Elections, the Libyan struggle, and the Gadaffi Parties

Playboy and Partyboy Saadi Gadaffi

Mahmoud Gerbil, I mean Jibril, has been selected by the majority of voters in Libya as the biggest powerbroker for the next generation.  I think democracy is the best system of government humans have invented but picking an ex-Gadaffi flunky as the puppet master might not be the best choice.  Only time will tell of course and I do give Mr.Jibril some credit for leaving the sinking ship of Gadaffi Inc. well before the Jamahiriya finally collapsed with the death of Gadaffi. 

All my life, I've waited for Libya to change, and it has and with these changes comes risk and opportunity for my beloved Libya.  What the people of Libya have done is amazing and God willing, we will accomplish amazing improvement for the vast majority of Libyans.  However, now that these first round of elections are coming to a conclusion, the Libyans must work together to clean up the corruption, disease, and ignorance among all of us Libyans.  Now we don't have the easy excuse of pointing to Gadaffi and saying:

"Gadaffi is the reason our lives are hell and our country is the laughing stock of most of the world!"

Finally, I read an interesting article about one of the remaining living sons of Gadaffi, Saadi, who is in hiding in Africa.  He still doesn't realize that his party is over but sooner or later, just like his father, he'll get what's coming to him.  The link is at the top of this post and at the bottom if you'd like to read it.

Saadi Gadaffi is a foolish party boy

The death of Shukri Ghanem, the failure of the NTC...

What prompted me to write today wasn't some heartfelt nostalgia for the sands of North Africa; instead it was something that happened in Austria. One of Gaddafi's old lackeys, Shukri Ghanem, died recently under mysterious circumstances. Some may think he committed suicide, others might think that he fell down by accident and drowned, while I tend to think somebody helped him take a swim to the hereafter.
What is puzzling to me is why a rich man wouldn't have bodyguards to help keep him safe or why he would kill himself by drowning? If he was murdered or simply had an accident, all Libyans should realize that a lot of Gaddafi family secrets and information about the Libyan Oil sector has disappeared with him. I hope the police in Austria really do a thorough investigation to find out what happened to Mr. Ghanem.

Why is the NTC so wishy-washy? One week they announce they want to ban religious political parties and the next they announce they will not ban them. Please NTC, get your act together and show Libya and the world that you are not simply riff raff and amateurs. Improve security in the country, improve education, and improve the lives of the Libyans as much as possible. We need Libya to improve rapidly and successfully.

Finally, I want to share a YouTube.com video with anyone who cares to see it. I must warn you that this video has graphic violence, bloodshed, barbarity, and I really hope it wasn't from Libya. I think it is from Libya but my limited fluency in spoken Libyan Arabic keeps me from fully understanding what the men in the video are saying. I don't know if it was filmed prior to the revolution but it is probably from the time of the revolution. I don't know who the killers are or why they decided to kill the victim in the video. AGAIN, I REPEAT, THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR CHILDREN OR ANYONE WHO CANNOT STOMACH THE SIGHT OF EXTREME VIOLENCE.

I am posting this video simply to raise awareness that all sane and rational Libyans or humans in general, must work harder to stop this kind of behavior. No human being deserves to be treated this way, no matter what the supposed crime or offense they have committed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne5edyh7wsQ

violent beating of a libyan man who probably dies from his injuries

Sedition, secession, and the Senussi

O Libyans, why are you repeating the mistakes of the past?  Why give your allegiance to the Senussi who probably didn't create Kaddafi, but did certainly create the conditions which fostered his rise to power.  They had their chance to rule Libya and they squandered it.  Do not give the house of Senussi another chance to destroy generations of Libyans.  I will never submit to the Senussi simply because of their supposed birthright.

Benghazi, why do you use your suffering under the House of Kaddafi to try and split up my homeland?  Simply because you have most of the oil is not reason enough to try and divide our nation.  If the Libyan people can't even put aside their regional and tribal differences to work together for a better future, the Middle East is doomed.  All Libyans must be rational, intelligent, and pragmatic in order to make the Libyan state successful.  If Libya fails, the Arab Spring will usher in a new age of anarchy and petty fiefdoms in Libya instead of a Golden Age.

I must implore my Libyan brothers and sisters to put the weapons aside and peacefully work together to improve the situation of all Libyans.  If Benghazi and others such as Misratah or Zintan keep trying to impose their will on the whole of Libyan society, only pain and suffering will follow.  I will finally be forced to return to Libya and try and talk some sense into those who stubbornly refuse to recognize that Libya must always stay united and secessionists among us are gravely mistaken.

Libyan coup d'état, 2012 style

The draft election law recently put out as a trial balloon by the NTC should be dead on arrival. It has many errors and omissions but one of the most glaring is the seemingly arbitrary selection of 20 reserved seats for women. How and why did they choose 20? Why not 50 or for that matter 100? In addition, to force dual nationals to give up their non-Libyan citizenship in order to run for office is draconian and silly.

