TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/world/l/libya.2a

Text File | 1993-05-13 | 6.5 KB | 137 lines

                                                                                History

   For most of their history, the peoples of Libya have been
subjected to varying degrees of foreign control. The
Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and
Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and
Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and
Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence
of these ancient cultures.

   The Arabs conquered Libya in the seventh century A.D. In the
following centuries, most of the people adopted Islam and the
Arabic language and culture. The Ottoman Turks conquered the
country in the 16th century. Libya remained part of their
empire -- although at times virtually autonomous -- until Italy
invaded in 19ll and, after years of resistance, incorporated
Libya as its colony.

   In 1943, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks
for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of
the colony, which consisted of the Provinces of Cyrenaica,
Tripolitania, and Fezzan. King Idris I, Emir of Cyrenaica, led
Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two World
Wars. From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were under
British administration; the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944,
Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume
permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of
certain aspects of foreign control to which he had not agreed.
Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the allies, Italy
relinquished all claims to Libya.

   On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a
resolution stating that Libya should become independent before
January 1, 1952. King Idris I represented Libya in the
subsequent UN negotiations. When Libya declared its
independence on December 24, 1951, it was the first country to
achieve independence through the United Nations. Libya was
proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy under King
Idris.

   The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 was one of
the most important events in Libyan history. Income from
petroleum sales enabled what had been one of the world's
poorest countries to become extremely wealthy, measured in terms
of resources per capita.

   King Idris ruled the Kingdom of Libya until the government
was overthrown in a military-led coup on September 1, 1969. The
new regime, headed by a Revolutionary Command Council (RCC),
abolished the monarchy, and subsequently proclaimed the new
Libyan Arab Republic. Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi emerged as
leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto chief of state, a
position he currently retains (although he holds no official
position).

   Seeking new directions, the RCC's motto became "freedom,
socialism, and unity." It pledged itself to remove backwardness;
take an active role in the Palestinian Arab cause; promote Arab
unity; and encourage domestic policies based on social justice
nonexploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.

   An early objective of the new government was withdrawal of
all foreign military installations from Libya. Following
negotiations, British military installations at Tobruk and
nearby El Adem were closed in March 1970, and U.S. facilities at
Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli were closed in June 1970. In
July 1970, the Libyan Government ordered the expulsion of
several thousand Italian residents. By 1971, libraries and
cultural centers operated by foreign governments were ordered
closed. Since then, the Libyan Government has taken severe
measures to restrict citizen contact with non-Arabic,
non-Islamic influences.

   During the years since the revolution, Libya has asserted
credentials as leader of the Arab and African revolutionary
forces and sought an active role in various international
organizations. In the late 1970s, Libyan embassies were
redesignated as "people's bureaus," as Qadhafi sought to
portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular
will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious,
political, and educational and business institutions overseas,
have exerted Qadhafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad and taken
direct action to control Libyans in other countries.

Current Political Conditions

   After the revolution, Colonel Qadhafi took increasing control
of the government, but he also attempted to achieve greater
popular participation in local government. In 1973, he announced
the start of a "cultural revolution" in schools, businesses,
industries, and public institutions to oversee administration
of those organizations in the public interest. The March 1977
establishment of "people's power" -- with mandatory popular
participation in the selection of representatives to the GPC --
was the culmination of this process.

   The GPC is the legislative forum that interacts with the
General People's Committee whose members are secretaries of
Libyan ministries. It serves as the intermediary between the
masses and the leadership and is composed of the secretariats of
some 600 local "basic popular congresses."

   The GPC secretariat and the cabinet secretaries are appointed
by the GPC Secretary General and confirmed by the annual GPC
congress. These cabinet secretaries are responsible for the
routine operation of their ministries, but real authority is
exercised by Colonel Qadhafi directly or through manipulation
of the peoples and revolutionary committees.

   Competition between the official Libyan Government and
military hierarchies and the revolutionary committees has been a
growing phenomenon in the 1980s. An abortive coup attempt in May
1984, apparently mounted by Libyan exiles with internal support,
led to a short-lived reign of terror in which thousands were
imprisoned and interrogated and an unknown number executed.
Qadhafi used the revolutionary committees to search out alleged
internal opponents following the coup attempt, thereby
accelerating the rise of more radical elements inside the
Libyan power hierarchy.

   In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with
shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in the war with Chad,
Qadhafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees
and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released
many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign
travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to
operate.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs,
September 1989.