Libya in the wake of Qaddafi

Libya has been torn apart by the fighting surrounding the rebellion against Qaddafi, and though he is now gone, tensions are far from reduced and peace has been far from achieved. Reminiscent of the treatment of the Germans and Nazi supporters after the end of WWII, Libyans who supported Qaddafi, or even lived in areas where support of his regime was general, have now been driven out of their homes. They have been accused of crimes that many claim they did not commit, imprisoned awaiting a distant trial, and whole towns have been completely cleared of the previous residents.

Tarik Kafala of BBC news describes the situation in a town called Tawergha:

"For three months between early March and the middle of May, the forces of Muammar Gaddafi laid siege to Misrata. These forces were partly based in Tawergha, and the people of the town are accused of being complicit in the attempt to put down the uprising in the city. They are also accused of crimes including murder, rape and sexual torture. 

The fighters of Misrata eventually prevailed, breaking out of their battered city, and Misratan brigades made up part of the force that overran the capital Tripoli in August. They also captured and killed Gaddafi and one of his sons in late October, and put the corpses on display in their city. 

In the middle of August, between the end of the siege and the killing of Gaddafi, Misratan forces drove out everyone living in Tawergha, a town of 30,000 people. Human rights groups have described this as an act of revenge and collective punishment possibly amounting to a crime against humanity" (Kafala).

This vilification of all 30,000 members of a town when support of Qaddafi was known is a backlash against their perceived crimes. Unfortunately, it is difficult to know how widespread the crimes were, or even how severe. The people won't talk about specifics, especially concerning rape, as it is not a topic to be discussed in their society (Kafala, BBC). As Waller discusses, members of a group can be easily susceptible to group think, and if members of the town of Tawergha perceived the Misratans to be their enemies, it is not inconceivable to think that some of the members of the town may have participated in the alleged mistreatment or even torture of the Misratans. Those in support of the regime would have felt that their aide against the enemy was necessary in order to protect the government and vanquish the dissenters and rebels, and may not have seen their acts as atrocities, but merely state-mandated acts of war. As Stanley Milgram speaks about in analysis of his authority and obedience experiment, basic human decency can be easily suspended if one believes that authority mandates their actions, that they are aiding a higher purpose.

In Milgram's relatively simple experiment, members who had no relationship with the "authority" other than that they had volunteered to help in the experiment, were capable of doling out (as far as they knew, real) painful shocks to people while they begged the participants to stop. His findings are eye-opening because they explain how people who feel that their homes, families, livelihoods, and countries are threatened can act in seemingly inhuman ways.

Though the members of the town of Tawergha initially were the ones in a position of power, now that Qaddafi has been vanquished the members of the winning side are retaliating and, so they claim, working for justice. Again, this turning of the table is reminiscent of the situation after WWII. Now there are reports of torture, and many previous residents of Tawergha are imprisoned. Though war crimes naturally deserve punishment, many claim innocence, not even knowing if the crimes happen at all. The question must be asked, what is the correct way to deal with the situation? Violence returned with violence is a commonly recurring theme in history, but grouping members into broad segments of society is problematic. The members of Tawergha were "mostly descendants of black slaves", bringing race into the situation along with the nationalistic division lines. The city has been completely emptied out:

"Building after building is burnt and ransacked. The possessions of the people who lived here are scattered about, suggesting desperate flight. In places, the green flags of the former regime still flutter from some of the houses. 

Buildings show the scars of heavy bombardment, some are burnt out shells, some are just abandoned. The town is empty of humans, apart from a small number of Misratan militiamen preventing the return of the town's residents" (Kafala).

The town has effectively been "cleansed" (Kafala). As Staub hypothesizes, genocide and ethnic cleansing are brewed and born in nations and societies that suffer from poor conditions, especially as a result of warfare or political or ethnic strife. It is reasonable to say that the situation in Libya is currently dangerous because it is undergoing political change and, as illustrated by this example, tension between different areas who were on different sides during the rebellion. What can be done to prevent the devolving of areas into violence and retaliation, bordering ? The country will have to pick up the pieces, appropriately punish those it deems are deserving and rebuild, and promote the continuation of civilized practices, rather than striking back with violence. Hopefully the path to democracy will be as smooth as possible and further atrocity can be avoided.

Madeleine Harnois

source: Kafala, Tarik. "'Cleansed' Libyan town spills its terrible secrets". 12 December 2011. BBC copyright 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16051349>.