I don't want a parliamentary system in Libya but that's probably what we'll end up with. The European style parliament is one of the worst forms of democracy. It is too unstable and fosters coalition building which sounds good until the coalition starts to fall apart and a snap election is called. I think Libya might become a place of yearly elections if all the tribes and power players can't work things out and the Prime Minister's party loses a vote of confidence or loses its majority if some small group of parliament decide to break away from the ruling coalition.

One of the good, and in a way bad, things about how Libya gained its freedom from the House of Gaddafi is the fact that there is currently no leader in Libya with charisma or a lot of street cred. There is certainly a need for a person with leadership, vision, and charisma but they often end up wanting to become a permanent fixture in the throne. I believe, although with no concrete proof, that there are likely people and groups who are waiting for the opportunity to kick out the NTC or manipulate the NTC to their own ends and take over power in Libya. All freedom loving and rational Libyans have to be on guard against anyone or any group who will try to impose a malevolent and self centered agenda on the Libyan people.

After 42 years of insanity, we must ask God for help and look at ourselves to find people of good character who will faithfully and honestly work to better the lives of the Libyan nation.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL6E8CF09420120115?sp=true   

War and Peace

The future of Libya is in a precarious state right now. There are those ignorant fools who think that by force of arms, they will impose their will on Libya. By following this path, all of these armed groups will move inexorably towards civil war to finish what Gaddafi started. Gaddafi never turned Libya into a rational functioning state; he kept the people paranoid and ignorant. My family was among the lucky to have escaped to the West and could only look back and hope for change in Libya. Now that the change has arrived and indeed the whirlwind has changed the world and not just Libya, the Libyan people must show that they can overcome the stereotype of Arabs. We must use words and not bullets.  We must use our heads and not simply give in to our desire for revenge or war booty.

We Libyans should not cut off our nose to spite our face or fight each other tooth and nail to get the spoils of the revolution.

If Libya does indeed degenerate into a free for all, my brothers and I will be more inclined than ever to return to help our relatives survive the coming storm. I hope and pray that further fighting does not break out. Libya is a rich country and needs all of us working together to create a better future for Libya and indeed the region and the whole Muslim world.

The Economist is predicting that Libya will have the most economic growth this year. I know this to be true but the sad fact is Gaddafi  stifled the growth of the country and the revolution destroyed what little infrastructure and much of the investments Gaddafi  and crew made in weapons and hurt too many good Libyans. The end of Gaddafi is something that all good Libyans have been waiting for. Now we must bury the hatchet and forge ahead to improve our lives and those who have suffered due to the former regime.


http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2012/01/daily-chart

The NTC is a mess

Today I found out that there was hours of fighting in Tripoli between Misratah rebels and Tripoli rebels.  This is insane.  Why are Misratah guys in Tripoli shooting it out?  What is the NTC doing to defuse tensions and stop people from dying for no good reason?  The people of Libya must demand that the un-elected members of the NTC change their ways before things get out of hand and a civil war develops. 

In addition, the NTC is trying to rig up the elections so that those of us with dual citizenship are barred from elections?  Why are we going to be treated as second class citizens?  We helped to foster and nurture the revolution.  In fact some dual nationals died during the war or were injured.  Why is the NTC treating us in the same manner as Gaddafi loyalists and saying both groups can't run for elected office?  Does the NTC not want dual nationals to return home to help in the reconstruction of Libya?

The Libyan love of vendetta

Many Libyans enjoy gossip and vendetta.  I guess since Libyans were not able to pursue many of life's simple pleasures and hobbies they did what humans have done for thousands of years and enjoyed gossiping and backstabbing.  Now that access to media and new forms of entertainment will become more available, the Libyans will have more unfettered sources of western gossip and show business.  I hope the personalized, neighborhood, and local gossip tapers off now that people can focus on Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga. 

The second thing Libyans partake in, like many in the Middle East, is the love of vendetta.  Of the two, gossip and vendetta or feuds, vendetta is much more dangerous.  For us in the West, the state is supposed to mete out justice and punishment when someone kills our loved ones.  In Libya under Gaddafi, it was usually the state that was the one doing the murdering and stealing and to feud with Gaddafi or his clan was a suicidal path that almost no one took up.  Now that Libya is free, there are people who have decided to act as vigilantes or want revenge for the death or injury of their friends or family.  I understand that when someone has wronged you, naturally you want justice and punishment for the guilty party or parties. 

However, if everyone decided to take the law into their own hands we would have anarchy and chaos.  Do we want to live like the Hatfields and McCoys of American folklore?  Are we just Libyan Hillbillies who have no sense or rational thoughts in our heads?  All Libyans suffered under Gaddafi, even the ones who benefitted from his regime had to pay some sort of price for the power and wealth.  Now is the time to move on and build a new and better Libya.  A Libya where all of our children can grow up to be normal and rational people and free of violence is one of my goals.  We do not need to keep making the same mistakes and act like barbarians. 

My vendetta ended the day the rebels of Misratah killed Col. Gaddafi and I don't want or need a new vendetta to occupy my time. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45791549/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/#.Tvv3PfKwUQu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatfield%E2%80%93McCoy_feud