168-502: Gaddafi loyalism , in a wider political and social sense also known as the Green resistance , consists of sympathetic sentiment towards the overthrown government of Muammar Gaddafi , who was killed in October 2011, and his Third International Theory . Despite Muammar Gaddafi's death, his legacy and Jamahiriya ideology still maintains a popular appeal both inside and outside Libya into
336-529: A Forbes article in 2009, Fathi's brother wrote that "for nearly a year, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch hesitated to advocate publicly for Fathi's case, because they feared their case workers might lose access to Libyan visas ." In 2009, Saif al-Islam welcomed Sarah Leah Whitson , director of Human Rights Watch 's Middle East division, into Libya, accompanying her in meeting with many government officials and others during her visit. She wrote of her official visit that "the real impetus for
504-464: A National Transitional Council source claimed that Saif had been given a forged passport near Murzuk and was in the Ghat area near the border of Niger and Algeria. The same source claimed that Abdullah Senussi was helping Saif plot his escape. An international team of lawyers representing the interests of Saif al-Islam wrote to US leaders demanding that he be protected from assassination and holding
672-585: A 1995 article that alleged he had masterminded an international money-laundering conspiracy. The lawsuit was settled after the intervention of Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud with The Sunday Telegraph agreeing to publish an apology and pay a portion of Saif's legal costs. In 2005, Gaddafi was awarded a "Young Global Leader" title by the World Economic Forum . In January 2011, WEF founder Klaus Schwab personally invited Saif to attend
840-470: A NATO airstrike on 30 April 2011. In June 2011, Saif al-Islam and his father, Muammar, announced that they were willing to hold elections, and that Muammar Gaddafi would step aside if he lost. Saif al-Islam stated that the elections could be held within three months and transparency would be guaranteed through international observers. NATO and the rebels rejected the offer, and NATO soon resumed their bombardment of Tripoli. On 27 June 2011, an arrest warrant
1008-464: A Western-backed "puppet government" with ties to Al-Qaeda , and charged that Qatar was paying Sudanese pilots to bomb their positions. On the other hand, the more government-friendly Libya Herald newspaper reported that a large contingent of Gaddafi-friendly fighters were scattered near Ajilat as they tried to aid other Gaddafi-loyalists in Sabha, with five of them killed. The report claimed that if
1176-582: A bombing outside the headquarters of the Military Police on 10 August. On 19 August, two people were killed and up to five were injured when a car bomb went off at dawn near the former military academy for women. Another car bomb exploded at the same time near the interior ministry, but no one was harmed. The bombings occurred on the eve of the anniversary of the Battle of Tripoli . Tripoli's head of security, Col. Mahmoud Sherif, blamed Gaddafi loyalists for
1344-465: A consequence, Libya was more ready to ration output in order to conserve its natural wealth and less responsive to moderating its price-rise demands than the other countries. Petroleum was seen both as a means of financing the economic and social development of a woefully underdeveloped country and as a political weapon to brandish in the Arab struggle against Israel. The increase in production that followed
1512-534: A figure that subsequently rose to 70 percent. Total nationalization was out of the question, given the need for foreign expertise and funds in oil exploration, production, and distribution. Insisting on the continued use of petroleum as leverage against Israel and its supporters in the West, Libya strongly urged the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) to take action in 1973 , and Libyan militancy
1680-559: A former British Ambassador to Libya, disagreed with his assessment while public intellectual Benjamin Barber , a board member of the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations , defended Saif as a reformer and called for Western engagement with Saif as the best way to end the bloodshed. In an interview with ABC News reporter Christiane Amanpour , Saif al-Islam denied that his father's regime
1848-544: A hundred tanks and twenty-six rocket launchers were seized from an alleged pro-Gaddafi militia (named Katibat Al-Awfiyah , or Brigade of the Faithful), during a government raid on their campsite in Tarhuna . The operation ended with one of the fighters killed, eight wounded and thirteen detained—including the commander—and accused of being linked with 19 August Tripoli bombings. Three fighters managed to escape. Omran Shaban,
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#17327800635922016-572: A large counter-demonstration from those in favour of the 2011 revolution. Another protest happened on 7 August in Bani Walid, a city that was a stronghold of pro-Gaddafi loyalists. On 5 May, Gaddafi loyalists along with soldiers loyal to Khalifa Haftar captured the town of Zella after an intense battle with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya fighters near Sirte . Some loyalists joined
2184-451: A large percentage of those charged were acquitted, sentences of up to fifteen years in prison and heavy fines were imposed on others. Five death sentences, all but one of them in absentia , were pronounced; among them, one against Idris. Former Queen Fatima and former Crown Prince Hasan were sentenced to five and three years in prison, respectively. Meanwhile, Gaddafi and the RCC had disbanded
2352-446: A law was introduced affirming equality of the sexes and insisting on wage parity. In 1971, Gaddafi sponsored the creation of a Libyan General Women's Federation . In 1972, a law was passed criminalizing the marriage of any females under the age of sixteen and ensuring that a woman's consent was a necessary prerequisite for a marriage. Remaking of the economy was parallel with the attempt to remold political and social institutions. Until
2520-537: A military camp associated with the NTC on the outskirts of the city. On 1 April, between 21 and 34 Zuwara militiamen were detained by members of a neighbouring town's militia. Fighters from Ragdalein stated that they captured the men after months of abuses by a Zuwara brigade, including the looting of property. For their part, the Zuwara local council head accused Ragdalein of being a hub of Gaddafi loyalists. A third version of
2688-588: A network of reservoirs and the towns of Tripoli, Sirte and Benghazi in 2006–2007. It is part of the Great Manmade River project, started in 1984. It is pumping large resources of water from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System to both urban populations and new irrigation projects around the country. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi ( Arabic : سيف الإسلام معمر القذافي ; born 25 June 1972)
2856-411: A proportion of informants on par with Ba'athist Iraq and Juche Korea . Filled with politically astute zealots, the ubiquitous revolutionary committees in 1979 assumed control of BPC elections. Although they were not official government organs, the revolutionary committees became another mainstay of the domestic political scene. As with the people's committees and other administrative innovations since
3024-604: A result of a foreign policy dispute. British Petroleum rejected as inadequate a Libyan offer of compensation, and the British treasury banned Libya from participation in the Sterling Area . In 1973, the Libyan government announced the nationalization of a controlling interest in all other petroleum companies operating in the country. This step gave Libya control of about 60 percent of its domestic oil production by early 1974,
3192-485: A serious intent to bring the "defunct regime" to account. In 1971 and 1972, more than 200 former government officials (including seven prime ministers and numerous cabinet ministers), as well as former King Idris and members of the royal family, were brought to the Libyan People's Court to be tried on charges of treason and corruption. Many, who lived in exile (including Idris), were tried in absentia . Although
3360-586: A state of emergency after Gaddafi loyalists took over the Tamahind air force base near the southern city of Sabha . On 22 January Voice of Russia featured a report with Libyans who claimed that much of the southern half of the country as well as Bani Walid had fallen under the control of the "Green" Gaddafi loyalists, and that some foreign Libyan embassies were flying the Gaddafi-era green flag in support. The interviewed Libyans claimed to be fighting against
3528-558: A statement calling for the withdrawal of the decree. On 24 January, nine soldiers were killed and 27 injured near Tripoli in clashes with Gaddafi loyalists. On 4 August, dozens of Gaddafi loyalists staged a rare public demonstration in Benghazi (the only pro-Gaddafi gathering in the city as of yet), chanting pro-Gaddafi slogans and waving the flag of the Jamahiriya , in response to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's death sentence. The protest
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#17327800635923696-751: A trip by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to Tripoli , in an interview with The Globe and Mail Gaddafi requested a formal apology from the Canadian government , for joining U.S. -led sanctions against Libya after the Lockerbie bombing , and for denying him a student visa to study in Canada in 1997. His request was met with incredulity in Canada, and the Canadian government announced that no apology would be forthcoming. Gaddafi played an important role in
