude product. Libya's proximity and direct linkage to Europe by sea provided further marketing advantages.[17]17 However, Libyan physical and human resource development continued to lag, necessitating sustained reliance on foreign technical assistance. That the mere discovery of oil was not the sole factor behind the dramatic development of Libya that followed in the next decade, as many would claim,[19]xix is further substantiated by the fact that the people of the country continued to remain in abject poverty for almost a decade like the neighboring countries of Nigeria and Sudan which too are extremely rich in natural resources and yet remain as the poorest, famine-stricken nations that have been and still are plundered by the imperialist multinational companies. While in Libya, the presence and looting of the multinational oil companies coupled with the complete surrender of the ruling government to the imperialist forces probably generated substantial hatred and mistrust against the westerners among the common impoverished people of Libya that set the stage for Gaddafi?s rise.
Libya under Gaddafi
On 1 September 1969, a group of military officers led by 27-year-old army officer Muammar Gaddafi staged a coup d'?tat against King Idris, launching what is often referred to as the "Libyan Revolution" and captured power.[15]15 After the king had fled the country, the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) headed by Gaddafi abolished the monarchy and the old constitution and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic, with the motto "freedom, socialism, and unity."[20]xx
On the economic front
Under Gaddafi?s regime British and American bases were closed in 1970, and unification was sought, unsuccessfully, with several other Arab countries. Soon after the "revolution," a major "Libyanization" drive was initiated, which involved the nationalization of the country's banks, insurance and petroleum-marketing companies. Other measures were enacted to restrict the activities of foreigners in commerce and industry. Over the first decade of the Gaddafi regime, the state took charge of the oil fields and raised their rents. That money was then diverted toward social welfare. Education in the country was made free and primary education compulsory for both boys and girls. Medical care was also made available to the public at no cost.[21]xxi
Major changes were also initiated in the agrarian sector too. Shortly after the revolution, the government confiscated all Italian-owned farms (about 38,000 hectares) and redistributed much of this land in smaller plots to Libyans. The state retained some of the confiscated lands for state farming ventures. It took the further step in 1971 of declaring all uncultivated land to be state property. Another law passed in 1977 placed further restriction on tribal systems of land ownership, emphasizing actual use as the deciding factor in determining land ownership. Since 1977 an individual family has been allotted only enough land to satisfy its own requirements ? a policy designed to prevent the development of large-scale private sector farms and to end the practice of using fertile "tribal" lands for grazing rather than cultivation.[17]17 Large scale agricultural projects were implemented in an effort to "make the desert bloom" and achieve self-sufficiency in food production. Any Libyan who wanted to become a farmer was given free use of land, a house, farm equipment, some livestock and seed.[22]xxii As a consequence of these reforms there was a remarkable increase in the demand of agricultural commodities which coupled with the steps of nationalization of big industry and banks led to a general development of industry which in turn drastically reduced the share or agricultural commodity in the country?s gross national product.
Gaddafi regime's radical economic policies continued with vigor after the publication of second volume of his famous "The Green Book" in 1978. A manifestation occurred in 1978, when he outlawed rental payments for property, changing all residential tenants into instant owners. The private sector housing and real estate industry was thus eliminated, and the new owners were required to pay monthly "mortgage" payments -- usually amounting to about one-third of their former rent ? directly to the government. However, families making less than the equivalent of US$ 500 a month were exempted from this obligation.[15,21]15,21
All these economic policies, quite obviously resulted in a dramatic development of the country which was consequently elevated it from being the poorest country of the world to a country with the highest Human Development Index (HDI) in Africa and the per capita income in the country rose to more than US $11000 from $30 a year.[15]15
On the political front
The political alliances of Gaddafi?s Libya followed a convoluted trajectory that changed with time. Initially, as relations with the US and other big European nations deteriorated, Gaddafi forged close links with the Soviet Union and other East European countries, all the while maintaining Libya's stance as a nonaligned country and opposing the spread of communism in the Arab world. Despite being a declared anti-communist Gaddafi enjoyed the support and recognition of the erstwhile USSR who allegedly was the principle arms supplier to Libya.[15,20]15,20 On 11 June 1972, Gaddafi announced that any Arab wishing to volunteer for Palestinian armed groups fighting against Israel?s onslaught "can register his name at any Libyan embassy and will be given adequate training for combat". He also promised financial support for counter-attacks.[23]xxiii He extended solidarity with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) whom he hailed for fighting against the British colonialism; supported Haile Mariam Mengistu -- the ruler of Ethiopia; sent Libyan troops to aid Idi Amin in the Uganda-Tanzania War; financed and supported various other so-called "terrorist outfits" of Europe, Africa, Asia and struggling trade unions in Australia.[23,24]23,xxiv One of his most cherished and oft-quoted idea was to unite different African nations in an attempt to build the United States of Africa that is strong and capable of defending itself from western attack. No wonder Gaddafi was one of the most successful world leaders to earn the scourge and ire of the US and European imperialist states. In 1977, Libya officially became the "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". Gaddafi officially passed power to the General People's Committees (GPCs) and henceforth claimed to be no more than a symbolic figurehead.
