The Amazigh people of Libya: their aspirations and their role in the Revolution of April 17th
Almost six years have now passed since the first shot was fired in the Libyan revolution. It was fired in the direction of Gaddafi loyalists who remained loyal to their master who was however soon to be deposed. That shot was heard around the world and it's echo can still be heard today throughout Libya. On that memorable occasion, 17 April 2011, a small number of Libyan Arab protesters took to the streets of Zawiya and Benghazi.
Within a very short time the same thing was happening in lots of other places, particularly in the west in the Nafusa Mountains, a region where the majority of native Amazigh currently live.
In other towns and cities in different places a lot of people were following suit, although countless others hesitated as they watched in fear and trepidation, full of apprehension as the widespread protests gradually escalated until eventually a major rebellion had spread like wildfire across the whole country. The international community looked on with growing concern, wondering what on earth was going to happen next. An unprecedented sequence of events unfolded in rapid succession in Libya. It was not long however before Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France at the time, took a very unexpected decision and decided to stand by the Libyan people. It meant opposing a previous major backer, the man who had in fact done a lot to finance his recent election, namely Colonel Qaddafi. Somewhere at the U.N. Headquarters in New York others were soon taking an interest and noises were beginning to be heard. On 26 February the UN Security Council passed an initial resolution which froze the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricted their travel. They also referred various matters to the International Criminal Court for investigation. In early March however Gaddafi's forces were nevertheless able to rally. After a strong push eastwards, re-taking several coastal towns or cities, they finally reached the stronghold of Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a 'No Fly Zone' over Libya.
Amazigh protest,Tripoli, Libya
This was in order to prevent attacks on civilians. Then on 16 September the UN recognised the National Transitional Council as the legal representative of the State of Libya. On Oct 20, after getting caught up in cross fire, Qaddafi himself was captured, before being killed in a particularly horrible and brutal way. To many Libyans this marked the end of 42 years of Qaddafi rule. But was it in fact to be truly the end of the immensely long Qaddafi regime and saga? The answer, alas has to be a very clear and definite 'NO!', and it is a sad fact that many of the Libyans who took to the streets on the memorable first day, back in 2011, would now be forced to agree with my opinion, in the very different circumstances that obtain today in 2016. Despite the fact that on that earlier occasion the people decided to take the future into their own hands, today the future looks ever more bleak and uncertain than even in the days of the ruthless dictator. We have to remember that Libya experienced one of the most awkward and peculiar revolutions of modern times, for a whole variety of complicated reasons. It is a simple fact that countless incidents in an uncoordinated rebellion happened essentially at random and in a disorganised way and there was a complete absence of any real or coordinated overall plan; that is, apart from some scattered opposition voices in Europe and America, which, however, also lacked coordination or a United Front - political &/or military - to unify them. When Qaddafi’s forces pushed their way Eastwards towards Benghazi (the second largest town in Libya after the capital Tripoli) every single Libyan either at home or in exile watched in fear with bated breath wondering what might be going to follow this setback. Now however those who then asked themselves that question undoubtedly know much of the answer.
Amazigh fighters
Six years on from when that first shot was fired lots of questions remain unanswered and a tremendous number of intractable problems have still to be sorted out.Failure is the name of the game as regards this particular revolution at least for the Amazigh people. They suffered in both the April Revolution and during the days of Qaddafi’s regime, At that time parents were even forbidden to allow their newborns even so much as to keep their Amazigh names. School textbooks made no reference at all to Amazigh culture and history, and names like Masiniss, Mazigh, Akli and Tannit were completely banned. Authentic Amazigh leaders such as Tariq ibn Ziyad, Ibn Battuta, Hannibal and Syphax were all introduced to pupils and students as if those varied individuals were all of Arab extraction. Teaching Amazigh history was totally forbidden as were all types of art. And musicians were forced to sing in Arabic rather than in the mother tongue, Tamazight. Suspected activists or 'agitators' as well as competent writers were either 'disappeared' or just killed. That was the fate of the great poet and writer Saeed Sifawe, killed in 1994 by Gaddafi's henchmen in a planned 'accident'. Because of the repression suffered by the Amazigh people under Qaddafi’s regime, they were among the first true Libyans, of any ethnicity, to take up arms and to join the revolution. Towns like Yefren, Kalla, Jadou Kabou, Nalout and Zawara were the first Western Libya towns to join the uprising. There was however a terrible price to pay! On 13th June 2011 34 civilians were found to have been buried alive. In this grisly event known as 'The Almaieb Massacre' most of the victims were very either young people or elderly men from Qualla, a small village situated 120km west of the capital Tripoli.