3864-582: A two vehicle convoy would pass through southern Libya on the night of 18 November and this allowed the rebel fighters to ambush the convoy. Saif was taken to Zintan by plane and, pending trial, he was kept in detention by the Zintan-militia that captured him. A differing account was provided by Ejmi al-Atiri of the Zintan Brigades . According to al-Atiri, Saif never offered them money in exchange for his release, but instead asked to be shot in
4032-542: A university professor that have being invited to a reconciliation meeting in Tripoli were detained on charges of planning violent acts to destabilize the capital. On September 1, shy celebrations marking the 49th anniversary of Al Fateh Revolution spread over several cities including Sabha, Sirte, Benghazi and Tripoli suburbs. On September 2, hundreds of prisoners, including Gaddafi supporters, escaped from Ain Zara prison in
4200-461: A wealthy state. Although oil drastically improved the Libyan government's finances, resentment began to build over the increased concentration of the nation's wealth in the hands of King Idris . This discontent mounted with the rise of Nasserism and Arab nationalism / socialism throughout North Africa and the Middle East. On 1 September 1969, a group of about 70 young army officers known as
4368-465: Is a Libyan political figure. He is the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife Safia Farkash . He was a part of his father's inner circle, performing public relations and diplomatic roles on his behalf. He publicly turned down his father's offer of the country's second highest post and held no official government position. According to United States Department of State officials in Tripoli, during his father's reign, he
4536-790: Is a Left-Wing political movement which has elements of Arab nationalism , Nasserism , Anti-imperialism , socialism , Pan-Arabism , and principles of direct democracy . Following Gaddafi's fall, several states, such as Venezuela , refused to accept the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government, opting to continue recognising the former Gaddafi government. In Libya, loyalists either fled to foreign countries or went into hiding to avoid prosecutions. Shortly before his capture, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam appeared on Syrian pro-Gaddafi television on 22 October in an attempt to rally remaining loyalists claiming "I am in Libya, I am alive and free and willing to fight to
4704-545: Is a very important person. He will help you; he is on your side." Saleh Abdel Salam, executive director of GICDF, was intimidating. We didn't realise it then, but this Libyan man would indeed help us in the future. Saif introduced the Isratine proposal to permanently resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict through a secular , federalist , republican , binational one-state solution . Gaddafi served as Chairman of
4872-462: Is no confirmation as to whether or not the clashes had anything to do with the guerrillas. On 6 April, French leading newspaper Le Figaro reported that a dozen people were killed near the border town of Ghat on 1 and 2 April in fighting between former pro-Gaddafi Tuaregs and the Zintan tribe. The town of Ghat, in the deserts of southwest Libya, was a stronghold of Gaddafi during his reign. It
5040-620: The Imadec business school in Vienna , where he became friends with OPEC official Shukri Ghanem and Austrian far-right politician Jörg Haider . Upon his arrival in Vienna, Saif was granted permission by the Mayor of Vienna and the head of Schönbrunn Zoo to keep his pet tigers at the zoo. According to Simon McDonald , Saif still had a white tiger at his farm near Tripoli in the late 2000s, but
5208-473: The 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing , the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing – conditional upon U.S. payment of compensation for the 40 Libyans killed and 220 injured in the 1986 United States bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi . On 14 August 2008, the U.S.-Libya Comprehensive Claims Settlement Agreement was signed in Tripoli . Former British Ambassador to Libya Oliver Miles described
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5376-510: The Battle of Sirte on the side of the GNA. On 23 December, a Gaddafi loyalist hijacked a plane which was flying from Sabha to Tripoli and was diverted to Malta. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi , the son of Muammar Gaddafi, announced on 22 March 2018 that he will run for president of Libya , in the 2019 Libyan General Election . On May 20, a delegation of Gaddafi exiled supporters comprising three former high-ranking military officials, three activists and
5544-417: The Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations (GICDF), arrived at the prison, inviting us to the director's office of the women's wing for a meeting. We were in our pyjamas, dishevelled and unprepared. We hastily put on some clothes and hurried to meet the director. A Libyan man along with Ambassador Lyudmil Spassov and Roumen Petrov waited for us outside the office. The Ambassador told us, "This
5712-515: The Libyan regime in the period of rapprochement that followed. He was viewed as a reformer, and openly criticized the regime: [a] congressional aide asked him what Libya needed most. His one-word answer: democracy. "You mean Libya needs more democracy?" the aide asked. "No. 'More democracy' would imply that we had some," Gaddafi said. In 2003, he published a report critical of Libya's record on human rights. On 10 December 2004, shortly before
5880-536: The North African country," and that instead, it "will focus on its 'core charitable mission' of delivering aid and relief to sub-Saharan Africa ." The board meeting of the foundation was moved from Tripoli to London due to hostilities from hardliners of his father's regime. Gaddafi was instrumental in negotiations that led to Libya 's abandoning a weapons of mass destruction programme in 2002–2003. He arranged several important business deals on behalf of
6048-607: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya has placed Gaddafi right behind Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh but ahead of all other candidates in the first round of the elections. Mustafa Al-Zaidi , leader of the National Movement Party , is a Gaddafi loyalist party. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya , a Gaddafi loyalist militia and political party that
6216-623: The Rixos Hotel . He was later interviewed by Matthew Chance of CNN , where he claimed his father was also still in Tripoli and report of his arrest was a "trick" by rebels. After the fall of Tripoli , Saif al-Islam called into Arrai TV and claimed that he was still in a suburb of Tripoli on 31 August. He later went to Bani Walid , but reportedly left on 3 September after attending the funeral of his brother Khamis . On 5 September, another brother, Saadi , said in an interview with CNN that an "aggressive" speech by Saif al-Islam had led to
6384-572: The Rome statute . He denied the charges. Gaddafi was captured in southern Libya by the Zintan militia on 19 November 2011, after the end of the Libyan Civil War , and flown by plane to Zintan. He was sentenced to death on 28 July 2015 by a court in Tripoli for crimes during the civil war, in a widely criticized trial conducted in absentia . He remained in the custody of the de facto independent authorities of Zintan. On 10 June 2017, he
6552-513: The Senussi order and officially downgraded its historical role in achieving Libya's independence. He also declared regional and tribal issues to be "obstructions" in the path of social advancement and Arab unity, dismissing traditional leaders and drawing administrative boundaries across tribal groupings . The Free Officers Movement was renamed " Arab Socialist Union " (ASU) in 1971 (modeled after Egypt's Arab Socialist Union ), while also becoming
6720-649: The Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries, all the while maintaining Libya's stance as a nonaligned country and opposing the spread of communism in the Arab world. Libya's army—sharply increased from the 6,000-man pre-revolutionary force that had been trained and equipped by the British—was armed with Soviet-built armor and missiles. The economic base for Libya's revolution has been its oil revenues. However, Libya's petroleum reserves were small compared with those of other major Arab petroleum-producing states. As
6888-746: The Tariq Ben Zeyad Brigade made arrests in the Buhadi area of the city. Celebrations for the 54th anniversary of the Al Fateh Revolution occurred in a few cities in 2023. Most of celebrations were concentrated in southern cities like Traghan , as well as the city of Bani Walid in the North West . Polling for the Next Libyan presidential election with the participation of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi under
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7056-456: The human rights situation in Libya . While AI and HRW reported that there were concerns about the "repressive atmosphere," both felt there were signs of "improvement" and HRW said that one should not "underestimate the importance of the efforts made so far" by Gaddafi in the realm of human rights in Libya. In December 2010, Gaddafi announced that his charity foundation "will no longer be involved in promoting human rights and political change in