Was Gaddafi a socialist or least an anti-imperialist?
Despite his symbolic withdrawal, Gaddafi remained a dictator far removed from the ideals and goals of socialism, who ruled Libya for four decades. No matter how often and how strongly he opposed different imperialist states, particularly in his earlier days, no matter how he played his role as an architect for lifting Libya from a poverty stricken, poor African nation to one of the most developed states of the continent, Gaddafi was a despot who headed an autocratic regime that did not tolerate any dissention or opposition. Since 1972 all political parties were banned in Libya. Trade unions were incorporated into the Arab Socialist Union, which was the sole legal party, and strikes were outlawed.[25]xxv The press, already subject to censorship, was officially conscripted in 1972 as an agent of the revolution. Atheism was considered to be a crime and any political dissention was treated as a punishable offence.[17,20]17,20 It is in fact needless to lengthen the list to prove that Gaddafi was not only far from being a socialist, he was an antipode of democracy.
However, being an autocrat does not automatically disqualify him as an anti-imperialist ? an epithet that many established left groups and individuals has attached with Gaddafi. Although we have seen in details his initial struggle against imperialist forces, the true character of Gaddafi?s regime is only revealed if we inspect Libya?s role in the wake of the fall of the world petroleum market since the eighties and more particularly after the fall of the erstwhile USSR.
In 1993-94, Gaddafi introduced the first laws that were part of an economic turn in the direction of the opening up of the free market. For a decade, not much was done in this direction. But faced with economic difficulties in 2003, the process accelerated. In return for introducing laws that allowed privatization and a greater openness to foreign capital investment, the regime began reconciliation with imperialism which soon paid off. In September 2003 the UN lifted all economic sanctions against Libya, in exchange for an economic package which included plans to privatize 360 state enterprises, and in 2006 Libya even requested entry to the World Trade Organization. In 2008 Condoleeza Rice, former US Secretary of State said that Libya and the United States shared common interests such as "fighting terrorism, trade, nuclear proliferation, Africa, human rights and democracy."[26]xxvi More recently, Gaddafi openly shed all his anti-imperialist pretence and agreed on several occasions with world imperialism, meeting and signing deals with Berlusconi, Sarkozy, Zapatero and Blair. In response, the US withdrew Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In late 2007, Libya was elected by the General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. Currently, Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara is being fought in Libya's portion of the Sahara Desert.[27]xxvii Today all the major oil multinationals are operating in Libya ? British Petroleum, Exonn Mobil, Total, Repsol, among others. On the other hand, it is worth noting that Gaddafi holds five percent of the shares of Fiat, as a result of opening the country to the Italian capitalists.[26]26
All this makes clear that Gaddafi?s Libya in the recent days was much closer to imperialist interests than to the interests of their own people.
The Present Situation in Libya and Imperialism
The question now is ? if Gaddafi was steadily moving to serve imperialist interests then why this attack on Libya, the first of its kind in the name of "saving human rights" that has probably claimed more than 10,000 human lives? A simple, straight forward answer is that in the wake of the impending global crisis of capital, the capitalists and imperialists on one hand would like to gain complete and immediate control over the extremely rich oil fields of Libya, while on the other waging war and letting the world arms market to flow and proliferate is and has always been one of the ways for international capital to negotiate crisis in the era of imperialism. So, if Iraq war is over, let it be Libya now, next in the line may be Syria, Iran? ? it won?t be difficult to find enemies on whom Tomahawk missiles may be dropped.
