Regional tension rises in Libya
Leaders in east declare semi-autonomy but say they don’t want to split
BENGHAZI, LIBYA— Tribal leaders and militia commanders declared oilrich eastern Libya a semi-autonomous state on Tuesday, a unilateral move that the interim head of state called a “dangerous” conspiracy by Arab nations to tear the country apart six months after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.
Thousands of representatives of major tribes, militia commanders and politicians made the declaration in the main eastern city of Benghazi, insisting it was not intended to divide the country. They said they want their region to remain part of a united Libya, but needed to do this to stop decades of discrimination against the east.
The conference declared that the eastern state, known as Barqa, would have its own parliament, police force, courts and capital (Benghazi) to run its affairs. Foreign policy, the national army and oil resources would be left to the central government in Tripoli in the west. Mustafa Abdul-jalil, head of the Tripoli-based interim central government known as the National Transitional Council, warned the declaration “leads to danger” of eventually breaking up the country. But he also said it was to be expected, because the east played a pivotal role in ending Gadhafi’s rule. “Some Arab nations, unfortunately, have supported and encouraged this to happen,” he said, without naming any countries. “These nations are funding this kind of unacceptable strife. What happened to- day is the beginning of a conspiracy against Libya and Libyans.” He appealed to Libyans for patience and resolve in the face of the country’s mounting problems. Fadl-allah Haroun, a senior tribal figure and militia commander, said the declaration’s goal is administrative independence, not separation. “We are not talking about changing the flag or national anthem. We are talking about different administration, a parliament and managing the financial affairs,” he said. The east was the cradle of last year’s uprising and civil war that ousted Gadhafi. The eastern rebels set up the NTC in Benghazi before it moved to Tripoli and became the central government.
The goal for the east now is to revive the system in place from 1951 until 1963, when Libya, ruled by a monarchy, was divided into three states: Tripolitania in the west, Fezzan in the southwest and Cyrenaica in the east — or Barqa, in Arabic.
Easterners say the step is necessary to end the marginalization their region suffered under Gadhafi. The dictator focused development and largesse on the west, allowing infrastructure to decline in the east, an area that was a constant source of opposition to the regime. Many in the east accuse the NTC of continuing to favour the west.
The Benghazi conference illustrated one of Libya’s fundamental weaknesses — the lack of political institutions. Over 42 years in power, Gadhafi stripped the country of any credible representative bodies. As a result, since his ouster, towns, cities, tribes and militias across Libya have largely taken authority into their own hands. The local power centres have confused and often thwarted the NTC’S attempts to establish any national control.