7224-502: The monarchy and the old constitution and established the Libyan Arab Republic , with the motto " freedom , socialism and unity". The name of Libya was changed several times during Gaddafi's tenure as leader. From 1969 to 1977, the name was the Libyan Arab Republic . In 1977, the name was changed to Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya . Jamahiriya was a term coined by Gaddafi, usually translated as "state of
7392-542: The sole legal party in Gaddafi's Libya. It acted as a "vehicle of national expression", purporting to "raise the political consciousness of Libyans" and to "aid the RCC in formulating public policy through debate in open forums". Trade unions were incorporated into the ASU and strikes outlawed. The press, already subject to censorship, was officially conscripted in 1972 as an agent of the revolution. Italians (and what remained of
7560-461: The "encircling, demonic forces of reaction, imperialism, and Zionism"), increasingly devoted attention to international rather than internal affairs. As a result, routine administrative tasks fell to Major Jallud, who became prime minister in place of Gaddafi, in 1972. Two years later, Jallud assumed Gaddafi's remaining administrative and protocol duties to allow Gaddafi to devote his time to revolutionary theorizing. Gaddafi remained commander-in-chief of
7728-539: The "revolutionary committees", which were nominally grass-roots organizations that helped keep the people engaged. As a result, although Gaddafi held no formal government office after 1979, he retained control of the government and the country. Gaddafi also remained supreme commander of the armed forces. All legislative and executive authority was vested in the GPC. This body, however, delegated most of its important authority to its general secretary and General Secretariat and to
7896-474: The "separation of the state from the revolution" were complete. The government was divided into two parts, the "Jamahiriya sector" and the "revolutionary sector". The "Jamahiriya sector" was composed of the General People's Congress, the General People's Committee, and the local Basic People's Congresses . Gaddafi relinquished his position as general secretary of the General People's Congress, as which he
8064-521: The 1969 revolution was accompanied by Libyan demands for higher petroleum prices, a greater share of revenues, and more control over the development of the country's petroleum industry. Foreign petroleum companies agreed to a price hike of more than three times the going rate (from US$ 0.90 to US$ 3.45 per barrel) early in 1971. In December, the Libyan government suddenly nationalized the holdings of British Petroleum in Libya and withdrew funds amounting to approximately US$ 550 million invested in British banks as
8232-521: The 1970s and 1980s . All of his actions led to a deterioration of Libya's foreign relations with several countries, mostly Western states , and culminated in the 1986 United States bombing of Libya . Gaddafi defended his government's actions by citing the need to support anti-imperialist and anti-colonial movements around the world. Notably, Gaddafi supported anti-Zionist , pan-Arab , pan-Africanist , Arab and black civil rights movements. Gaddafi's behavior, often erratic, led some outsiders ( from
8400-815: The 1980s and 1990s, Gaddafi, in alliance with the Eastern Bloc and Fidel Castro's Cuba , openly supported liberation movements like Nelson Mandela's African National Congress , Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization , the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Polisario Front . Gaddafi's government was either known to be or suspected of participating in or aiding attacks by these and other liberation alliance forces. Additionally, Gaddafi undertook several invasions of neighboring states in Africa, notably Chad in
8568-620: The British and American military withdrawal from the new republic. The last of the American contingent turned the facility over to the Libyans on 11 June 1970, a date thereafter celebrated in Libya as a national holiday. On 27 March 1970, the British air base in El Adem and the naval base in Tobruk were abandoned. As relations with the U.S. steadily deteriorated, Gaddafi forged close links with
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#17327800635928736-534: The Egyptian experience and the charismatic figure of Nasser had formed the model for the Free Officers Movement. As the RCC in the last months of 1969 moved vigorously to institute domestic reforms, it proclaimed neutrality in the confrontation between the superpowers and opposition to all forms of colonialism and imperialism. It also made clear Libya's dedication to Arab unity and to the support of
8904-479: The Free Officers Movement and enlisted men mostly assigned to the Signal Corps , seized control of the government and in a stroke abolished the Libyan monarchy. The coup was launched at Benghazi , and within two hours the takeover was completed. Army units quickly rallied in support of the coup, and within a few days firmly established military control in Tripoli and throughout the country. Popular reception of
9072-904: The Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations. In this role, he was involved in a number of humanitarian initiatives. Saif's first foray into international diplomacy was serving as an intermediary between the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group and the Government of the Philippines in August 2000. Notably, he hosted peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Tripoli . In
9240-426: The Gaddafi government during the civil war. The Mashashya tribe chose to side with the Gaddafi government, whilst fighters from Zintan played a prominent role, fighting in favour of the NTC. This, combined with a dispute over land and bitterness over prisoners of war from Mashashya, led to the fighting. It is unclear if Green Resistance had a role in instigating the violence. As a result of the fierce fighting between
9408-566: The General People's Committee, which replaced the Council of Ministers, its members now called secretaries rather than ministers. The Libyan government claimed that the Jamahiriya was a direct democracy without any political parties , governed by its populace through local popular councils and communes (named Basic People's Congresses ). Official rhetoric disdained the idea of a nation state , tribal bonds remaining primary, even within
9576-403: The General People's Committee. Gaddafi, as general secretary of the GPC, remained the primary decision maker, just as he had been when chairman of the RCC. In turn, all adults had the right and duty to participate in the deliberation of their local Basic People's Congress (BPC), whose decisions were passed up to the GPC for consideration and implementation as national policy. The BPCs were in theory
9744-571: The HIV trial in Libya. At first, he rejected information the medics were tortured. "During this time we saw Gaddafi's son on a television broadcast categorically denying that Libya still tortured suspected criminals", claimed Valya Chervianashka, one of the accused nurses in her autobiography. Later he admitted in interviews that the Bulgarian nurses, charged with conspiring to deliberately infect over 400 children with HIV in 1998, had been tortured and that
9912-571: The Jewish community) were expelled from the country, their property confiscated in October 1970. In 1972, Libya joined the Federation of Arab Republics with Egypt and Syria ; the previously-intended union of pan-Arabic states, never coming to fruition, went effectively dormant after 1973. As months passed, Gaddafi, caught up in his apocalyptic visions of revolutionary Pan-Arabism and Islam (both locked in mortal struggle with what he termed
10080-456: The LSE academics acknowledged in the thesis as directly assisting with it were Nancy Cartwright , David Held and Alex Voorhoeve (the son of former Dutch minister Joris Voorhoeve ). Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University was also thanked for having read portions of the manuscript and providing advice and direction. Alongside accusations of plagiarism, allegations abound that Saif's thesis
10248-648: The Libyan National Association for Drugs and Narcotics Control (DNAG). In 1998, he founded the official charity, the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations , which intervened in various hostage situations involving Islamic militants and the crisis of the HIV trial in Libya and the resulting European Union - Libyan rapprochement. In 2009, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were allowed entry to Libya, via Gaddafi's non-profit organization in order to gather facts about
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#173278006359210416-552: The Libyan government after the coup. In its initial proclamation on 1 September, the RCC declared the country to be a free and sovereign state called the Libyan Arab Republic , which would proceed "in the path of freedom, unity, and social justice, guaranteeing the right of equality to its citizens, and opening before them the doors of honorable work." The rule of the Turks and Italians and the "reactionary" government just overthrown were characterized as belonging to "dark ages", from which
10584-448: The Libyan people were called to move forward as "free brothers" to a new age of prosperity, equality, and honor. The RCC advised diplomatic representatives in Libya that the revolutionary changes had not been directed from outside the country, that existing treaties and agreements would remain in effect, and that foreign lives and property would be protected. Diplomatic recognition of the new government came quickly from countries throughout
