Tawfik Bensaud
"People are starting to whisper again when they talk about politics or discuss the situation in Libya." That was how it was under Qaddafi. But back then, an activist from Benghazi explained, "if you spoke your mind you could get jailed -- but now, you get killed or have to flee the country. You just live in fear for your life and the lives of your family."
On September 19th, 18 year old Tawfik Bensaud, who tweeted this quote, was gunned down and killed. Bensaud had been a vocal activist for civil society in Libya. According to an
article in Foreign Policy, the lack of any real goverment in the failed state that used to be Libya, someone like Bensaud being murdered is routine:
Leaders of the Islamist militias that have been wreaking havoc across Libya have unleashed an army of loyal, unemployed, and mostly uneducated followers to carry out a campaign of intimidation. They are threatening, kidnapping, and targeting the relatives of politicians and civil society activists. "Militia leaders are now using an army of young people who will carry out their orders without any questions," said prominent activist Ahmed Ghedan, who had to flee Libya to Tunisia after he spoke out against the militias.
These foot soldiers have been bribed into joining the militia-gang culture. For activists, dealing with this army of brainwashed criminals is much harder than dealing with the militia bosses, who are leading from behind. The new recruits are clueless about the intent and consequences of their actions, and their loyalty simply lies with those who pay their checks. Political groups with links to the militias are taking advantage of this chaos to take out their opponents one by one.
These same groups are also targeting journalists and activists, who have found their lives and livelihoods threatened in myriad ways. For example, their movement is being restricted, and they have been unable to travel around or out of the country, since airports are still under the control of the militias. Not only does this threaten their reporting ability -- a blow to press freedom -- but the detours require them to travel by land through areas in which they could be stopped, identified, and either prevented from traveling or kidnapped.
The reason this is happening is Libya has no real goverment. They have two competing parliaments, one recently elected with only 18% turnout. Thats the one the US recognizes. They recently appointed the Chief of Staff of whats left of the Libyan Army as Prime Minister. On his
watch:
In the latest chaotic development in Tripoli, gunmen surrounded government offices, threatened ministers with assassination and prevented employees from entering their workplaces, the transitional administration said in its statement, adding that “most of the ministries and institutions and commissions” in Tripoli were now outside its control.
The PM's goverment has run away to Tobruk. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is
governed by militiasof various sorts. Some tribal, some criminal, some religious. There is an ISIS style militia that has
declared an Islamic emiratein Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, after taking control of nearby army bases. We count Ansar al-Sharia as a terrorist group. Because it is. Meanwhile foreigners of all kinds
have fled the country and Western goverments have closed amd evacuated their embassies. Returned diplomats tell us things are about to get much worse, quickly.
Worst of all, the death toll. When America intervened by bombing Libya some two to three thousand people had been killed as Qaddafi moved to suppress an armed rebellion. Since that time some two to three thousand people have been killed by militias. Bensaud was killed in what was a coordinated series of assassinations targeting activists, journalists, government ministers, foreigners and other political and militia leaders.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the story you will find at every single juncture of American involvement in Middle Eastern internal problems. Every single time. Nothing good ever comes of it. Not for the people there, not for us. Especially when that involvement begins with military force, as it almost always does.
Recently Egypt and the Emirates are suspected of conducting air strikes against Islamic militias in Libya. The US response:
When asked about the New York Times report, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “I’d certainly refer you to the governments of Libya, Egypt, and the UAE.” She added: “We believe outside interference in Libya exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya’s democratic transition.”
Facepalm.