Gaddafi's End as Liberation from a Long Era of Tyranny - Article Example

 Assignment Since the year 1969, Libya had been ruled under the strong dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, one of the world’s worst leaders, letting violence and strife perish in the country. Gaddafi overthrew the Libyan king at the young age of 27 and assumed power since then. In the recent past, his efforts to gain international recognition by becoming a statesman and spokesperson for the country went in vain because of the people’s revolt against his reign of terror. Born in the desert town of Sirte, Gaddafi led a very nomadic lifestyle and even attended military college in order to prepare and train himself to become a part of the army. He assumed himself to be the revolutionary leader of Libya on the 1st of September in the year 1969. Under Gaddafi’s rule, Libya witnessed a vast amount of violence and terror as people randomly were killed and or disappeared if they spoke against his reign. The media and press were also under the control of the colonel, the head of the military which was also under Gaddafi’s hands. He gave no power to anyone despite speaking otherwise when asked, and sent a number of innocent people to prison. Gaddafi had been known to carry out personal events and state affairs in a very extravagant and lavish manner. He practised the religion of Islam very religiously and often wore stylish clothes and sunglasses to make a political statement. His ideologies may be read in the Green Book in which he has talked about a mix of capitalist, socialist as well as Islamic ideas for the purpose of the welfare of the Libyan economy. Gaddafi’s relentless attacks in North Africa as well as other western countries, through a number of rebel and terrorist groups made other countries not want Libya to be a part of any world order because of his support towards the IRA and the PLO. According to US President Ronald Reagan, Gaddafi was a ‘mad dog’ and Reagan also sent planes to bomb Libya in an attack where Gaddafi almost got killed. The Libyan people have always been averse to Gaddafi’s regime however the country had been oppressed under his rule because of the constant terrorism that he was playing host to. Despite this, he tried to bring Libya out of isolation by letting the UN know that he was behind the bombings and attacks and that Libya as a country was aware of its implications and wanted to be a part of the normalisation that was to take place between US and Libya especially. In 2003 when Saddam Hussein lost all his power and the military coup was dismantled, Gaddafi was under a lot of pressure by the people as well as western nations that the same might happen to him and thus he allowed inspections of weapons to take place and stated a number of policies regarding Libya’s weaponry. ("Muammar Gaddafi – Revolutionary Leader of Libya.") Gaddafi’s reign however watched the Libyan economy fall into a depression because despite being an oil rich country, the people have remained fairly poor. According to a number of UN reports and other investigations, the country has a very poor stage of socio economic growth and is also very backward in terms of health, education, food supplies etc. It has been estimated by economic experts nonetheless that despite this condition that the country has been living in, the stature of Gaddafi during the course of his lifetime was exactly the opposite as he has been assumed to have a wealth deposit of at least $60 billion dollars. Libya during Gaddafi’s regime only witnessed a massive downturn as everything in the economy began to fall. The demand and supply situation in terms of economic growth, as well as foreign trade went down immensely because no country wanted to keep relations with Libya. Furthermore, the currency of Libya as compared to the dollar also fell to a great extent indicating the fall in the cash reserve ratios of the Libyan government and banks. Recently however, Gaddafi was killed in a cross fire by Libyan protestors in a mass revolution against his regime. After all this time, people were finally able to get out of the unstable environment that they had been surviving within and rejoiced on the streets with each other as each Libyan was able to feel the other’s joy. A report from the New York Times states, “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister of the Transitional National Council, the interim government, said. “Muammar Qaddafi is dead.” He was speaking at a news conference in Tripoli. Mahmoud Shammam, the council’s chief spokesman, called it “the day of real liberation. We were serious about giving him a fair trial.  It seems God has some other wish.” (Fahim, Kareem) For the Arab world, the end of Gaddafi meant liberation from a long era of tyranny and dictatorship; something they had been striving for a period of almost 42 years. Just like power hungry brutish beasts like Mussolini and Hitler, Gaddafi got a taste of his own sword ordeal and the end of such a despotic era marks the beginning of a new sun for the Libyan people. Starting from embracing a new democratic future to taking care of its economic structure, the country has already begun to rejuvenate and recuperate itself from the mass violence that it underwent. The NATO is beside the country and is helping it understand its democratic ideals. The National Transitional Council is helping it to pursue a reconciliation process which includes reaching out to the entire population of the country in order to establish a peaceful and transparent democratic polity within the country. In a report it was stated by the NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, that, “We will terminate our mission in coordination with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council (NTC). With the reported fall of Bani Walid and Sirte, that moment has now moved much closer.” All around the world, presidents and prime ministers came together to rejoice for the fate of Libya and said that the people of the darkened Middle East country have a great opportunity to step into the light and build a strong democratic state for themselves because they deserve transparency and free and fair elections after all that has happened in the country. “Bulgaria hopes "the end of the former Libyan leader will herald the end of the suffering of the Libyan people and the beginning of a new era in which Libyan citizens are able to live without fear and humiliation in a united and prosperous country," its government said in a statement.” However, despite the shortcomings that the country needs to overcome in order to liberate itself freely and completely, the future of Libya still views a challenge because there are a number of rebel leader hanging loose within the country who have not yet united themselves. These leaders must come up with strong compatible and united visions for the future of the country in order to lead the people out of the darkness that they are living within. The population of the country is also armed at an alarming level; this is much like the time when the Soviets withdrew themselves from the armed population of Afghanistan after which a civil war broke out after the falling of the communist regime in Kabul. The major responsibility that lies on the shoulder of the NTC in Libya is that they must ensure that the security forces shall not be destroyed by any