10752-450: The Megharahi case. In 2007, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Tripoli, with whom it is alleged he helped broker an arms deal, including missiles. In November 2008, Gaddafi made a high-profile visit to the United States where he met with US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice . During the meeting, Rice raised the case of Libya's jailed political dissident and democracy activist, Fathi El-Jahmi . In
10920-597: The Palestinian cause against Israel. The RCC reaffirmed the country's identity as part of the "Arab nation" and its state religion as Islam . It abolished parliamentary institutions, all legislative functions being assumed by the RCC, and continued the prohibition against political parties, in effect since 1952. The new government categorically rejected communism – in large part because it was atheist – and officially espoused an Arab interpretation of socialism that integrated Islamic principles with social, economic, and political reform. Libya had shifted, virtually overnight, from
11088-488: The RCC decided to promote Captain Gaddafi to colonel and to appoint him commander in chief of the Libyan Armed Forces. Although RCC spokesmen declined until January 1970 to reveal any other names of RCC members, it was apparent from that date onward that the head of the RCC and new de facto head of state was Gaddafi. Analysts were quick to point out the striking similarities between the Libyan military coup of 1969 and that in Egypt under Nasser in 1952, and it became clear that
11256-414: The United States and NATO responsible for the Libyan leader's "brutal assassination" and repeated attacks on Libya's civilian population. On 19 November 2011, as Saif al-Islam was trying to flee from Libya, he and four aides were captured, and detained about 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of the town of Ubari near Sabha in southern Libya, 640 kilometres (400 mi) from Tripoli. Sources say that it
11424-440: The United States had "humiliated" his father during his visit to New York City in 2009, and said that his father's tent and residence issues were disappointing and his UN speech had been misinterpreted. Gaddafi said that his father was barred from visiting Ground Zero , which also frustrated him. Gaddafi held a standoff with US officials in November 2009, refusing to send a shipment of Highly Enriched Uranium back to Russia unless
11592-457: The United States renewed its commitment to cooperation with Libya. Saif was allegedly supportive of the Tunisian Revolution and cautiously optimistic of the 2011 Egyptian revolution in the early phase of the Arab Spring . On 19 February, several days after the Arab Spring came to Libya, Saif al-Islam announced the creation of a commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by a Libyan judge, as reported on state television . He stated that
11760-463: The Warshefana, riding in vehicles with "Brigade of the Martyr Muhammad Gaddafi" written on them and flying Gaddafi's green flag, had attacked his men. He also claimed that his men captured pro-Gaddafi "mercenaries" from sub-Saharan Africa. NTC figures, however, denied that they were Gaddafi loyalists, blaming the clashes instead on a misunderstanding. The fighting resulted in between 7 and 14 dead. The National Transitional Council claimed to have resolved
11928-400: The West, perhaps as propoganda) to conclude that he was not mentally sound, a claim disputed by the Libyan authorities and other observers close to Gaddafi. Despite receiving extensive aid and technical assistance from the Soviet Union and its allies, Gaddafi retained close ties to pro-American governments in Western Europe , largely by courting Western oil companies with promises of access to
12096-632: The Zintan brigade blocked off the area and arrested them on sight. Saif al-Islam was taken to Zintan by plane and, pending trial, he is kept in detention by the Zintan militia. On 23 November, clashes erupted as a National Transitional Council militia tried to apprehend a suspected loyalist in Bani Walid , which was one of the last pro-Gaddafi strongholds in the civil war. At least seven people were reported killed, five of them NTC militia. In January 2012, residents of Sirte , Gaddafi's hometown, attacked
12264-459: The agreement as "a bold step, with political cost for both parties" and wrote an article in the online edition of The Guardian querying whether the agreement is likely to work. In an August 2008 BBC TV interview, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said that Libya had admitted responsibility (but not "guilt") for the Lockerbie bombing simply to get trade sanctions removed. He further admitted that Libya
12432-610: The annual WEF Forum in Davos . Gaddafi was awarded a PhD degree in 2008 from the London School of Economics , where he attended amid a series of contacts between the school and the Libyan political establishment. He presented a thesis on "The role of civil society in the democratisation of global governance institutions: from 'soft power' to collective decision-making?" Examined by Meghnad Desai (London School of Economics) and Anthony McGrew ( University of Southampton ), among
12600-532: The armed forces and effective head of state. The foreign press speculated about an eclipse of his authority and personality within the RCC, but Gaddafi soon dispelled such theories by his measures to restructure Libyan society. After the September coup, U.S. forces proceeded deliberately with the planned withdrawal from Wheelus Air Base under the agreement made with the previous government. The foreign minister, Salah Busir , played an important role in negotiating
12768-498: The army's backing and would "fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet." Speaking on Libyan state TV, Saif al-Islam blamed the civil war on tribal factions and Islamists acting on their own agendas, drunken and drugged. He promised reforms, and said the alternative would be civil war blocking trade and oil money and leading to the country being taken over by foreigners. He closed by saying, "We will not let Al Jazeera , Al Arabiya and BBC trick us." Oliver Miles ,
12936-437: The attack, and the following day Libyan authorities announced they had arrested 32 members of a pro-Gaddafi network in connection with the bombings. On the same day as the arrests, a bomb was placed under the car of an Egyptian diplomat. The bomb exploded, but nobody was injured. The incident was also blamed by the government on Gaddafi loyalists. On 23 August, Interior ministry spokesman Abdelmonem al-Hur claimed that more than
13104-524: The body politic. Beginning in 1977, "revolutionary committees" were organized and assigned the task of "absolute revolutionary supervision of people's power"; that is, they were to guide the people's committees, "raise the general level of political consciousness and devotion to revolutionary ideals". In reality, the revolutionary committees were used to survey the population and repress any political opposition to Gaddafi's autocratic rule. Reportedly 10% to 20% of Libyans worked in surveillance for these committees,
13272-504: The borders, yet we have no capacity to defend that wealth." Because of a US legal embargo, Libya cannot purchase weapons from the United States, Sweden , or Germany , and has been disallowed from buying "Tiger" vehicles with American-manufactured engines from Jordan . He asked for greater military assistance, as Libya had committed itself to destroying chemical stockpiles, but would require at least $ 25 million to do so. Gaddafi said
13440-597: The breakdown of the negotiations between NTC forces and Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid. Shortly after Saadi fled to Niger on 11 September, another brother, Mutassim , was said to have crossed paths with Saif for the last time. Their last encounter was acrimonious as Mutassim allegedly blamed Saif's yesteryear reforms for causing their family's downfall. On 20 September, Arrai TV broadcast footage of Saif rallying his father's supporters, promising them weapons, and appealing to them to retake Tripoli. Contrary to previous reports, Saif al-Islam apparently stayed in Bani Walid until
13608-419: The camp of conservative Arab traditionalist states to that of the radical nationalist states. Following the formation of the Libyan Arab Republic , Gaddafi and his associates insisted that their government would not rest on individual leadership, but rather on collegial decision making. The first major cabinet change occurred soon after the first challenge to the government. In December 1969, Adam Said Hawwaz,
13776-403: The commission was intended to be "for members of Libyan and foreign organizations of human rights" and that it would "investigate the circumstances and events that have caused many victims." He also circulated an op-ed to several American newspapers calling for reform and a new constitution, but every newspaper rejected it. Later in the month, he went on state television to deny allegations that
13944-648: The compensation paid to the families of the victims (US$ 2.33 billion), Gaddafi replied: "I don't know." Gaddafi led negotiations with Britain for the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi , the convicted Pan Am 103 conspirator. In August 2009, after Scotland's Cabinet Secretary of Justice Kenny MacAskill ordered Megharahi's release, Saif drafted letters to Alex Salmond , the First Minister of Scotland , and Simon McDonald , foreign policy adviser of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown , thanking them for their support, which led to accusation of undue political influence in