The Amazigh towns and cities were regarded as a legitimate target by Gaddafi's militias, and as a direct consequence hundreds of innocent Amazigh were killed in cold blood. This leads us to ask an important question: 'Were any Amazigh aspirations for the Revolution - or expectations of it - ever achieved, ambitions which they shared with many other Libyans on the battlefield, for a fairer State able to hold ALL its inhabitants as equals, without distinction as to colour, race or belief? At least for the time being, the realisation of such dreams is still miles away. As regards the proposed new Libyan Constitution, the indigenous people of whom we speak boycotted the elections that were held on 20 July 2014. After two years of hard work costing hundreds of thousands of dollars out of public funds, ‘The Constitution Drafting Assembly’ had completed the final draft of their official document. The final product however was a total and utter disappointment and betrayal for the Amazigh people, many of whom had made the ultimate sacrifice. The resulting Final Draft came nowhere near minimum requirements for Equality and Justice. For Article Two of the new constitution proposal went like this: Identity and Language: ‘’The Libyan Identity shall be based on inclusive and diversified principles. Libyans are proud of their social, cultural, and linguistic elements and Libya shall be considered part of the Arab and Muslim World, of Africa, and of the Mediterranean Basin. The Languages spoken by the Libyans or a part of them, including Arabic, Amazigh, Targuiya and Tebu are considered a cultural and linguistic heritage as well as a common asset for all Libyans. The State shall guarantee taking the necessary measures to protect them, to preserve their originality and to develop their teaching to and usage by those who speak them. Arabic is the language of the State. The law shall regulate in the first parliamentary term the details of integrating the other languages in the areas of public life on the local level and the State level’’
Article Two of the proposed final version of the constitution, as eventually published does similarly, perhaps inevitably state that Arabic is to be the one and only Official Language of the Libyan State. But also as above Tamazight (Berber) is curiously described as 'a cultural and linguistic heritage of all Libyans'. What strange 'diplomatic' highly delusional language this constitution is playing with .And what a disappointment for the Amazigh people this will be !
Today six years on from the start of the revolution, I believe that well-informed intelligent and active Amazigh young people must all agree that the struggle for Human Rights in modern Libya is far from over. Although on a new course Libya is heading in a very uncertain direction.
Almost six years have now passed since the first shot was fired in the Libyan revolution. It was fired in the direction of Gaddafi loyalists who remained loyal to their master who was however soon to be deposed. That shot was heard around the world and it's echo can still be heard today throughout Libya. On that memorable occasion, 17 April 2011, a small number of Libyan Arab protesters took to the streets of Zawiya and Benghazi.
Within a very short time the same thing was happening in lots of other places, particularly in the west in the Nafusa Mountains, a region where the majority of native Amazigh currently live.
In other towns and cities in different places a lot of people were following suit, although countless others hesitated as they watched in fear and trepidation, full of apprehension as the widespread protests gradually escalated until eventually a major rebellion had spread like wildfire across the whole country. The international community looked on with growing concern, wondering what on earth was going to happen next. An unprecedented sequence of events unfolded in rapid succession in Libya. It was not long however before Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France at the time, took a very unexpected decision and decided to stand by the Libyan people. It meant opposing a previous major backer, the man who had in fact done a lot to finance his recent election, namely Colonel Qaddafi. Somewhere at the U.N. Headquarters in New York others were soon taking an interest and noises were beginning to be heard. On 26 February the UN Security Council passed an initial resolution which froze the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricted their travel. They also referred various matters to the International Criminal Court for investigation. In early March however Gaddafi's forces were nevertheless able to rally. After a strong push eastwards, re-taking several coastal towns or cities, they finally reached the stronghold of Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a 'No Fly Zone' over Libya.
 |
| Amazigh protest,Tripoli, Libya |
This was in order to prevent attacks on civilians. Then on 16 September the UN recognised the National Transitional Council as the legal representative of the State of Libya. On Oct 20, after getting caught up in cross fire, Qaddafi himself was captured, before being killed in a particularly horrible and brutal way. To many Libyans this marked the end of 42 years of Qaddafi rule. But was it in fact to be truly the end of the immensely long Qaddafi regime and saga? The answer, alas has to be a very clear and definite 'NO!', and it is a sad fact that many of the Libyans who took to the streets on the memorable first day, back in 2011, would now be forced to agree with my opinion, in the very different circumstances that obtain today in 2016. Despite the fact that on that earlier occasion the people decided to take the future into their own hands, today the future looks ever more bleak and uncertain than even in the days of the ruthless dictator. We have to remember that Libya experienced one of the most awkward and peculiar revolutions of modern times, for a whole variety of complicated reasons. It is a simple fact that countless incidents in an uncoordinated rebellion happened essentially at random and in a disorganised way and there was a complete absence of any real or coordinated overall plan; that is, apart from some scattered opposition voices in Europe and America, which, however, also lacked coordination or a United Front - political &/or military - to unify them. When Qaddafi’s forces pushed their way Eastwards towards Benghazi (the second largest town in Libya after the capital Tripoli) every single Libyan either at home or in exile watched in fear with bated breath wondering what might be going to follow this setback. Now however those who then asked themselves that question undoubtedly know much of the answer.