The imperialists do not need any pretence for this as is evidenced from the statement issued by Britain's defence minister, Philip Hammond (whom we have already heard for criticizing the killing of Gaddafi without trial): "Libya is a relatively wealthy country with oil reserves, and I expect there will be opportunities for British and other companies to get involved in the reconstruction of Libya?. I would expect British companies, even British sales directors, [to be] packing their suitcases and looking to get out to Libya and take part in the reconstruction of that country as soon as they can."[28]xxviii What could be more self explanatory!? The UK?s bill for its part in the NATO intervention in Libya is estimated at just under US $500 million. But according to the UK Department of Trade and Investment, the value of contracts to rebuild Libya, in areas ranging from electricity and water supplies to healthcare and education, could amount to upwards of US $300 billion over the next 10 years.[29]xxix And the British government will definitely make sure it takes a leading role in that, just as it did in the war.
As the US Ambassador, Gene Cretz, unfurled the flag over the American Embassy in Tripoli, at its reopening ceremony on September 22, he was equally upbeat and remarked: "We know that oil is the jewel in the crown of Libyan natural resources, but even in Gaddafi's time they were starting from A to Z in terms of building infrastructure and other things. If we can get American companies here on a fairly big scale, which we will try to do everything we can to do that, then this will redound to improve the situation in the United States with respect to our own jobs."[29]29 Again a statement that requires no further qualification. Possessing the richest oil reserves in the African continent, Libya was therefore considered as a profitable client by the imperialist powers that tore the country apart in order to "reconstruct" it, thereby serving both the general and specific interests of imperialism.
However, besides oil and strategic geographic location there are other factors for which Libya is an extremely attractive country for imperialist control and one of them is water. In the 1960s during oil exploration deep in the southern Libyan Desert, vast reservoirs of high quality water were discovered in the sub-Saharan aquifers. In Libya there are four major underground basins -- the Kufra basin, the Sirt basin, the Morzuk basin and the Hamada basin, the first three of which contain combined reserves of 35,000 cubic kilometers of fresh drinking water which is quickly becoming the most important and indispensible commodity.[30]xxx To exploit this underground water for drinking as well as for industrial use, the Gaddafi government launched The Great Man-Made River Project ? a water management scheme of enormous scope. The project is a network of pipes and reservoirs that move water from its subterranean desert origins and delivers it to the country?s heavily-populated coastal region at a total estimated cost in excess of $20 billion.[31]xxxi Quite understandably, this ready to use water, often referred as Libya?s hidden wealth, is another extremely lucrative resource that the imperialists are eyeing for.
What should the revolutionary workers do?
Two wars were being waged simultaneously in Libya. One has grown out of a struggle for democracy. The other is an attempt by imperialism to strengthen its domination of the country. Both wars appear to share the goal of "regime change", but they stand at opposite ends of the political spectrum. However, those who are indeed trying to fight for democracy and against the anti-people economic policies, have to stand against the imperialist adventure. The fight for democracy and that against imperialist powers, which have effectively re-colonized Libya, has become inextricably linked. Unlike Egypt or Tunisia, where we could hear some voices saying that mere removal of the autocratic rulers has not ushered in democracy ? the fight has to go on, Libya has unfortunately remained rather silent post Gaddafi assassination. It indeed is difficult, if not impossible, for the working population of Libya alone to fight the imperial monsters as most of the workers in Libya are migrant workers and many have fled the country during the turmoil. Thus the present events of Libya once again bring forward the need of the international working class to organize. Unless the workers of our country and rest of the world begin to realize the need for organized action against imperialist plunder, raise their voices against the exploitation of capital in their own country and put a step forward to unite for the fight against imperialism, we will have to listen to the helpless cries of many more thousands and millions of people from Libya and other countries where the crisis-ridden imperialists will not hesitate to attack and plunder.
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1 Note that while the number of protesters in other Arab countries was in the order of hundreds of thousands and millions, in Libya only few hundreds could take control of the significant Green Square. However, it would be wrong to cast any aspersion on the character of the movement and conclude that the struggle in Libya was manufactured by the imperialists powers based only on the number of people participating in the protests. Nevertheless, the propensity of mass participation is undoubtedly an important indicator and hence noted here for substantiating the following analysis.
2 The actual direct death toll due to the NATO backed attack on Libya, according to various reports varies between few tens to several thousands.
i R. El Gamal and T. Gayno, "Gaddafi killed in hometown, Libya eyes future" Reuters, Fri Oct 21, 2011. Retrieved from: http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/idINIndia-60018620111020.
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