14112-511: The component jumhūr —"public"—to its plural form, jamāhīr —"the masses". Thus, it is similar to the term People's Republic . It is often left untranslated in English, with the long-form name thus rendered as Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya . However, in Hebrew , for instance, jamāhīrīyah is translated as "קהילייה" ( qehiliyáh ), a word also used to translate
14280-571: The concept of direct democracy that Gaddafi propounded in the first volume of The Green Book , which appeared in 1976. The same concept lay behind proposals to create a new political structure composed of "people's congresses". The centerpiece of the new system was the General People's Congress (GPC), a national representative body intended to replace the RCC. During this transition, on 7 April 1976, students of universities in Tripoli and Benghazi protested against human rights violations and
14448-555: The coup, especially by younger people in the urban areas, was enthusiastic. Fears of resistance in Cyrenaica and Fezzan proved unfounded. No deaths or violent incidents related to the coup were reported. The Free Officers Movement, which claimed credit for carrying out the coup, was headed by a twelve-member directorate that designated itself the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). This body constituted
14616-506: The death of his father Muammar and his brother Mutassim in Sirte on 20 October 2011, Saif al-Islam was the only member of the Gaddafi family left in Libya. He appeared on Syrian pro-Gaddafi television on 22 October claiming "I am in Libya, I am alive and free and willing to fight to the end and take revenge", but his whereabouts were unknown and subject to many rumors. On 24 October 2011,
14784-415: The development of a broad range of economic activities that would continue to provide income after Libya's petroleum reserves had been exhausted. Agriculture was slated to receive the largest share of aid in an effort to make Libya self-sufficient in food and to help keep the rural population on the land. Industry, of which there was little before the revolution, also received a significant amount of funding in
14952-454: The different tribes, government troops were deployed to the area on 17 June. The area was subsequently declared a military zone. The deployment of soldiers and imposition of a government enforced ceasefire managed to prevent further clashes, with government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa declaring that fighting had ended on 18 June. In August 2012, claims surfaced of loyalist remnants attempting to smuggle weapons into Libya in an effort to destabilise
15120-411: The economy. Thereafter, output stabilized at about two million barrels per day. Production and hence income declined yet again in the early 1980s because of the high price of Libyan crude and because recession in the industrialized world reduced demand for oil from all sources. Libya's Five-Year Economic and Social Transformation Plan (1976–80), announced in 1975, was programmed to pump US$ 20 billion into
15288-562: The end and take revenge." Several days of fighting between fighters from Zawiya and fighters from Warshefana erupted in early November after the fighters from Warshefana set up a checkpoint on a highway near Zawiya and began challenging fighters from the city. Other reports stated that the groups were fighting over the Imaya military base, with Zawiya fighters claiming to be fighting Gaddafi loyalists. Zawiya field commander Walid bin Kora claimed that
15456-479: The events came from the government Interior Ministry which stated that the trouble started when a Zuwara hunting party close to nearby al-Jumail shot and killed a person from that town by mistake. The hunters were then arrested but released later. Another Zuwara council head claimed that the men were tortured before being released and stated that Zuwara came under mortar and anti-aircraft fire by militias from both Ragdalein and al-Jumail. On 3 April, reports emerged that
15624-881: The events were part of a coordinated movement, "it does not appear to be well organised, let alone have any significant or measurable support." On 22 January, the Libyan General National Congress passed Decree 5/2014, Concerning the Cessation and Ban on the Broadcasting of Certain Satellite Channels , aimed at censoring pro-Gaddafi satellite television stations such as al-Khadra (The Green Channel) and al-Nedaa (the Libyan Popular National Movement's channel). Reporters Without Borders subsequently issued
15792-607: The false pretence that their homes were military bases. He stated that NATO offered to drop the ICC charges against him and his father if they accept a secret deal, an offer they rejected. He thus criticised the ICC as "a fake court" controlled by NATO member states. On 3 August 2011, Saif al-Islam gave an interview to the New York Times stating that Libya was becoming more closely aligned to Islamists and would likely resemble Iran or Saudi Arabia. Saif al-Islam said that his father
15960-563: The families of the Lockerbie victims as "trading with the blood of their sons and daughters" and being very "greedy", saying, "They were asking for more money and more money and more money". Interviewed by French newspaper Le Figaro on 7 December 2007, Gaddafi said that the seven Libyans convicted for the Pan Am Flight 103 and the UTA Flight 772 bombings "are innocent". When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of
16128-426: The fighting in the Zuwara area was still continuing with at least one Zuwara militiaman killed and five wounded. The losses for militia from Ragdalein and al-Jumail were not known. Clashes were reported at the entrance to Ragdalein while groups in al-Jumail were shelling Zuwara. At least 14 were killed and 80 injured. On 4 April, the fighting escalated with the use of tanks and artillery . The reported number of dead
16296-664: The first development plan as well as in the second, launched in 1981. The "remaking of Libyan society" contained in Gaddafi's ideological visions began to be put into practice formally in 1973, with a cultural revolution. This revolution was designed to create bureaucratic efficiency, public interest and participation in the subnational governmental system, and national political coordination. In an attempt to instill revolutionary fervor into his compatriots and to involve large numbers of them in political affairs, Gaddafi urged them to challenge traditional authority and to take over and run government organs themselves. The instrument for doing this
16464-415: The government had denied them a fair trial. His admissions were said to have badly damaged his reputation in Libya. The torture process is confirmed and described in details in the book Notes from Hell , co-written by one of the nurses, Valya Chervianashka. Saif al-Islam was mentioned several times in the book. According to her: One day, the executive director of Muammar al-Gaddafi's son's foundation,
16632-445: The government had launched airstrikes against Libyan cities and stated that the number of protesters killed had been exaggerated. On 20 February 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi delivered an address to the nation on Libyan state television stating that if no agreement could be found between protesters and the government "thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya". He also insisted that his father remained in charge with
16800-669: The government. A member of the group in Tripoli's Abu Salim neighbourhood, a former pro-Gaddafi stronghold, claimed in an August 2012 interview that loyalist militia were rebuilding their strength and waiting for the right moment to move against the new government. Saadi Gaddafi was claimed to support the group whilst under house arrest in Niger. He warned in early 2012 that he was in contact with sleeper cells who were organising underground resistance. In addition to his son Saadi, Muammar Gaddafi's nephew Ahmad Gaddaf al-Damm, living in hiding in Egypt,
16968-442: The governorate, municipal, and zone (lowest) levels. Seats on the people's committees at the zone level were filled by direct popular election; members so elected could then be selected for service at higher levels. By mid-1973 estimates of the number of people's committees ranged above 2,000. In the scope of their administrative and regulatory tasks and the method of their members' selection, the people's committees purportedly embodied
17136-764: The head. In addition to three severed fingers, Saif also had wounds in his abdomen and his flanks and it was arranged that he be operated on in Zintan. He was operated on by Andrei Murakhovsky, a Ukrainian doctor working in Zintan, who disputed the rumor that Saif's fingers had been cut off and claimed that his injuries were consistent with "some kind of explosion." Dr. Murakhovsky claimed that his fingers were gangrenous and thus needed to be amputated to prevent osteomyolitis . The operation took four hours, and he needed daily medical monitoring for two months. Al-Atiri stated that Saif insisted he never paid foreign mercenaries to fight for his father and had no choice but to support his father due to traditional family loyalty. Atiri's account
17304-514: The heads of the sanitation department and the border guards. Tribal clashes in Zintan broke out on 17 June, after a Zintan man was killed after stopping at a checkpoint while attempting to transport tanks from a weapons depot in Mizda to Zintan. While the Zintanis had played a prominent role fighting in favour of the NTC during the civil war, the neighbouring Mashashya tribe had chosen to side with
17472-456: The issue over the weekend of the 12 and 13 November following a meeting with elders from Zawiya and Warshefana. On 19 November, Saif al-Islam and four loyalist fighters were captured west of the town of Ubari near Sabha in southern Libya. A nomad who had been hired to guide them in their planned escape to Niger secretly told government forces where Saif al-Islam and his two-vehicle convoy would be passing through. Acting on this information,
