Why are Libyans unhappy?
Libya has been ruled for 42 years by a cunning, repressive, eccentric dictator who has frequently described his own people as "backwards." More than half of his 6.5 million subjects are under 18. Despite Libya's plentiful oil revenues, which represent most of the national budget, many children suffer from malnutrition and anemia. Corruption is rampant, dissidents are brutally suppressed, and many citizens are afraid to say Qaddafi’s name in public or in private for fear of attracting suspicion. Instead, Qaddafi is often referred to as "the leader" and his son Seif (until now heir-apparent) as "the principal." Discussing national policy with a foreigner is punishable with three years in prison. Reporters Without Borders describes press freedom in Libya as "virtually non-existent."
Oil is the economy in Libya and oil profits have bankrolled massive investments in education and infrastructure—yet Libya lags far behind other oil-rich Arab states. Unemployment stands at 30 percent. People who have jobs often work only part-time. Basic foods—including rice, sugar, flour, gasoline—are heavily subsidized by the government and sold for a fraction of their true cost. A 2006 New Yorker article described Libya's "prosperity without employment and large population of young people without a sense of purpose."
What are the implications of Libyan instability?
After decades of being reviled as a state sponsor of terrorism, Libya recently reversed course and joined the ranks of America's allies in the fight against Al Qaeda. In 2003, Qaddafi agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction and paid $2.7 billion to the families of the 270 victims of Pan Am 101—the plane bombed by Libyan agents over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. In return, the US and the United Nations lifted economic sanctions against Libya.
On the Arab street, however, Qaddafi is widely loathed. Most of his political victims have been members of banned Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which would likely gain stronger influence if he were overthrown. Qaddafi, once among the Palestinian movement's most vocal international supporters, outraged many Arabs by saying that Palestinians have no special claim to the land of Israel and calling for the creation of a bi-national "Isratine."
What's the latest?
On Sunday, February 20, protesters succeeded in overtaking all parts of Benghazi except for a government security compound. Qaddafi's son gave a long, rambling televised speech in which he blamed Islamic radicals and Libyan exiles for the uprising. He claimed civil war over the country's oil resources would set off starvation, cause public services including education to collapse, and could spark a Western invasion. He said, "We will fight until the last man, until the last woman, until the last bullet."
Protests have now spread to the capital, Tripoli, with thousands of demonstrators converging onto the city's main square and reportedly taking over state television headquarters. They faced well-armed pro-Qaddafi militias who fired into the crowds. The Libyan government has sought to impose an information blackout, blocking the internet and satellite television and forbidding foreign journalists from entering.
Al-Jazeera remains the most comprehensive source of coverage; you can follow its live blog here
Libya has been ruled for 42 years by a cunning, repressive, eccentric dictator who has frequently described his own people as "backwards." More than half of his 6.5 million subjects are under 18. Despite Libya's plentiful oil revenues, which represent most of the national budget, many children suffer from malnutrition and anemia. Corruption is rampant, dissidents are brutally suppressed, and many citizens are afraid to say Qaddafi’s name in public or in private for fear of attracting suspicion. Instead, Qaddafi is often referred to as "the leader" and his son Seif (until now heir-apparent) as "the principal." Discussing national policy with a foreigner is punishable with three years in prison. Reporters Without Borders describes press freedom in Libya as "virtually non-existent."
Oil is the economy in Libya and oil profits have bankrolled massive investments in education and infrastructure—yet Libya lags far behind other oil-rich Arab states. Unemployment stands at 30 percent. People who have jobs often work only part-time. Basic foods—including rice, sugar, flour, gasoline—are heavily subsidized by the government and sold for a fraction of their true cost. A 2006 New Yorker article described Libya's "prosperity without employment and large population of young people without a sense of purpose."
What are the implications of Libyan instability?
After decades of being reviled as a state sponsor of terrorism, Libya recently reversed course and joined the ranks of America's allies in the fight against Al Qaeda. In 2003, Qaddafi agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction and paid $2.7 billion to the families of the 270 victims of Pan Am 101—the plane bombed by Libyan agents over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. In return, the US and the United Nations lifted economic sanctions against Libya.
On the Arab street, however, Qaddafi is widely loathed. Most of his political victims have been members of banned Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which would likely gain stronger influence if he were overthrown. Qaddafi, once among the Palestinian movement's most vocal international supporters, outraged many Arabs by saying that Palestinians have no special claim to the land of Israel and calling for the creation of a bi-national "Isratine."
What's the latest?
On Sunday, February 20, protesters succeeded in overtaking all parts of Benghazi except for a government security compound. Qaddafi's son gave a long, rambling televised speech in which he blamed Islamic radicals and Libyan exiles for the uprising. He claimed civil war over the country's oil resources would set off starvation, cause public services including education to collapse, and could spark a Western invasion. He said, "We will fight until the last man, until the last woman, until the last bullet."
Protests have now spread to the capital, Tripoli, with thousands of demonstrators converging onto the city's main square and reportedly taking over state television headquarters. They faced well-armed pro-Qaddafi militias who fired into the crowds. The Libyan government has sought to impose an information blackout, blocking the internet and satellite television and forbidding foreign journalists from entering.
Al-Jazeera remains the most comprehensive source of coverage; you can follow its live blog here
Obama: Gaddafi must leave Libya now:
US President Barack Obama has said that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy to rule and urged him to step down from power immediately.
Obama’s call came in a call on Saturday to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, sharpening US rhetoric after days of deadly violence - and criticism that Washington was slow to respond.
"When a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," the White House said in a statement, summarising their telephone conversation.
"The president and the chancellor shared deep concerns about the Libyan government's continued violation of human rights and brutalisation of its people."
The White House has previously stopped short of calling for Gaddafi to leave, saying - just as in other countries affected by a wave of regional unrest - that only Libya's citizens had a say in choosing their rulers.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, echoed Obama's tougher stance, and said Libyans had made their preferences on the issue clear
US sanctions:
"We have always said that the [Gaddafi] government's future is a matter for the Libyan people to decide, and they have made themselves clear," Clinton said in a statement.
"[Gaddafi] has lost the confidence of his people and he should go, without further bloodshed and violence."
The Obama administration had been criticised for its relatively restrained response to Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on an uprising against his four-decade rule.
But White House officials said fears for the safety of US citizens in Libya had tempered Washington's response to the turmoil.
Washington announced a series of sanctions against Libya on Friday, after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying US citizens and other evacuees left Libya.
Clinton said she signed an order directing the State Department to revoke US visas held by senior Gaddafi government officials, their family members and others responsible for human rights violations in Libya.
"As a matter of policy, new visa applications will be denied," she said.
Support for protests:
The White House said Obama and Merkel reaffirmed their support for the Libyan people's demand for universal rights and agreed Gaddafi's government "must be held accountable".
"They discussed appropriate and effective ways for the international community to respond," the White House said.
"The president welcomed ongoing efforts by our allies and partners, including at the United Nations and by the European Union, to develop and implement strong measures."
Obama has been holding a series of discussions with world leaders about the unrest in Libya. The administration is hoping that the world "speaks with a single voice" against Gaddafi's violent crackdown, and the president is sending Clinton to Geneva on Sunday to coordinate with foreign policy chiefs from several countries.
Clinton will try to rally support against Gaddafi on Monday at the UN Human Rights Council, where she will to consult a range of foreign ministers on sanctions.
Washington is examining options including sanctions and a no-fly zone to try to stop Gaddafi's violent suppression of anti-government protests.
