Libya’s outlook remains bleak

Libya’s outlook remains bleak

Subject : International Relations

Section: Msc

Concept :

• Libyans celebrated 12 years of the uprising that finally ended the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Streets were festooned with flags and lights, with music performances and a military parade in Tripoli reflecting popular joy.
• On February 28,2023, the UN special representative for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily announced plans to create a new mechanism in support of crucial elections in the country.

Libyan Crisis

• Libya was ruled by Muammar Gaddafi for 42 years from 1969 to 2011 after he overturned the previous monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic.
• In 2011, the first civil war broke out in Libya against the regime of Gaddafi. This war was a part of a series of anti-dictatorial protests in countries of Arab world like Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan etc, known as the Arab Spring.
• In response to the civil war, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya in March 2011, aimed at protecting civilians and providing cover for a rebel advance.
• The NATO intervention was backed by a UN Security Council resolution 1973 which was supported by 10 countries. 5 countries viz. India, Brazil, Germany, Russia and China abstained from voting.
• A UN-backed internationally recognized government was put in place called the Government of National Accord (GNA) which was supposed to bring out a democratic transition.
• However, GNA failed to provide political stability to the country.
• LNA captured the East of Libya and has been running long campaign against Islamist groups and other opponents since then.

Libya after Gaddafi:

• After the death of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya experienced a period of political instability and conflict.
• Various factions vied for power, and a civil war erupted between the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by General Khalifa Haftar.
• The GNA, based in the capital city of Tripoli, was formed with the support of the United Nations and the international community. It claims executive authority.
• It was meant to be a temporary government until new elections could be held. However, the GNA struggled to establish its authority over the entire country and faced challenges from other armed groups and militias.
• Libya has no single government currently, with LNA backing the Tobruk-based parliament which governs East of Libya, and the GNA which controls Libya’s western parts fromTripoli.
• Both sides have been in constant conflict since 2014, in what has been termed as the second Libyan Civil War. In addition to these, there are also smaller rival groups in the country like the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant etc.
• The House of Representatives (HOR) in Tobruk under General Haftar, who had previously served under Gaddafi, led the LNA in a campaign to take control of the country. Haftar’s forces controlled much of the eastern and southern parts of Libya, including the major oil fields.
• The growth of the Libyan economy is projected to be 17.9% this year, the highest in Africa, but despite this some estimates show that nearly a third of Libyans, especially in the south, live at, or below, the poverty line.
• Most Libyan politicians have amassed extraordinary wealth which has resulted in the situation called “redistributive kleptocracy”.