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Civil War is a known
phenomenon in sectarian and tribal societies which community groups
and tribes find themselves forced into, mostly under internal
circumstances and sometimes they are dragged to it by feuds or
foreign conspiracies. In other cases they are pushed to it by
subjecting them to vengeful conditions designed tightly to arrive at
that end. In our part of the world there is at present a living
example of nearly all those cases.
Tribalism is deeply rooted in Libyan society. Most of the Libyan
people are tribal in their thinking, perceptions and their
relationships. This is a fact no two Libyans, who are fully aware of
the reality of their country and society and are honest in
addressing it would differ about. Another fact is that Libya never
experienced a total civil war that involved most of its citizens at
the same time, and that is due to the long distances and vast
deserts separating its population centres. However; Libya, like most
tribal communities suffered greatly from numerous and cyclic
regional civil wars, which only came to a halt when legions of the
colonial European armies took control of the country at the
beginning of this century.
The Libyan society is currently anguishing under the influence of
two of the major factors that usually lead to civil war in similar
societies. The first is Gaddafi’s continuous promotion of anarchy
and his deliberate incitement to put various segments of the Libyan
people on a collision course. His aim is to keep them occupied in
looking after their own survival and interests away from challenging
his reign on power.
The second is the embargo imposed on Libya since Mid April 1992
under the pretext of the Lockerbie case, which rendered living
conditions in the country at a level of hardship and complexity
reminiscent of conditions in the 1950s pre discovery of oil in
Libya.
In July 1992 I drew attention to this deteriorating state of affairs
in Libya and invited debate about it in an attempt to rally a united
stand amongst Libyan opposition groups against this threat. My
endeavour succeeded relatively at the level of public awareness, but
failed miserably on the level of the opposition. It was met with
disdain and minimizing of the gravity and seriousness of the
situation. A media campaign against that endeavour took three
parallel lines; the kindest described it as “paranoia”. While
another denounced it and vouched that it’s a lie Gaddafi himself is
behind it. The third considered the matter as “deliberately
exaggerated fears of the unknown, built on wrong assumptions, with
nothing to substantiate them in real life in Libyan society”.
All that while the Libyan historian Attayeb Al-Ashab chronicled in
his book “Arabic Cyrenaica”, which is accepted as one of the most
valuable Libyan modern history books (published in 1947), details of
four civil wars which, between them, involved all of the Cyrenaican
tribes. And which lasted for decades costing thousands of lives.
He narrated on page 106: “Other wars also took place in
Cyrenaica; sometimes among clans from within the “Saadi” tribes
themselves, and others between the Saadi tribes on one side and
other tribes on the other. Here I have ignored addressing the wars
between just two tribes, or two clans and left it to the second
edition of this book when my research of there details is completed.
I will only briefly tackle the wars between “Al-Jabarna” and
“Al-Fwayed” tribes, the war between the “Al-Alaaya” and “Al-Jwazi”
tribes, the war between the “Al-Alaaya” and “al-Hessoon” tribes and
finally the war between “al-Abidaat” and “Al-Bara’ssa” tribes”
[end of quote].
The western region of the country is no different to the eastern
part in this context. Its history is loaded with wars. The most
memorable and closer to present history was the war between
“Misrata” and “Wirfalla” which took place in the twenties of this
century in spite of engagement in confronting the colonial invasion.
In the post independence era and during the period of the rule of
law and state security, the Libyan mentality proved in more than one
occasion that it is the same as the one that ignited those wars of
yesteryears. The infamous bloody events of 1964 in Benghazi that
followed the killing of a number of the city’s high school pupils is
a clear evidence of the possibility and ease of tribal clashes in
Libya. I refrained from including those events here because I am not
yet in possession of all the official documents that recorded their
details in full. However; I found in the British Public Records
Office a secret report recently released (after 30 years) from one
of the British embassy’s local employees to his boss, the Chief of
Information Office, Mr. Fletcher, in which he described clashes that
took place on Friday 1st July 1955.between workers at the
RAF Military Base of El Adem in Tobruk. The report is kept under
reference number 5506 in File FO 1021/132.
The report described how competition for work opportunities and
positions of influence among Libyan workers at el Adem Airbase,
which was part of the British Military Base in Libya, developed into
a battle between two of Cyrenaica’s largest tribes. Dynamite,
rifles, axes and heavy sticks were used in the battle. When the
endeavours of the local MP Alkatafi Sa’d failed to end the fighting
he called for help from the commander of the British base and from
the Cyrenaica Defence Force (CDF). The intervention of the British
Military Police along side the (CDF) was needed to separate the
combatants and force them to calm and restraint. The matter did not
end there. The clashes evoked previous feuds, reopened old wounds
and revived dormant hostilities causing ripples of disquiet in the
entire eastern region.
The governor of Tobruk, Hamad Al-Mukhtar, survived an assassination
attempt after being accused of bias. The General Commander of
Security in the Kingdom of Libya, Brigadier Mahmoud Bu-Quitin
arrived at Tobruk and mobilised the “Mobile Force” in the area to
keep control of the situation. [The Mobile Force was the “The
Special Force” of the (CDF), highly trained and armed for
emergencies].
The fact that The Tobruk Governor was the son of the Libyan war hero
“Omar Al-Mukhtar” did not intercede for him. For in Libya, as in all
other tribal societies, the high rank and status of a man does not
make him better suited to resolve disputes as much as it does make
him an ideal target to settle feuds with his tribe. Hence the
outsider is always the more effective in resolving infightings, and
his mediation and intervention are the hope of ending conflicts.
In the current state of our country, in the absence of a national
government that is keen to protect the blood of its citizens and
concerned about their security and stability, and with the
continuation of the blockade, which is producing the necessary
conditions for Gaddafi to reap his evil plans and policies, who
would resolve our differences and separate us in the event of a
collision? Would the Security Council entrust neighbouring countries
with that task? Or will the Marines volunteer to carry it out? Could
this be the goal of the blockade imposed on the Libyan people?
These are questions worthy of contemplation in my view. I’m forced
to discuss them out of love for my country and fear for its future.
Do not turn your faces away from them, unless you can prove that the
Psyche of our people and their morals and customs are different from
1964 and 1955. And that experience has polished them and elevated
them from the traditional customs of our societies. |
