Distorted News Reports

​​ "I built this country up and I will also be the one to destroy it." The erstwhile words of the Libyan dictator have taken on a nightmarish dimension in recent days. Only just a few months ago, Gaddafi, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since taking power in a military putsch in 1969, would have been ridiculed for this flight of megalomania.

Although Libya is only a short flight away from Europe, the country remains unknown for most of us. Therefore, it is all the more important under the current circumstances that all news be carefully scrutinized, as the constant repetition of false information in no way makes it more true.

Analysis without first-hand knowledge

The international media has shown a preference for analysing the situation in Libya on the basis of an all encompassing theory of tribal affiliations. Even a number of academics have been circulating the idea of a "tribal syndrome" in order to analyse from afar the developments in this country, of which many have no first-hand knowledge.

Of course, there are tribal groups in Libya, yet only the vast minority of them wander through the country as nomads with their tents and camels. It is not the tribal leaders who are directing the actions of the recent democracy movement. The Touareg in the south of the country and in neighbouring states occupy a complex special position and only in a very limited sense can their role in Libya's society provide an explanation of events in the country.

There are large and very important family clans in Libya that define themselves through a common lineage. In addition, there are also dynasties that are able to demonstrate unity through their regional origins. Yet, they alone are not the primary movers of the current revolt.

Triggering fears in the West

Even less significant are the feared al Qaida terrorists claimed to be fighting for the overthrow of the regime from Benghazi. Gaddafi has cleverly used for his own purposes the blanket Islamophobia of the West and its heightened fear of terrorism, as well as the argument that al Qaida lies behind all of the unrest. He has stage-managed a baseless terrorism scenario in Libya and thereby aggravated fears in the West, at least in terms of events in Libya.

​​ The younger generation in Libya, popularly referred to as the Facebook and Twitter generation, desires democracy, freedom of expression, an uncensored press, the right to determine their own lives in peace and freedom, a good education, human rights, and the right to own property. In short, they strive towards those very same ideals that are held high in the West.

Saif al-Islam, born in 1972, is widely seen as "the brain" among Gaddafi's sons and enjoys portraying himself as the reform-oriented son that is constantly thwarted by his father.

It is long since public knowledge that Saif al-Islam enjoys living abroad and, in particular, amuses himself at his home in Austria, where he once studied, in the Caribbean, and at his chic villa in London, where he earned a doctorate degree from the renowned London School of Economics. The Gaddafi family has provided generous donations to the university. In light of the recent bloody events in Libya, Howard Davies, the director of the institution, has been forced to announce his resignation. Now, there are additional accusations of plagiarism with respect to Saif al-Islam's doctoral dissertation. These are currently being investigated.

At the very latest, Saif al-Islam's appearance on Libyan state television, in which he justified the deployment of the military against protestors, has exposed the absurdity of his guise as a reformer.

Media twisting facts

"Why are we portrayed in the media as rebels, insurgents, or as unruly segments of the population? We only want to live without Gaddafi," says a young Libyan women in Malta. She has three children and saw it as her duty to flee the country in order to protect them. At first, she was also out on the streets of Benghazi among the demonstrators, but the violence soon escalated.

"We demonstrated peacefully and were then bombed and shot in cold blood. Now, we are defending ourselves with the limited means we have available. Why has the media twisted the facts? Where is the EU, the UN, and NATO? Why has the world been so hesitant when it comes to Gaddafi," she asks.

​​ What is currently taking place in Libya is not a civil war between sections of the Libyan population. It is, instead, an unequal fight between David against Goliath. Gaddafi's troops are bombing the civilian population from the air as well as from the sea. Elite ground troops, equipped with the latest high-tech weapons, and black African mercenaries have been shooting anything and anyone that moves. The despised regime is conducting a war against its own people regardless of the consequences.

A deadly silence in Tripoli

News reports and interviews constantly emphasize how calm things are in the Libyan capital. Yet, this threatening "calm" masks a sad fact – daily life for the citizens of Tripoli is characterized by a deadly anxiety.

"No one now dares to leave their homes. All the streets are being patrolled by African mercenaries and soldiers and police loyal to Gaddafi. There are heavily armed men in military apparel in front of every building, on every roof, and in every district. If more than three people are seen standing together, shots are fired," reports an eyewitness in Tripoli.

For the majority of Libyans, Gaddafi's rule means, above all, fear – a deep-seated paralysing fear resulting in helplessness, impotence, and resignation.

Magda Luthay

© Qantara.de 2011

Magda Luthay is lecturer at the department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Erlangen, Germany.

Translated from the German by John Bergeron

Editor: Lewis Gropp/Qantara.de

Qantara.de

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