Rebels Try to Oust Corrupt Government in Libya

The role of government is to serve the people. The writers of the American constitution and the Bill of Rights recognized this.

The Bill of Rights and the constitution created a civil society for the protection of property, or that which is one's own, meaning "life, liberty, and estate." Each individual is free and equal in the state of nature. Natural rights are inherent to all individuals, a concept James Madison mentioned in his speech presenting the Bill of Rights to the 1st Congress.

The Making of a Revolution

Problems arise in societies when governments fail to realize that their job is to serve the masses-not themselves or special interest groups.

When those in government refuse to share the wealth of a country with the masses by creating jobs, but instead, enrich themselves and those who find favor, that government is destined for a revolution.

Gaddafi's Wealth

Such is the case with Muammar Gaddafi. Libya is one of the most oil rich countries in the world. Gaddafi and his family have profited immensely from this. His wealth is stunning. When the Gaddafi family's assets began to be frozen, the immensity of that wealth was laid bare.

The U.S. alone has seized $30billion (£18.5bn) of their investments, while Canada has frozen $2.4bn (£1.5bn), Austria, $1.7bn (£1bn) and the UK, $1bn ($600m).

These assets appear to be just the tip of the iceberg, as no one is yet certain exactly what the family owns around the world.

But they include an enormous portfolio of properties in the West End theatre and shopping district of London - worth $455m (£280m) as well as $325m (£200m) in shares in Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times and Penguin books.

The assets also include a $15million luxury mansion in an affluent suburb of North London.

Nestled among the homes of TV presenters and actors is the eight-bed home with a swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi and suede-lined cinema room.

Spain announced Wednesday it was freezing assets owned by Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's regime, including a vast tract of land on the Costa del Sol.

The decision tightens a global financial chokehold on Gaddafi's regime, its assets already blocked in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Britain, Austria and Germany.

How the Libyan People Live

Unemployment in Libya is estimated at 21%, although figures are hard to come by due to the tight control that Gadaffi's regime exerts. People work two or even three jobs just to survive.

Those rebelling against Gadaffi state that he has tortured, imprisoned, and killed his own citizens for speaking out against the government, and for being too religious. The state executions are often televised as a deterrent to others who would rebel.

The rebels state that in the 40 years Gadaffi has been in power, there has been no let-up of his inhumane rule.

The Leaders of the Rebellion

Although one might think that the rebels are uneducated the leaders are highly educated people--doctors, lawyers, and engineers-who are frustrated and angry over the living conditions in Libya.

"There is a price on the life of all of us," said Salwa Bugaighis, a lawyer and a senior member of the rebel leadership. "We're dealing with someone who has a lot of cash. It's been a difficult time. It still is."

Gaddafi's forces are methodically edging toward Benghazi, where the rebels have created a government-in-waiting known as the National Transitional Council.

It is a leadership of lawyers and intellectuals who profess ambitions of creating a Libya governed by democratic ideals, possibly altering the face of the Arab world and inspiring more autocratic regimes to fall. But it is also a leadership that is realizing that revolutionary zeal alone will not end Gaddafi's 41-year rule on a landscape that is increasingly feeling like civil war. The group includes activists who have fought Gaddafi for decades and recent defectors. At times, the national council doesn't speak with a unified voice; day-to-day operations seem disorganized, even precarious. They have encouraged legions of enthusiastic but militarily inexperienced young people to fight on the front lines, a decision that has brought tactical and psychological setbacks.

Many of its leaders have no political experience, raising questions about their ability to create and run a post-Gaddafi government. In Egypt, deposed president Hosni Mubarak allowed political parties, elections, trade unions, rights groups and a vibrant free press that ultimately provided vital political training to his opponents. Gaddafi has muzzled the press and banned independent trade unions, political parties and non-governmental organizations.

Yet the rebels have effectively run eastern Libya for the past three weeks, devoid of the chaos seen in Tunisia and other upheavals. They have established local councils that run hospitals, collect trash, and operate banks, while providing basic services such as drinking water and electricity. Police patrol streets, even direct traffic.

"In every city in eastern Libya, there is security," said Salwa el-Daghili, a constitutional law professor who is a member of the rebel national council. "Unlike Egypt and Tunisia, there are no political institutions in Libya. So this is a great achievement by the citizens of the revolution."

Local councils in regions and cities across Libya nominated representatives to the 31-member national council. The names of only 11 members have been made public, for the rest live in areas either controlled by Gaddafi or under attack by his forces.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, who quit as Libya's justice minister last month to protest the regime's violent suppression of protesters, heads the national council. Since March 9, when Libyan state television reported Gaddafi's bounty on his head, Abdul-Jalil has kept a low profile.

His deputy, Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga, a prominent lawyer, has been the public face of the council. Ghoga, a former president of the Libyan Bar Association, declared himself the spokesman of a rival interim council, but then joined hands with Abdul-Jalil. Rebel officials insist there is no tension between the leaders.

Other national council members include a U.S.-educated political science professor, a well-known youth leader and a relative of Libya's former monarch who spent 31 years in prison for allegedly participating in a coup attempt against Gaddafi. The council has also tapped experienced diplomats who defected to represent them in Western and Arab capitals.

Mahmoud Jibril, a U.S.-educated professor and former head of Libya's National Economic Development Board, is the rebel leadership's foreign affairs representative and is expected to meet with Clinton in Cairo. A 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks and written by the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, described Jibril as "a serious interlocutor who 'gets' the U.S. perspective."

In an interview, Ghoga said the council unanimously wants to put in place a democratic, civilian government with a constitution, separation of powers, freedom of the press and assembly, and multi-party elections. "We want a Libya where no one is above the law," Ghoga said.

They envision a parliamentary rather than a presidential system, largely because there was a parliament under King Idriss, whom Gaddafi deposed in a bloodless coup in 1969. Sensitive to comments by Gaddafi that they were linked to al-Qaeda and wanted to create an Islamic emirate, rebel officials stressed that while Islam would be the official religion, a post-Gaddafi government would be secular.

"It will never be an Islamic regime," Daghili said. "The revolution seeks advancement for both men and women. The women here are well educated. It is far from a Taliban-like state."

If the rebel council is recognized by the world, the council could be allowed access to Libyan funds abroad and to the proceeds of oil sales, and it could make it easier to take legal and political action against Gaddafi. France last week became the first country to recognize the council as Libya's legitimate government.

Still, it's unlikely that a post-Gaddafi government will support U.S. policies in the Middle East. Members of the national council said they were opposed to U.S. policies in Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The council has had minor differences and has publicly sent mixed signals, such as over an alleged offer from Gaddafi to negotiate. But prominent Libyan exiles said they held a high level of confidence in the rebel leadership. "It is not a government, it's not a political party," said Noman Benotman, a former top Libyan resistance fighter who lives in London. "It is a leadership dealing with a severe crisis. They are doing that well.

Sources:

Daily Mail Reporter, Muammar Gaddafi Family's Astonishing Wealth Revealed, Daily Mail, UK, March 2, 2011

Education in Libya, Wikipedia
Sarah Lynch, Why One Libyan Mother Joined the Rebels, Christian Science Monitor, March 18, 2011

Sudarsan Raghavan, Rebel Council Seeks to Transform Libya, Washington Post, March 15, 2011

United States Bill of Rights, Wikipedia