Where in the World is Gaddafi?
I have always had a strange fascination with dictatorships, and how they all usually go wrong in the end when a people finally see through the charades before them. So it comes as no surprise to see the once fearless leader of Libya, now running for his life.
To better understand what is going on now in Libya, you might need a brief bit of back story to fill you in on what has been happening in Libya for several decades and how that history impacts the current situation.
For the past 42 years, Libya has been ruled by an extremely crafty and eccentric dictator named Moammar Qaddafi. You might see many variations of the spelling of this name, such as Muammar Gaddafi, but the first is the most often used in Western countries when referring to this repressive dictator who has ruled Libya with an iron hand for so long.
Qaddafi has often referred to his own people as “backwards” and despite the fact that Libya rakes in big bucks in oil revenues, many of the children there suffer from anemia and malnutrition. More than 50% of Libya’s population of 6.5 million are below the age of 18. Qaddafi’s regime has been rife with corruption, brutality and suppression. In fact, most residents of the country have dared not speak Qaddafi’s name out loud for fear of attracting hostile political attention.
Instead, they have usually referred to the dictator as “The Leader” and his son and former heir apparent Seif as “The Principal.” If a citizen of Libya was caught discussing national politics with a foreigner, they could look forward to three years in prison. Freedom of the press has been virtually nonexistent.
Combine all of these miserable conditions with Libya’s recent unemployment rate of 50%—with many of the employed people only working part-time jobs—and it’s fairly easy to understand what caused this current revolt against Moammar Qaddafi and his long reign of tyranny.
The uprising against Qaddafi’s regime may have been inspired by the uprisings for democracy across the Arab world. Dissidents in Libya planned a “Day of Rage” for February 17th, 2011. Two days before the planned demonstration, on February 15th, a prominent attorney named Fathi Terbil was arrested. Terbil had represented some of the relatives of the 1,200 plus prisoners who were massacred by Libyan security forces at Abu Slim prison back in 1996.
After being released a few hours after his arrest, Terbil stationed webcam resources to overlook Benghazi’s main square, where it showed some of these prisoners’ family members staging a protest.
Aided by exiled Libyans in Canada and other places around the world, the video footage from the webcam hit the internet and basically went viral. The situation snowballed rapidly from there.
In a phone interview with Libyan novelist Idris al-Mesmari conducted by Al Jazeera Arabic, Mesmari reported that Libyan police were shooting at the protesters. At that point in the interview, the connection was lost and the novelist was reported to have been arrested. Soon afterward, thousands more protestors began fighting against Qaddafi’s security troops, with reports of hundreds being killed.
According to the New York Times: “Both protesters and the security forces have reason to believe that backing down will likely mean their ultimate death or imprisonment.”
Once things had progressed to this extent, the people of Libya may have felt they had nothing to lose and a great deal to gain by continuing to escalate the uprising against Qaddafi’s rule. On March 19th, NATO entered the melee, under auspices of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. This resolution authorizes military intervention when necessary to protect civilians.
Instability in Libya affects the world in several ways, not least of which is its relatively recent decision to support the United States and its allies in the fight against terrorism and Al Qaeda. Qaddafi agreed to stop development and manufacture of all weapons of mass destruction in 2003. Qaddafi subsequently paid $2.7 billion to the families of 270 victims of Pan Am Flight 101; the plane that was bombed by Libyan agents in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This reversal in policies caused the United States and the United Nations to lift existing economic sanctions against Libya.
Qaddafi has been notoriously active against banned Islamic groups and many of his political victims have been members of these groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. So without his presence, these groups would be likely to achieve greater numbers and influence in Libya.
Fighting between the Libyan rebels and Qaddafi’s forces has been fierce since the initial February protest as the dictator stubbornly refused to cede power. Key members of Qaddafi’s administration have defected. In March of 2011, the United States CIA sent covert operatives into Libya to meet with rebels and get a clear picture of what type of aid was needed to overthrow Qaddafi. British officials have also acknowledged that dozens of British special forces, as well as MI6 intelligence officers, are in Libya for the same reason.
NATO airstrikes have continued against Qaddafi’s forces. At least two of the dictator’s sons are reported to have been killed by these airstrikes since March and three of his grandsons. His wife Sofia and three of his children children fled to Algeria on August 29th, 2011.
Many regime loyalist strongholds have been seized by the Libyan rebels, including Qaddafi’s base of intelligence operations. Rebels now hold the country’s capital city of Tripoli. The National Transitional Council have announced that the rebel government will be moved to Tripoli.
At this point in time, Moammar Qaddafi is in hiding. With rebels poised to attack the strongholds of Bani Wald, Sabha and Sirte—-where is Qaddafi? There have been reports that the elusive dictator has left the desert town of Bani Walid and is going south to either Chad or Niger. He is supposedly being helped along the way by tribes still loyal to him. Niger has proffered asylum to Qaddafi.
A convoy of Qaddafi’s officials has allegedly crossed the border into Niger, but according to the Associated Press, Qaddafi was not among those in the convoy. To date, the number of locales where Qaddafi has reportedly been seen rival Elvis sightings. His whereabouts are beginning to resemble the popular games “Where’s Waldo?” and “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?”
Where in the world is Colonel Moammar Qaddafi?