17640-488: The late 1970s, Libya's economy was mixed , with a large role for private enterprise except in the fields of oil production and distribution, banking, and insurance. But according to volume two of Gaddafi's Green Book, which appeared in 1978, private retail trade, rent, and wages were forms of exploitation that should be abolished. Instead, workers' self-management committees and profit participation partnerships were to function in public and private enterprises. A property law
17808-414: The lifting of international sanctions. In November 2010, Saif's independent newspaper was suspended after it published an article calling for a “final assault” on his father's government. His newspaper also defended his father's former chief of protocol Nuri Mesmari , who had defected to France earlier that month. Some of his allies, including 20 reporters, were arrested. Gaddafi was the president of
17976-508: The lucrative Libyan energy sector. After the 9/11 attacks , strained relations between Libya and NATO countries were mostly normalised, and sanctions against the country relaxed, in exchange for nuclear disarmament . In early 2011, a civil war broke out in the context of the wider Arab Spring . The rebel anti-Gaddafi forces formed a committee named the National Transitional Council in February 2011, to act as an interim authority in
18144-526: The man held most responsible for the extrajudicial killing of Gaddafi, was abducted by suspected Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid in July. He was imprisoned and tortured for two months before being released in September due to government pressure on Bani Walid. He was sent to France for medical treatment, but died of his wounds the same month. The rebels responsible have eluded capture or death. On 9 September, local militia in Bani Walid drove government forces from
18312-418: The masses") occurs only in the third part, published in 1981, in the phrase إن الحركات التاريخية هي الحركات الجماهيرية ( Inna al-ḥarakāt at-tārīkhīyah hiya al-ḥarakāt al-jamāhīrīyah ), translated in the English edition as "Historic movements are mass movements". The word jamāhīrīyah was derived from jumhūrīyah , which is the usual Arabic translation of "republic". It was coined by changing
18480-495: The masses". The country was renamed again in 1986 as the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , after the United States bombing that year. After coming to power, the RCC government initiated a process of directing funds toward providing education, health care and housing for all. Public education in the country became free and primary education compulsory for both sexes. Medical care became available to
18648-445: The military's control over "all aspects of life in Libya"; the students called for free and fair elections to take place and for power to be transferred to a civilian government. Violent counter-demonstrations took place, with many students imprisoned. On 7 April 1977, the anniversary of the event, students (including Omar Dabob and Muhammed Ben Saoud) were publicly executed in Benghazi, with anti-Gaddafi military officers executed later in
18816-488: The minister of defense, and Musa Ahmad, the minister of interior, were arrested and accused of planning a coup. In the new cabinet formed after the crisis, Gaddafi, retaining his post as chairman of the RCC, also became prime minister and defense minister. Major Abdel Salam Jallud , generally regarded as second only to Gaddafi in the RCC, became deputy prime minister and minister of interior. This cabinet totaled thirteen members, of whom five were RCC officers. The government
18984-600: The new capital of Libya in September. The fall of the last remaining sites in Sirte under pro-Gaddafi control on 20 October 2011, followed by the subsequent killing of Gaddafi , marked the end of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled the Kingdom of Libya to transition from one of the world's poorest nations to
19152-475: The new government and its institutions or otherwise judged to be damaging to public morale. Derisively called tahloob ("algae") by anti-Gaddafi Libyans, suspected loyalists have faced strong persecution following the war. Around 7,000 loyalist soldiers, as well as civilians accused of support for Gaddafi are being held in government prisons. Amnesty International has reported large scale torture and other mistreatment and executions, of those perceived as enemies of
19320-451: The new government. Reports and rumours of organised pro-Gaddafi activity have persisted since the war's end. The Libyan Popular National Movement was organised in exile on 15 February 2012 (the first anniversary of the protests that led to the civil war) by former officials in the Gaddafi government. The party, banned from participating in Libyan elections, may have also cultivated links with armed pro-Gaddafi groups in Libya. Statements from
19488-419: The newly dispossessed. The latter joined those already alienated, some of whom had begun to leave the country. By 1982, perhaps 50,000 to 100,000 Libyans had gone abroad; because many of the emigrants were among the enterprising and better educated Libyans, they represented a significant loss of managerial and technical expertise. The government also built a trans-Sahara water pipeline from major aquifers to both
19656-465: The next day. While the other Arab nations lifted their oil embargoes on 18 March 1974, the Gaddafi regime refused to do so. As a consequence of such policies, Libya's oil production declined by half between 1970 and 1974, while revenues from oil exports more than quadrupled. Production continued to fall, bottoming out at an eleven-year low in 1975 at a time when the government was preparing to invest large amounts of petroleum revenues in other sectors of
19824-593: The official political philosophy of Gaddafi's state, the "Jamahiriya" system was unique to the country, although it was presented as the materialization of the Third International Theory , proposed by Gaddafi to be applied to the entire Third World . The GPC also created the General Secretariat of the GPC, comprising the remaining members of the defunct Revolutionary Command Council, with Gaddafi as general secretary, and also appointed
19992-473: The party sometimes appear on websites affiliated with the so-called "Green Resistance" (after the sole colour of Gaddafi's flag), a term sometimes used by sympathisers to refer to supposed pro-Gaddafi militant groups. Bani Walid , Ghat , Al Ajaylat , Brak , and Sirte are cities with large amounts of Gaddafi loyalism present. The ideology of Gaddafi Loyalism follows the ideology of Muammar Gaddafi and Third International Theory . Third International Theory
20160-628: The present day. Regardless, the Western sentiment has largely been that this continued support may contribute to some of the ongoing violence in Libya. Sympathy for Gaddafi and his fallen government is viewed rather negatively by current Libyan authorities—both the legal government and extralegal militias — and even accusations of it can provoke harsh responses. In May 2012, the postwar government passed legislation imposing severe penalties for anyone giving favourable publicity to Gaddafi, his family, their regime or ideas, as well as anything denigrating
20328-520: The prime mover behind Libyan governance, while minimizing his visibility at a time when internal opposition to political repression was rising. The RCC was formally dissolved and the government was again reorganized into people's committees. A new General People's Committee (cabinet) was selected, each of its "secretaries" becoming head of a specialized people's committee; the exceptions were the "secretariats" of petroleum, foreign affairs, and heavy industry, where there were no people's committees. A proposal
20496-471: The protestors. 50 civilians had been detained since the start of the demonstrations in Sirte. On September 1, Gaddafi supporters celebrated the 51st anniversary of the Al Fateh Revolution taking to the streets of several towns like Ajaylat , Tiji (Al-Sayan), Bani Walid and Sabha. On November 14, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi registered his candidacy for the next Libyan presidential election but
20664-461: The public at no cost, but providing housing for all was a task the RCC government was unable to complete. Under Gaddafi, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$ 11,000 in nominal terms, and to over US$ 30,000 in PPP terms, the 5th highest in Africa. The increase in prosperity was accompanied by a pro-liberation anti-west foreign policy, and increased domestic political repression. During
20832-512: The ranks of the national army . Jamahiriya ( Arabic : جماهيرية jamāhīrīyah ) is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses"; Lisa Anderson has suggested "peopledom" or "state of the masses" as a reasonable approximations of the meaning of the term as intended by Gaddafi. The term does not occur in this sense in Muammar Gaddafi 's Green Book of 1975. The nisba -adjective jamāhīrīyah ("mass-, "of
21000-420: The rebel forces, requesting him not to use force against protesters, to which Younis responded that the protestors were attacking a military site, where surprised guards fired in self-defence. Younis was later assassinated by his fellow rebels on 28 July, allegedly for secret communication with Saif. Saif al-Islam condemned NATO for bombing Libyan civilians, including his family members and their children, under
