The rebels must resist the urge to dispense victor’s justice. Qaddafi’s alleged crimes are shocking both in their scope and brutality. The proper thing to do would be to try Qaddafi in an open court, preferably the International Court of Justice. This should not be because Qaddafi deserves the legal protections he denied to all Libyans but because it would symbolise a new, more open Libya, one that abides by international norms.
The disparate groups that formed the anti-Qaddafi opposition now also need to prepare a transition to democracy. Fighting to oust a dictatorship is one thing; resisting the temptation to wield absolute power yourself, quite another. The signs so far are not encouraging. One rebel commander was killed last month and opposition fighters immediately started hurling accusations at one another. Other rebels have quit the Transitional National Council that was supposed to be the united front of the opposition. At some point in the near future, the United Nations may have to step in to ensure an orderly transition and the international community will certainly have to help in the holding of elections. The stalled economy will have to be kick-started by resuming the production and sale of oil, and the ruined infrastructure rebuilt. Libya’s hated dictator may be gone but the country’s long nightmare has not yet ended.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2011.
Watch a slideshow of photos from Libya here.
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Total chaos for years, tribal fights and fights for power at all levels; but in between wealth of oil will be distributed amongst all vultures. You know who are they? Obama Gang.
This is an age of uncertainty and it is almost impossible to predict what is next. But one thing I can predict that very soon our predictable government is going to change is the name of Qaddafi Stadium.