Can Libya's National Transitional Council be Trusted?

[DeletedUser]

I'm surprised there hasn't been any discussion of Libya on this forum, given the turmoil we've seen this past week.
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It's safe to say Gadhafi's regime is finished already, so now it's time to start analyzing the government that's stepped up in his place. On it's official website, the National Transitional Council describes it's purpose as the following:

The National Transitional Council (NTC) was established on the 5th of March 2011 in Benghazi, born out of the aspirations of the February 17th revolutionary movement which set up the local councils that took the decision to create the national council. The NTC is committed to achieving the February 17th revolution’s dream of freedom and independence for the Libyan people; to free all of Libya, from Aamsaad in the east to Raas Ajdair in the west, from Sirte in the north to Gatrun in the south, united as one under the banner of peace, justice and prosperity.

The NTC will only be working in its current capacity for an interim period, until such time as violence stops and Gaddafi and his political repressive regime are removed, and power can be handed over to a freely elected government governed by a genuinely democratic Constitution that will establish the capital in Tripoli. In order to maintain their objectivity, all NTC members have pledged not to take part in the future elections.

The NTC is therefore strongly committed to guiding the country towards democracy, through the organization of free elections and the establishment of a Constitution that will constitute/create a government based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, social justice for all without discrimination, full political and economic participation and women empowerment.

(Here is a link to their english website; you can find more on their arabic site.) This all sounds very convincing; however, we've yet to see the Council puts its ideas into action.

If you look at the makeup of the council and the executive committee you'll find that several of the representatives are lawyers and intellectuals who studied in the West: a good sign. However, the man they chose to lead the Free Libya Armed Forces, Abdul Fatah Younis, was a wild card. Mr. Younis was one of the officers that participated in the 1969 coup d'etat that put Muammar Gadhafi into power, and had held a high position in Gadhafi's administration ever since. While he may have had a genuine interest in the NTC's cause, there's also a high probability that he planned to merely use the rebel movement as a way to seize power from his former political ally; politics often plays out like this in the Middle East and North Africa.

Recent documents released by the NTC also suggest that they may not intend to live up to their mission statement exactly as promised. In the Draft Constitutional Charter for the Transitional stage, for example, Part 1 Article 1 reads,

Islam is the Religion of the State and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia).

While it does go on to say that the government will respect the right of non-muslims, the clause still begs the question of just how secular and democratic the new Libya will be. Could the constant repetition of their democratic ideals in the mission statement just be a political move to gain support from the West?

However, perhaps the biggest question is whether the NTC will be able to hold on to power at all. The participants in the assassination of Abdul Fatah Younis are reported to have been radical Islamic elements within the Free Libya Armed Forces (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/30/libya-general-younis-islamists-blamed). This puts to question the council's ability to control it's own armed forces. Libya has long been a nation composed of several competing tribes, and it has been speculated that unity in the rebel movement would break down once the common enemy, Gadhafi, had been defeated.

Discuss

 

[DeletedUser]

there was another Lybia thread: http://forum.the-west.net/showthread.php?t=45841
Maybe someone can merge this.

If you look at the makeup of the council and the executive committee you'll find that several of the representatives are lawyers and intellectuals who studied in the West: a good sign.

It may look like a good sign at first glance, but I fear, it's not as simple. Apparently some Africans are not happy with the western intervention in first place. And it is an understandable point of view.
There's really not many arguments against the military support against a dictator who oppresses his country by force. But of course this lead the rebellion into a certain direction favouring western views. And if members of the new system also are connected to the Western World, then that certainly is a different direction that the Libyan rebels had in first place. It all started from within the country, but now gets pushed in a certain way by the outside. And in order for democracy to work it should come from within all the way and not be forced.
Sure, this method has worked in other countries, but the "rebels" there spoke with one voice (mostly).


Concerning Abdul Fatah Younis and keeping people of an overthrown system in a new system:
It's a necessity. Of course it's not the ideal solution, but it's the best you can do, especially when the former system lived of propaganda and oppression of different views. There's just hardly anyone you could replace administration workers with. It doesn't have to turn out bad (see past-'45-Germany, where Nazi supporters got their jobs back rather shortly after the war, as teachers, policemen, judiciaries etc.), although you'd naturally favour new elements.