21168-695: The rebel-controlled areas. After killings by government forces in addition to those by the rebel forces, a multinational coalition led by NATO forces intervened in March in support of the rebels. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Gaddafi and his entourage in June 2011. Gaddafi's government was overthrown in the wake of the fall of Tripoli to the rebel forces in August, although pockets of resistance held by forces in support of Gaddafi's government held out for another two months, especially in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte , which he declared
21336-484: The repository of ultimate political authority and decision making, embodying what Gaddafi termed direct "people's power". The 1977 declaration and its accompanying resolutions amounted to a fundamental revision of the 1969 constitutional proclamation, especially with respect to the structure and organization of the government at both national and subnational levels. Continuing to revamp Libya's political and administrative structure, Gaddafi introduced yet another element into
21504-584: The resulting peace agreement concluded on 22 June 2001, Gaddafi was expressly thanked for his involvement. He was also the witness to the signing of the peace agreement. The peace agreement forms a part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro concluded in 2014. Gaddafi was involved in negotiating compensation from Libya 's former colonial power , Italy , and on 30 August 2008 a Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
21672-485: The revolution, the revolutionary committees fit the pattern of imposing a new element on the existing subnational system of government rather than eliminating or consolidating already existing structures. By the late 1970s, the result was an unnecessarily complex system of overlapping jurisdictions in which cooperation and coordination among different elements were compromised by ill-defined authority and responsibility. The ambiguity may have helped serve Gaddafi's aim to remain
21840-432: The royal government. Within days of the coup, however, Hasan publicly renounced all rights to the throne, stated his support for the new government, and called on the people to accept it without violence. Idris, in an exchange of messages with the RCC through Egypt's President Nasser , dissociated himself from reported attempts to secure British intervention and disclaimed any intention of coming back to Libya. In return, he
22008-543: The southern suburbs of Tripoli , in a mass jail break during clashes in the city between the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade and Nawasi Brigade against the 7th Brigade from Tarhuna . On August 20, dozens of Gaddafi supporters held demonstrations in Sirte, Bani Walid and Ghat. On August 24, supporters of the Gaddafi family once again gathered in Sirte, with reports of clashes between the LNA and
22176-458: The term "Commonwealth" when referring to the designation of a country. After weathering the 1986 U.S. bombing by the Reagan administration, Gaddafi added the specifier "Great" ( العظمى al-'Uẓmá ) to the official name of the country. The changes in Libyan leadership since 1976 culminated in March 1979, when the General People's Congress declared that the "vesting of power in the masses" and
22344-438: The town and its replacement by a local council. On 21 September, government forces were ambushed by Gaddafi loyalists in the city of Brak in south west Libya. Nine soldiers were killed in the attack, with no information of casualties from the attackers. On 18 January, the Libyan air force attacked targets in the south of Libya because of unrest blamed on forces loyal to slain leader Muammar Gaddafi. The government also declared
22512-565: The town was captured by NTC forces in early October. On 17 October 2011, after leaving Bani Walid , Saif's convoy was hit by a NATO air attack at Wadi Zamzam where he lost 26 of his supporters and 9 military vehicles. His right hand was wounded and according to his own explanation it happened during the NATO air strike. According to the Libyan Al Mashhad Al Leebi program, the fingers of his right hand were cut off. With
22680-474: The town. Initial reports claimed that a supposed Gaddafi loyalist group called " Brigade 93 " was responsible for the takeover, although the Bani Walid town elders later denied this, and proclaimed support for the removal of Gaddafi. The elders stated that the accusations of pro-Gaddafi sympathies were orchestrated by the media, and that the town instead was fighting for the removal of the NTC military administration of
22848-502: The transformation rests squarely with a quasi-governmental organization, the Qaddafi Foundation for International Charities and Development" chaired by Gaddafi. She praised Gaddafi for establishing the country's two semi-private newspapers, and said "it is impossible to underestimate the importance of the efforts made so far. Let's hope this spring will last." In 2009, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi claimed that Libya's opinion of him
23016-433: The war, but the deal was vetoed by Britain and France. On 2 May 2011, Saif al-Islam and his older half-brother Muhammad were among the 2,000 mourners who attended his younger brother Saif al-Arab 's funeral. He was seen touching his younger brother's chest while fighting back tears before leaving the graveside while pumping his fist to the crowd. Saif al-Arab and three of Muammar Gaddafi's grandchildren had been killed by
23184-723: The week. Friends of the executees were forced to participate in or observe the executions. Annual public executions would go on to continue each year, on 7 April, until the late 1980s. On 2 March 1977, the General People's Congress (GPC), at Gaddafi's behest, adopted the "Declaration of the Establishment of the People's Authority" and proclaimed the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ( Arabic : الجماهيرية العربية الليبية الشعبية الإشتراكية al-Jamāhīrīyya al-'Arabīyya al-Lībīyya al-Sha'bīyya al-Ishtirākīyya ). In
23352-556: The white tiger was later turned into a rug in Saif's majlis . Saif's paintings made up the bulk of the international Libyan art exhibit, "The Desert is Not Silent" (2002–2005), a show which was supported by a host of international corporations with direct ties to his father's government, among them the ABB Group , Siemens , Petro-Canada , Bombardier , and SNC-Lavalin . In 2002, Saif sued The Sunday Telegraph for libel over
23520-407: The world. United States recognition was officially extended on 6 September. In view of the lack of internal resistance, it appeared that the chief danger to the new government lay in the possibility of a reaction inspired by the absent King Idris or his designated heir, Crown Prince Hasan , who had been taken into custody at the time of the coup along with other senior civil and military officials of
23688-482: Was also accused of supporting violent pro-Gaddafi activity. Col. Khamid Bilhayr of the Libyan National Army claimed that other loyalist figures outside the country were sending large quantities of money and support to loyalist groups inside Libya. Others claim that despite the group's rhetoric, its operations were limited to bombings and minor instances of sabotage. They were believed to have been behind
23856-501: Was also made to establish a "people's army" by substituting a national militia, being formed in the late 1970s, for the national army. Although the idea surfaced again in early 1982, it did not appear to be close to implementation. Gaddafi also wanted to combat the strict social restrictions that had been imposed on women by the previous regime, establishing the Revolutionary Women's Formation to encourage reform. In 1970,
24024-492: Was assured by the RCC of the safety of his family still in the country. At his own request and with Nasser's approval, Idris took up residence once again in Egypt, where he had spent his first exile and where he remained until his death in 1983. On 7 September 1969, the RCC announced that it had appointed a cabinet to conduct the government of the new republic. An American-educated technician, Mahmud Suleiman Maghribi , who had been imprisoned since 1967 for his political activities,
24192-416: Was being "hypocritical" and was "playing on words", but said Libya had no other choice on the matter. According to Gaddafi, a letter admitting "responsibility" was the only way to end the economic sanctions imposed on Libya. When asked about the $ 10m (£5.3m) compensation that Libya was paying to each victims' family, he again repeated that Libya was doing so because it had no other choice. He went on to describe
24360-469: Was challenged a second time in July 1970 when Abdullah Abid Sanusi and Ahmed al-Senussi , distant cousins of former King Idris, and members of the Sayf an Nasr clan of Fezzan were accused of plotting to seize power for themselves. After the plot was foiled, a substantial cabinet change occurred, RCC officers for the first time forming a majority among new ministers. From the start, RCC spokesmen had indicated
24528-555: Was corroborated by Saif's former aide Youssef Sawani, who had defected to the rebels and stated that Saif was not able to betray his family. In a video filmed on the day of his capture, Saif was seen warning his captors about the danger posed by Islamists, namely Abdelhakim Belhaj and Ali al-Sallabi . Based on his outstanding warrant the International Criminal Court (ICC) asked the new government about Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's detention. The new government
