Huda Abuzeid, whose father was killed by the Libyan regime, says that we must not turn a blind eye to its acts of intimidation and violence
Not one western country in the rush to welcome Libya back on to the international stage has pushed for an investigation into the countless numbers that have been ‘disappeared’ by the regime. Human Rights Watch last year said in its report ‘Libya Rights at Risk’ that: ‘To date, international engagement with the oil-rich country has focused on counter-terrorism and business ties, and inadequately addressed the lack of democratic reform and protection of human rights.’
That is putting it mildly. Things of course have changed. The Libyan government has come to understand the importance of PR and its diplomats have worked hard to convince the west that theirs is a country to be counted on to help in the fight against terror; that they have ‘moved beyond’ the years of blowing up planes, financing armed movements and the murder and assassination of its enemies abroad.
But it’s not as if the new Libya has changed much. It still acts to suppress any public criticism of the regime. Fathi El Jahmi, Libya’s most prominent dissident, called for free speech and political reforms. After years in state custody he fell into a coma and was evacuated to a Jordanian hospital, where he died earlier this year.
As Libya is now no longer a pariah state, it’s difficult for its citizens to persuade the west that it is still brutal. Mohammed Adel Abu Ali was returned to Libya in 2008 when his asylum claim in Sweden was rejected. he was promptly arrested and died in prison the very same month. The authorities said he’d ‘committed suicide’. Human rights groups disagree.
In June 1996 there was a mass killing of over 1,000 political prisoners in the notorious Abu Salim prison. This has never been criticised or investigated. Details only began to emerge in 2001 and 2002, when some families were informed of the death of their imprisoned relatives.
The list of crimes goes on. The fact is that I don’t expect much from the Libyan authorities — they have always been clear about their agenda and make no apologies for their regime. However I do expect and demand more from our democratically elected British politicians, who owe their citizens a measure of truth and justice rather than more doses of spin and political posturing.
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Bickers
August 27th, 2009 10:46am Report this commentExcellent article - we and our political representatives should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing profit to trump justice.
Of course, if politicians and the media (the BBC in particular) stopped their hysteria about non existant man made global warming and 'danggerous' climate change and allowed (in the US especially) more drilling & mining of fossil fuels we could turn our backs on Middle East oil supplies (to a large measure) - now that would put pressure on them to reform - think about that Greenpeace/IPCC next time you produce scaremongering, manipulated figures about AGW
N
August 27th, 2009 4:57pm Report this commentHuda Abuzeid,
My sympathies to your family. Greed and corruption on horrible things in leaders. If my memory is correct, Libya has oil, thus the reason why Tony Blair loved(es) Gaddafi. It's why Saudi Arabia has horrible human rights abuses yet the US "overlooks" them because we get oil. I saw a documentary a while back about Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai used all of his power to get an Italian prisoner held by the Taliban freed, because it was great PR and "established relations" with Italy. Yet what does Karzai do for his own people held hostage by the Taliban? Nothing. We live in a sad world.
alleebia
August 30th, 2009 7:51pm Report this commentDear Huda, you have done the right thing by writing this article, and thank you for highlighting some of the misery of the libyan people under this dictator regime. If all libyans who lost a father, a brother or a husband, or have been exiled by Gaddafi's regime, come out and speak as you did, no one would dare to to link their name to his, and Gaddafi would have a lot to answer. I add my voice to yours, and keep up the work. thank you.
Abdullah
August 31st, 2009 2:01pm Report this commentWonderful article. your father was right to say the change in Libya ought to come from within. Western Governments have two friends in the middle east that are Israel and OIl. Western are cynical about Human Rights issue in the Arab world. as matter of fact they have created these dictators to look after their interest
Pufris
August 31st, 2009 3:07pm Report this commentHuda,
If I remember correctly, Gaddafi was murdering Libyans everywhere in Europe before his thugs shot the British policewoman by mistake and thus drawing the wrath of the British government at the time. In other words, Gaddafi was just a mischievous rascal when he was deliberately killing Libyans, but he became a monster when by error he killed a European woman. That says volumes about the racist attitudes about Europeans in general and the Northern ones in specific. You see they are brought up with an absolute sense of superiority that is passed on from one generation to the other. The Europeans have another problem and that is their love of money, otherwise how could they take money from a guy who killed their kin in airplanes and on the ground. As you may have found out already on your own, rest assured that no one in Britain looked at your Dad's life or yours for that matter, as a British life worth fighting for. Anyone whose ancestors were not Europeans can live in Europe for a million years but he/she will never be thought of as a real Europeans. The Jewish folks have realized that but only after six million of them perished at the racist European hands. I hope that is a lesson all non-European will learn quickly so they can start acting to protect their lives and interests on their own and not rely on slimy politicians like Tony Blair.
With my condolences and best of luck in your endeavor to get justice for your dad.
kato
August 31st, 2009 10:09pm Report this commentHuda, this is an excellent description of an individual's encounters with the tyrannical and oppressive Libyan regime. Keep up the good work. The UK and US governments ignore human rights malpractice in many countries whose business/oil they are interested in. It is up to individual Libyans abroad like yourself to make these things known and work for change on behalf of those still in Libya.
Ahmed
September 2nd, 2009 6:16am Report this commentWe have to arrest Qadhafi and take him to jell, and let the trial tell what he deserves..This is the only solution if there is a mininum of justice and human rights.
And don't forget the prisoners who were killede by Qadhafi's regime in 4 hours in Libya.
Ahmed
September 2nd, 2009 6:17am Report this commentWe have to arrest Qadhafi and take him to jell, and let the trial tell what he deserves..This is the only solution if there is a mininum of justice and human rights.
And don't forget the prisoners who were killede by Qadhafi's regime in 4 hours in Libya.
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