Zürcher Nachrichten - Eleven years since revolt, Libya transition grinds on

EUR -
AED 3.870573
AFN 71.062782
ALL 98.638665
AMD 424.212636
ANG 1.900543
AOA 962.642141
ARS 1066.699929
AUD 1.63605
AWG 1.896833
AZN 1.807139
BAM 1.963263
BBD 2.129194
BDT 126.010221
BGN 1.95858
BHD 0.397291
BIF 3050.739374
BMD 1.053796
BND 1.419681
BOB 7.2867
BRL 6.357386
BSD 1.054509
BTN 89.370589
BWP 14.4059
BYN 3.450493
BYR 20654.401287
BZD 2.12558
CAD 1.482143
CDF 3025.448712
CHF 0.930459
CLF 0.037251
CLP 1027.862453
CNY 7.655197
CNH 7.66518
COP 4652.899174
CRC 535.340165
CUC 1.053796
CUP 27.925594
CVE 110.648347
CZK 25.169178
DJF 187.280529
DKK 7.457619
DOP 63.702046
DZD 140.923788
EGP 52.483784
ERN 15.80694
ETB 131.988165
FJD 2.398387
FKP 0.831779
GBP 0.82857
GEL 3.003062
GGP 0.831779
GHS 15.933567
GIP 0.831779
GMD 74.819726
GNF 9094.259093
GTQ 8.140021
GYD 220.618677
HKD 8.20347
HNL 26.618565
HRK 7.517
HTG 138.166548
HUF 413.43895
IDR 16750.087166
ILS 3.816238
IMP 0.831779
INR 89.279492
IQD 1380.472739
IRR 44364.810754
ISK 145.507935
JEP 0.831779
JMD 165.996546
JOD 0.747248
JPY 158.208521
KES 136.454174
KGS 91.469913
KHR 4247.851911
KMF 492.781365
KPW 948.415986
KRW 1489.024078
KWD 0.324063
KYD 0.878749
KZT 554.101664
LAK 23130.822189
LBP 94420.119706
LKR 306.234143
LRD 188.629654
LSL 19.063456
LTL 3.111585
LVL 0.63743
LYD 5.152966
MAD 10.524783
MDL 19.308584
MGA 4947.571977
MKD 61.536517
MMK 3422.68825
MNT 3580.798697
MOP 8.455544
MRU 42.067925
MUR 49.181091
MVR 16.291982
MWK 1828.33617
MXN 21.362352
MYR 4.692023
MZN 67.347811
NAD 19.063036
NGN 1715.906556
NIO 38.727367
NOK 11.617231
NPR 142.992942
NZD 1.795713
OMR 0.405712
PAB 1.054509
PEN 3.939088
PGK 4.254702
PHP 61.298787
PKR 292.823561
PLN 4.279346
PYG 8227.275822
QAR 3.836843
RON 4.977181
RSD 116.958694
RUB 110.628131
RWF 1459.507438
SAR 3.959635
SBD 8.797673
SCR 14.719124
SDG 633.855401
SEK 11.49546
SGD 1.414513
SHP 0.831779
SLE 23.973542
SLL 22097.579878
SOS 602.24393
SRD 37.309633
STD 21811.449264
SVC 9.227077
SYP 2647.693874
SZL 19.063055
THB 36.060919
TJS 11.509955
TMT 3.688286
TND 3.320516
TOP 2.468096
TRY 36.595705
TTD 7.153261
TWD 34.14225
TZS 2771.483327
UAH 43.916506
UGX 3880.752602
USD 1.053796
UYU 45.533093
UZS 13525.47214
VES 50.352654
VND 26776.955954
VUV 125.108777
WST 2.941767
XAF 658.466395
XAG 0.033566
XAU 0.000397
XCD 2.847936
XDR 0.801927
XOF 655.461172
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.817544
ZAR 19.081226
ZMK 9485.42613
ZMW 28.550534
ZWL 339.321877
  • RBGPF