24696-421: Was designated prime minister. He presided over the eight-member Council of Ministers, of whom six, like Maghribi, were civilians and two – Adam Said Hawwaz and Musa Ahmad – were military officers. Neither of the officers was a member of the RCC. The Council of Ministers was instructed to "implement the state's general policy as drawn up by the RCC", leaving no doubt where ultimate authority rested. The next day
24864-545: Was disqualified ten days later by the Libyan High National Election Commission . After a delayed appeal, Gaddafi's candidacy was reinstated by a court in Sabha on December 2. Gaddafi supporters were sighted celebrating throughout the city. In 2022 and 2023, ahead of those years' celebrations for the Al Fateh Revolution , forces under the command of Khalifa Haftar began a campaign of arrests against Gaddafi supporters in Sirte. In 2023,
25032-406: Was due to disagreement with his father, saying that they were on good terms. He also called for political reforms within the context of the Jamahiriya system and rejected the notion that he could succeed his father, saying that "this is not a farm to inherit". Saif, who was considered a reformist, had a longstanding rivalry with his hardline brother Mutassim and his influence began to wane after
25200-585: Was founded in 2016. The Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) openly supports the movement. Libyan Arab Republic Muammar Gaddafi became the de facto leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état . When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) headed by Gaddafi abolished
25368-478: Was in many parts ghost-written by consultants from Monitor Group , which earned $ 3 million per year in fees from Muammar Gaddafi . Speaking in Sabha on 20 August 2008, Gaddafi said that he would no longer involve himself in state affairs. He noted that he had previously "intervene[d] due to the absence of institutions", but said that he would no longer do so. He dismissed any potential suggestion that this decision
25536-476: Was issued by the ICC . On 1 July, Saif al-Islam had an interview with Russia Today , where he denied the ICC's allegations that he, or his father, ordered the killing of civilian protesters. He pointed out that he was not a member of the government or the military, and therefore had no authority to give such orders. According to Saif al-Islam, he made recorded calls to General Abdul Fatah Younis , who later defected to
25704-492: Was killing civilians. On 21 February 2011, the World Economic Forum cut off contacts with Saif al-Islam and suspended him from the Forum of Young Global Leaders . On 19 March 2011, Saif al-Islam cut off contact with Western journalists due to NATO's military intervention in Libya . On 27 April 2011, Saif al-Islam came to an agreement with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and senior NTC figure Ali Zeidan to end
25872-491: Was later dispersed after anti-Gaddafi militia opened fire and threw rocks, although no one was reported injured. Continuous fighting was also alleged to have erupted between pockets of pro-Gaddafi militants and ISIL forces in Gaddafi's former hometown of Sirte . Furthermore, protests were reported across the Libyan south, in particular the city of Sabha , where at least four protestors were reported dead after opponents opened fire. Protests were also reported in Tobruk, triggering
26040-598: Was partially responsible for OPEC measures to raise oil prices, impose embargoes, and gain control of production. On 19 October 1973, Libya was the first Arab nation to issue an oil embargo against the United States after US President Richard Nixon announced the US would provide Israel with a $ 2.2 billion military aid program during the Yom Kippur War . Saudi Arabia and other Arab oil producing nations in OPEC would follow suit
26208-527: Was passed that forbade ownership of more than one private dwelling, and Libyan workers took control of a large number of companies, turning them into state-run enterprises. Retail and wholesale trading operations were replaced by state-owned "people's supermarkets", where Libyans in theory could purchase whatever they needed at low prices. By 1981 the state had also restricted access to individual bank accounts to draw upon privately held funds for government projects. The measures created resentment and opposition among
26376-433: Was rejected. This decision was overturned less than a month later, reinstating him as a presidential candidate. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering science from Tripoli 's Al Fateh University in 1994. However, another report states that he is an architect. After several countries, including France and Canada, refused to grant him a student visa, Saif earned an MBA from
26544-477: Was released from prison in Zintan, according to a statement from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion. Later the same month, his full amnesty was declared by the Tobruk -based government led by Khalifa Haftar . As of December 2019 , Gaddafi remained wanted under his ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity. On 14 November, he attempted to register as a candidate in the 2021 Libyan presidential election , but
26712-401: Was said to had risen to 26, eight from Zuwarah and 18 from the outlying towns, and another 142 Zuwarans were wounded. Unconfirmed reports rose up the death toll to 48 killed in the clashes. BBC News aired a report on the story, confirming a number dead. The report also aired an interview with a wounded man from Zarawa, claiming to have been attacked by what he called "Gaddafi loyalists". There
26880-623: Was shaped largely by his role in Libya's engagement with the West, saying "If something goes wrong, people will blame me, whether I am in a certain official position or not." He expressed frustration with the US, saying Libya's decision to give up its weapons of mass destruction program was contingent upon "compensation" from the US, including the signing of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement , economic cooperation, and cooperation in purchasing conventional weapons and military equipment. He stated, "We share rich natural resources – oil and gas – along
27048-575: Was signed in Benghazi by his father and Italy's Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi . However, the treaty was unilaterally suspended by Italy at the beginning of 2011, after Italy refused to consider Gaddafi government as their interlocutor. He was also negotiating with the United States in order to conclude a comprehensive agreement making any further payments for American victims of terror attacks that have been blamed on Libya – such as
27216-471: Was succeeded by Abdul Ati al-Obeidi , who had been prime minister since 1977. The "Jamahiriya sector" was overseen by the "revolutionary sector", headed by Gaddafi as "Leader of the Revolution" ( Qā'id ) and the surviving members of the Revolutionary Command Council. The leaders of the revolutionary sector were not subject to election, as they owed office to their role in the 1969 coup. They oversaw
27384-405: Was the betrayal by a Libyan nomad, Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani, that finally led to his capture. Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani told the interviewers that he was hired to guide a man to Niger and that he was offered €1 million for the job. Being offered such a huge sum of money, he suspected foul play as Saif's agent did not tell him whom he was going to guide. He contacted the rebel fighters and told them where
27552-427: Was the last town in Libya to recognise the new government. Since the fall of Gaddafi, it has been suspected of continuing to be a base of loyalist sentiment. No area in Libya has had as many officials disbarred due to links to the Gaddafi government. The present government has banned its two council members, the local council leader, the secretary to the council, its financial controller, the head of security services, and
27720-432: Was the people's committee. Within a few months, such committees were found all across Libya. They were functionally and geographically based, and eventually became responsible for local and regional administration. People's committees were established in such widely divergent organizations as universities, private business firms, government bureaucracies, and the broadcast media. Geographically based committees were formed at
27888-413: Was the second most widely recognized person in Libya, being at times the de facto prime minister, and was mentioned as a possible successor, though he rejected this. An arrest warrant was issued for him on 27 June 2011 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for charges of crimes against humanity against the Libyan people, for killing and persecuting civilians, under Articles 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(h) of
28056-557: Was unable or unwilling to comply with the ICC's information requests regarding Saif al-Islam. New deadlines for information requests from the ICC were also missed. A brief filed by the Office of Public Counsel for the Defence on behalf of Gaddafi claimed that "there is no basis for asserting that the ICC should defer the case to Libya". The brief requested the court to order Libya to immediately implement Gaddafi's rights, and report Libya to
28224-519: Was working closely with Islamists within the rebellion to splinter the resistance. On 21 August 2011, the National Transitional Council claimed that Saif al-Islam was arrested by the National Liberation Army , pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court . However, on the early morning of 23 August, Saif al-Islam was sighted by Western journalists apparently moving around under his own free will outside
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