The Benghazi-based Libyan rebels who seek to oust Moammar Gaddafi have gained global fame. Already, France and Qatar have officially recognized them as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people. Yet, few outside of Libya know anything about who these men are. Here is a brief sketch of the most prominent figures among the Libyan opposition (or, as they are called, The Interim Transitional National Council).
Chairman of the Council, Abdul Jalil was formerly the Libyan justice minister, but he resigned to protest the “the excessive use of violence against unarmed protesters" and joined the opposition.
For his defection, he reportedly has a $400,000 bounty on his head.
Abdul Jalil is 58 years old, the former judge studied law and Shariah (Islamic Law) at the University of Libya. He was named justice minister on 2007. Reportedly, Gaddafi’s son invited him to the regime in order to assuage critics of the government (Abdul Jalil had a reputation of always ruling against the state security agencies as a judge).
As justice minister, he sought to reform the country’s criminal code and was widely admired by human rights activists. He had tried to resign before over human rights abuses in Libya but Gaddafi had previously rejected such request.
According to a diplomatic cable uncovered by Wikileaks, the former US ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz wrote: "While Abdul Jalil has given the green light to his staff to work with us, he noted that many Libyans are still 'concerned' about the [US government's] support for Israel, and that terrorism stems from the perception that Europe and the US are 'against' Muslims.”
Human Rights Watch praised Abdul Jalil, by stating: “The Minister of Justice has taken a very good stance on this group of prisoners. He’s publicly criticized the security agencies for continuing to detain prisoners, despite the fact that they have been acquitted by the courts. And, the problem really is that the Internal Security Agency and the Ministry of Interior have been ignoring court orders.”
Creative CommonsGhoga, Vice chairman of the council, who has been accused by Gaddafi’s son of betraying his nation, is a well known human rights lawyer from Benghazi and former president of the Libyan Bar Association. He had been arrested shortly after the revolt against Gaddafi commenced, but released a few days later.
He was at one time acting as legal advisor for families of the prisoners who were massacred in 1996 at the Abu Salim facility.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader’s son, told a newspaper: "Two weeks ago, [Ghoga] was sitting in Col Gaddafi's tent cheering and applauding, and he even appeared on al-Jazeera defending Libya and the regime. However, now he is talking about toppling the regime?"ReutersHariri was a long-time associate of Moammar Gaddafi, having participated in the 1969 military coup that toppled King Idris and installed Gaddafi as head of state. By 1975, when he was the secretary general of the revolutionary cabinet, Hariri plotted to overthrow Gaddafi. However, the plot was detected and about 300 alleged conspirators were arrested, with 21 of them condemned to death, including Hariri. He spent the next 15 years in prison, including more than four years in solitary conferment. In 1990, Gaddafi lifted his death sentence and placed him under house arrest in Tobruk, where state security officers kept a close eye on him.
He recently told the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper: “They will elect a new president and he will serve for a limited time. He could be removed if he does not serve the people. And, of course, we will need a parliament, and a multiparty system.”
Creative CommonsJibril was a long-time democratic reformist and author who received his PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, where he taught for many tears. Returning to Libya, he headed up the Libyan National Planning Council and by 2009 became chairman of the National Economic Development Board (NEDB), where he reported directly to the prime minister.It was Jibril who recently met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, resulting in France officially recognizing the National Transitional Council as the country’s legitimate government.
Creative CommonIssawi was the Libyan ambassador to India who resigned shortly after the revolt to protest Gaddafi’s brutal polices. Only 44 years old, Issawi has a PhD from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania. He became director general of the Ownership Expansion Programme, a Libyan government fund encouraging privatization, in the early 2000s and later founded the Centre for Export Development. He became the youngest person to be appointed the country’s minister of economy, trade and investment.ReutersAl-Sanusi spent 31 years in prison (many in solitary confinement) after being convicted of attempting to overthrow Gaddafi in 1970. He was released in 2001. He is the only rebel leader who is descended from Libya's last king, Idriss al-Sanus.ReutersBaja is a political science professor at the University of Benghazi and a member of Benghazi's city council. He was educated in the US.
The 58-year old told Time magazine: "We thought Gaddafi's revolution was for freedom and human rights. But the four decades since then has been total chaos. It is not even a state. It is a brutal dictatorship… Gaddafi has stolen people's money, Libya's wealth.”
ReutersThe most prominent female among the rebel leader, al-Dighaili comes from a prominent family of political activists.
She is a lawyer and member of the Benghazi Bar Association, which had campaigned for legal reforms.
"We might have been satisfied with this in the past, but after Tunisia and Egypt, we knew we could ask for more," she told al-Masry al-Youm, an Egyptian newspaper. "And once they started firing on protesters, we knew there was no going back."
Reuters
