Libyan Revolution Hits Home

By Albert Ames

NEW YORK, Feb. 23 – You have moved to the United States to find a way towards a better life, leaving most of your family behind. Now that you are here, you are constantly hearing reports of violence erupting near your home. Protests have risen in your country as part of a wave of democratic movements that have been sweeping the region. Many of these demonstrations had turned deadly as government forces have cracked down on the uprisings and had fired upon its own citizens. You would undoubtedly fear for your family's safety.

This, exactly, is what Ahmed, a Libyan, is facing.

Ahmed, whose name is being withheld to protect his family in Libya, was part of a rally that took place near the United Nations headquarters in midtown. He was one of the nearly 80 protesters gathered to show their solidarity with the people of Libya on Wednesday night between 47th and 48th Streets on 2nd Avenue near the Libyan Mission to the UN. With shouts of “Free Free Libya, No More Gaddafi” and the sound of drums, the protestors made the small patch of the New York City street echo the words that are being shouted across the ocean in cities throughout Libya.

Ahmed was holding a crinkled printed picture of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, the authoritarian leader of Libya who has ruled since he took power in a 1969 coup, with a large red “X” strewn over it. While he seemed more somber than the majority of his fellow protestors, Ahmed was willing to share his own experience. By speaking through a translator, he said, “I am very happy that freedom is finally coming to Libya. My family is part of the protests there and I am proud of what they are doing.” The vast majority of his family remains in Libya and have continued to take part in the protests there. When asked more detail about his family's activity, he simply said that two of his family members had died while protesting in Tripoli, the Libyan capital.

This local protest had been formed in the wake of new reports being widely circulated that Libyan government forces have become increasingly violent in response to the popular uprising, and the seemingly inefficient response by the US and international community. Human Rights Watch, the international watch dog group, has estimated that at least 300 people have already died since protests began there on February 17. Reuters quotes the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini estimating the number dead much higherat least 1,000 people. The vast majority of these deaths have been blamed on the Libyan government's use of force, which has now included the use of military helicopters and warplanes that have been used to mow down protestors as a means of quelling the movement.

Here in New York, the rally was not only attended by Libyans, but others of Arab descent and sympathetic people with no ethnic connection to the region. The protest organizer, Aymen El-Sawa, an Egyptian who now runs a local IT firm, had said that the use of the social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, were “vital” to organizing this protest and to the democratic movement in the Arab world as a whole. While speaking to the crowd from a makeshift podium atop of the bed of a pickup truck, El-Sawa urged them to “Put all your pictures and video of this on the internet tonight, so that the people of Libya and around the world will know that we are standing with them!”

WAKE UP OBAMA

While this local protest was largely a show of support for the Libyan movement, many of its speakers had been critical of the seeming lack of action by the United States and the United Nations in the midst of the reported attacks on civilians. President Obama and the Security Council of the United Nations have both issued statements in response to these reports that condemn the actions by the Qaddafi regime. However, both have also stopped short of calling for an end to his four decades old dictatorship. While the protestors did acknowledge President Obama's condemnation of the state-mandated violence, they had also shouted that “words are not enough.”

Many protestors wielded signs which spoke of the apparent indifference by the international community. One had said “US and UN must act.” One sign had simply read,“Wake up Obama.” At one point, a student had been given the microphone and announced a list of demands that included the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the country, sanctions against the regime, and the creation of a no-fly zone over Libyan air space via US air power.

Some among the protestors attributed the lack of international action as an effect of the US's desire for stability for the sake of the country's oil. While Libya only produces approximately 2 percent of the world's oil and does not export nearly the same amount of oil to the US as many other states in the region do, the quality of its oil, as it has been reported by The New York Times, is much greater than that of many other producers in the world.

This so-called “sweet” crude has a much lower sulfur content than many other varieties. This, in effect, makes Libya's oil more valuable because it costs much less to refine than the lower quality oil. Such type of crude is needed to produce fuel for the new low-sulfur demanding vehicles. Europe has been a large buyer of Libyan oil and, should the turmoil in the country continue, may be forced to purchase this type of oil from Nigeria and Algeria, already major sources of sweet crude for the US. This is seen to be attributing to the current increase in the price of oil on the world market.

WHAT'S NEXT?

While it remains unclear whether or not Qaddafi will relinquish power or somehow be removed, the opposition has been making significant progress. Currently, anti-Qaddfi groups have taken control over much of the state. The second largest city, Banghazi, is said to be “outside government control” and there have been reports of many members of the military siding with the opposition. The Libyan ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi, defected from the regime and other senior ministers, including the Interior Minister, have turned in their resignations. There have even been reports of approximately 130 soldiers executed for refusing to shoot civilians and of fighter pilots who had parachuted out of their planes and let them crash in the desert, rather than obey orders to fire on positions held by the opposition. Two other fighter pilots flew their Libyan Mirage warplanes to Malta.

While Qaddafi's forces still retain control over the capital, according to the New York Times, the city of Zawiyah 30 miles away has begun to change hands. As of now, there are only reports of the Obama administration communicating with the British, French, and Italian governments in attempts to work out a possible response to the violence.

The views within the opposition in Libya are reported to be hopeful. However, among the movement within the capital, Tripoli, they are said to be more somber as they fear the threat of deadly government reprisal for their actions. Despite such fears, many plan to continue to participate in planned upcoming demonstrations. Domestically, many of those that had taken part in the rally on Wednesday feel the same mixture of hope and concern. Before the rally's end, the crowd shouted in agreement as one of the men yelled from the podium, “Qaddafi may take our lives, but he will never take our freedom!”

Ahmed had said that he is happy to see his country move toward freedom and proud of his family, but he is concerned for their welfare. When asked what he sees as the final outcome, he did not seem to have an answer. However, while announcing the time and locations for future rallies, Ayman El-Sawa declared, “Maybe we will be celebrating on Saturday!” When asked how he feels the future may play out, Mr. El-Sawa said that he feels there needs to be a stable transitional government that can guarantee the freedom of the people. What comes after that, he says, “is up to the Libyan people.”