third party because at the moment they form the backbone of the country’s safety and security measures. They also need to disarm the entire population and make them give up their arms and ammunitions because the era of violence is over now that Gaddafi is no longer alive. Libyans must take it upon their stride to learn from the civil war that broke out in Afghanistan and not make their mistakes again. The entire population needs to work in tandem with one another in order to help the country rise and establish itself in the Middle East. Libya has a very bright future if everything goes smoothly because the people must understand that they now need to work in unison with one another and take up different ventures to quickly pull out of the hole that Gaddafi had placed them within. The first step after maintain law and order within the country is for a free and fair election process to take place in order to have ministers for the care of different fields and departments. This process will take some time; however will help the country pull itself out of the depths of despair that it has been caught up within. Libyans also must keep in mind that the country is their own and thus they should take as little help from the international community in order to make something of them and show the rest of the world their capabilities. The biggest questions that are circulating the world at the moment are whether or not after making all these positive changes, the country will be able to survive as a democratic polity because they are so used to the era of Gaddafi. These changes need to ensure that greater stability will prevail within the country and help the country prosper towards a new future. According to the Daily Pinoeer, “ Libya has around 50 billion barrels of oil reserves and an estimated 50 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves. These huge reserves not only give Libya the potential for prosperity but also make it potentially one of the more important players in the energy market. Unlike other states liberated by the Arab Spring, Libya’s economy is heavily dependent on oil. Libya is the world’s 17th-largest oil producer. Revenues from the oil sector account for 95 per cent of its export earnings, 25 per cent of its GDP, and —most significantly — 80 per cent of its government revenue.” Various other factors for Libya’s potential include its proximity towards the European market which makes it easier for economic growth. However, at the same time, it also needs to take care of its population and migrant levels because of this border. It has a youthful population like the other Middle Eastern countries and needs to bank upon this in order to siphon out the maximum amount of potential from optimum use of resources at least right now, at the very beginning. It already possesses a very large constituency of people who follow the religion of Islam in a peaceful manner and have made it their guiding principle. Thus, there is a lot of scope for bringing about a positive change within the sphere of environment of the country. The country also has a great amount of potential to develop energy resources like wind and solar power because of its geographical location. Its wealth requires tapping and the government to be established must keep the same in mind and make strenuous efforts in order to ensure that all the various aspects of the country’s population are able to participate in these efforts of bringing about prosperity and sharing the same. It will take the country some amount of time in order to overcome these problems and determine the course of its future when it comes to tapping these resources and making sure that they are being used for the benefit of all. It also must take into account aspects like education, health and other such primary concerns of the people so that it is able to ensure a future generation of well read children who will grow up to take the country to new heights. Thus, at the moment, the present government must ensure that proper steps are being taken in order to use the wealth and build up infrastructure, as well as institutions for the benefit of the people so that they may understand and instil within the people a new hope and understanding for the future. Every economy achieves a boost only when its future generation is insured with an understanding of living in a new world of light, and the international community is doing its best to help the Libyans with moving from light to darkness when it comes to providing them with a guidance in adopting the western method of teaching and learning so that the children may be fostered and protected within the purview of other nations in order to grow up and evolve the country in the future. The distribution of wealth within the country should begin on an equivalent basis in order to establish order and stability among the people and not let there be any demarcations among the economic front. “Moreover, the mechanisms of sharing this prosperity will also be important. If Libya remains trapped in the entire frame of mind then the benefits will be short-lived. If however, the wealth is used to create infrastructure, facilities and economic opportunities then Libya can look forward to a stable and prosperous future.” (Daily Pioneer) In conclusion, Libya has a vast amount of potential to rise from the ashes and reinstate itself as a new born country in the hands of the world. It has all the safety and security measures that it needs at the moment and slowly, with every passing day, ministers are being appointed and the country is formulating itself on the basis of a democratic polity. It is receiving assistance from the NTO and other such organisations and they are helping the population understand that the era of Gaddafi and violence is over and that a new regime must establish itself. “It is precisely at this point that Libya’s problem began the last time round when the essentially tribal Gaddafi regime captured control over the state and over its resource wealth. This control was not vested in a transparent — equitable governance mechanism but in the hands of the Gaddafi family and of its cronies. Given this access to untold wealth, the regime consolidated it’s strangle hold on the country through patronage to its supporters and brutal repression of its opponents and challengers.” (Daily Pioneer) This new era will help to bring about several changes within the country ranging from a growth in economic as well as social development plans and policies. The country also needs to find out ways to tap its natural resources, especially its oil rich filters and underground reservoirs in order to work upon its treasury and currency. Works Cited "Muammar Gaddafi – Revolutionary Leader of Libya." Articles in Easy, Understandable English for ESL Learners. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . Fahim, Kareem. "Violent End to an Era as Qaddafi Dies in Libya." New York Times. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . Douthat, Ross. Commentary on Politics and Culture by Ross Douthat - Evaluations - NYTimes.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . Weaver, Matthew. "Libya after Gaddafi - Friday 21 October." Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . "Europe Expects New Era for Libya without Gaddafi." Xinhuanet. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. . Read More