 |
| Amazigh fighters |
Six years on from when that first shot was fired lots of questions remain unanswered and a tremendous number of intractable problems have still to be sorted out.Failure is the name of the game as regards this particular revolution at least for the Amazigh people. They suffered in both the April Revolution and during the days of Qaddafi’s regime, At that time parents were even forbidden to allow their newborns even so much as to keep their Amazigh names. School textbooks made no reference at all to Amazigh culture and history, and names like Masiniss, Mazigh, Akli and Tannit were completely banned. Authentic Amazigh leaders such as Tariq ibn Ziyad, Ibn Battuta, Hannibal and Syphax were all introduced to pupils and students as if those varied individuals were all of Arab extraction. Teaching Amazigh history was totally forbidden as were all types of art. And musicians were forced to sing in Arabic rather than in the mother tongue, Tamazight. Suspected activists or 'agitators' as well as competent writers were either 'disappeared' or just killed. That was the fate of the great poet and writer Saeed Sifawe, killed in 1994 by Gaddafi's henchmen in a planned 'accident'. Because of the repression suffered by the Amazigh people under Qaddafi’s regime, they were among the first true Libyans, of any ethnicity, to take up arms and to join the revolution. Towns like Yefren, Kalla, Jadou Kabou, Nalout and Zawara were the first Western Libya towns to join the uprising. There was however a terrible price to pay! On 13th June 2011 34 civilians were found to have been buried alive. In this grisly event known as 'The Almaieb Massacre' most of the victims were very either young people or elderly men from Qualla, a small village situated 120km west of the capital Tripoli.
The Amazigh towns and cities were regarded as a legitimate target by Gaddafi's militias, and as a direct consequence hundreds of innocent Amazigh were killed in cold blood. This leads us to ask an important question: 'Were any Amazigh aspirations for the Revolution - or expectations of it - ever achieved, ambitions which they shared with many other Libyans on the battlefield, for a fairer State able to hold ALL its inhabitants as equals, without distinction as to colour, race or belief? At least for the time being, the realisation of such dreams is still miles away. As regards the proposed new Libyan Constitution, the indigenous people of whom we speak boycotted the elections that were held on 20 July 2014. After two years of hard work costing hundreds of thousands of dollars out of public funds, ‘The Constitution Drafting Assembly’ had completed the final draft of their official document. The final product however was a total and utter disappointment and betrayal for the Amazigh people, many of whom had made the ultimate sacrifice. The resulting Final Draft came nowhere near minimum requirements for Equality and Justice. For Article Two of the new constitution proposal went like this: Identity and Language: ‘’The Libyan Identity shall be based on inclusive and diversified principles. Libyans are proud of their social, cultural, and linguistic elements and Libya shall be considered part of the Arab and Muslim World, of Africa, and of the Mediterranean Basin. The Languages spoken by the Libyans or a part of them, including Arabic, Amazigh, Targuiya and Tebu are considered a cultural and linguistic heritage as well as a common asset for all Libyans. The State shall guarantee taking the necessary measures to protect them, to preserve their originality and to develop their teaching to and usage by those who speak them. Arabic is the language of the State. The law shall regulate in the first parliamentary term the details of integrating the other languages in the areas of public life on the local level and the State level’’
Article Two of the proposed final version of the constitution, as eventually published does similarly, perhaps inevitably state that Arabic is to be the one and only Official Language of the Libyan State. But also as above Tamazight (Berber) is curiously described as 'a cultural and linguistic heritage of all Libyans'. What strange 'diplomatic' highly delusional language this constitution is playing with .And what a disappointment for the Amazigh people this will be !
Today six years on from the start of the revolution, I believe that well-informed intelligent and active Amazigh young people must all agree that the struggle for Human Rights in modern Libya is far from over. Although on a new course Libya is heading in a very uncertain direction.
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