    -1.0000

    61

    -1.64%

  • CMSC

    0.0250

    24.585

    +0.1%

  • RYCEF

    0.1100

    7.55

    +1.46%

  • BTI

    0.1650

    37.195

    +0.44%

  • BP

    -0.3400

    29.11

    -1.17%

  • NGG

    -0.7700

    62.2

    -1.24%

  • RIO

    -0.0100

    63.5

    -0.02%

  • AZN

    -1.2800

    66.77

    -1.92%

  • GSK

    -0.4650

    34.435

    -1.35%

  • RELX

    0.5300

    48.01

    +1.1%

  • CMSD

    0.0300

    24.34

    +0.12%

  • VOD

    -0.0520

    8.778

    -0.59%

  • SCS

    0.0900

    13.61

    +0.66%

  • JRI

    -0.1160

    13.424

    -0.86%

  • BCC

    0.5500

    146.98

    +0.37%

  • BCE

    -0.4350

    26.875

    -1.62%

Eleven years since revolt, Libya transition grinds on
Eleven years since revolt, Libya transition grinds on

Eleven years since revolt, Libya transition grinds on

Libyans on Thursday mark 11 years since the revolt that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, but the democracy many hoped for seems as elusive as ever, and many fear a return to conflict.

Text size:

The anniversary comes as the country, for years plagued by divisions between east and west, finds itself with two rival prime ministers based in the capital Tripoli.

Just weeks after national elections planned for December 24 were indefinitely postponed, the east-based parliament voted to appoint influential former interior minister Fathi Bashagha to replace the interim unity government.

Incumbent Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, appointed as part of a United Nations-driven peace process, has insisted he will only hand over power to an elected government.

The resulting showdown has sparked fears of another conflict -- not between east and west, but within Tripoli itself.

As the anniversary approached, the streets of the capital were lined with the red, black and green flags adopted after Kadhafi's fall.

Concerts and fireworks are planned for Friday -- a day late due to bad weather -- in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, where Kadhafi once gave a famous, desperate speech before the "February 17 revolution" swept him from power.

- Oil and poverty -

The political void that followed the NATO-backed uprising sparked a bitter power struggle, fuelled by regional and tribal rivalries, as well as the involvement of outside groups.

And despite the country's vast oil wealth -- the biggest-proven reserves in Africa -- many Libyans are living in poverty.

"The situation even got worse," said Ihad Doghman, 26.

A civil servant by day and a grocer by night, he holds down two jobs, like many of his compatriots, as "it's the only way to get by".

Since Kadhafi's fall, Libya has had no fewer than nine governments and two full-scale civil wars -- but has yet to organise a presidential election.

Following the parliament's latest move, pro-Bashagha armed groups in Misrata -- both his and Dbeibah's hometown -- converged on Tripoli in a show of force.

- Relative peace -

The uptick in tensions could threaten what has been a long period of relative peace, since a landmark ceasefire in October 2020 formally ended eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar's ruinous year-long bid to seize the capital.

That laid the way for UN-led peace efforts which saw Dbeibah appointed, a year ago this month, at the head of a new unity government with a mandate to lead the country to December 24 elections.

But bitter wrangling over the legal basis of the polls and the presence of divisive candidates -- including Dbeibah as well as Bashagha -- led to them being indefinitely postponed.

Despite the failures, Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui said the country had seen progress on many fronts.

"Libya hasn't seen a major exchange of fire since June 2020," he said.

"Among the elites, many mortal enemies two years ago are talking to each other and in some cases making alliances. That represents the start of a reconciliation."

In December, just days before the elections, Bashagha had headed to Benghazi to meet Haftar -- another controversial presidential candidate -- in what he said was a gesture of national reconciliation.

Haftar's forces have since backed Bashagha's appointment as prime minister.

And now that he has won the backing of the Tripoli-based High State Council, a body that has often opposed the east-based parliament, Bashagha has until February 24 to form a government.

Given the country's tumultuous recent history, the next question will be whether Dbeibah will go peacefully.

W.Vogt--NZN