Libya: Government-Critical Journalists Detained
November 8th, 2010 by Anna
Authorities in Libya have reportedly arrested 10 journalists affiliated with the Al Ghad media group. The agency was founded by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (the reform-oriented son of Muammar Gaddafi), who has been openly critical of the government’s conservative old guard. The agency reported: “[The detention] was carried out by the Internal Security Agency on Friday evening, violating the law on the promotion of freedom … and all international norms and conventions signed by Libya.” The arrests come as Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has become increasingly critical of the Libyan government, calling it inept and nonexistent.
Last week, the print version of the weekly Oea newspaper (also part of Al Ghad) was blocked after publishing an article that urged a “final assault” on the government for its failure to address corruption.
Posted in Freedom, Journalism, Libya | Comment »
Transparency International Releases Corruption Rankings
October 26th, 2010 by Evan
Transparency International (TI)
released its annual Corruption Perceptions Index today. In the Middle East, little changed over the past year. Iraq, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and Libya continued to experience dangerous levels of corruption all scoring 2.2 or under on TI’s 10 point scale (10 being “very clean” and 3, “very corrupt”). Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Israel once again led the region in transparency, all scoring above 6.
Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, Reform, Sudan, UAE, Yemen | Comment »
Continued Challenges to Internet Freedom
October 7th, 2010 by Jason
Repressive regimes in the Middle East continue to find ways to control the flow of information in their countries. Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that the Mutaween, or religious police, in Saudi Arabia are now monitoring “social internet networks like Facebook, Twitter, and chat rooms.” There is even a program at King Abdul Aziz University that teaches the religious police how to use the applications in order to censor them. In Libya, the government has begun removing access to url shortening sites due to the “adult-friendly” nature of one of the services. Meanwhile, the Iranian government has accused Facebook and Twitter of being “hidden enemies” that are “tools used by Western intelligence agencies in order to recruit new members and gather data on individuals.”
Posted in Civil Society, Freedom, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Technology | Comment »
Squandered Resources and Arab Cynicism
September 7th, 2010 by Evan
In an opinion piece in the Daily Star, Rami Khouri cites the ongoing leadership struggle in Egypt and the 41st anniversary of Muammar al-Gaddafi’s rise to power in Libya as two prime examples of why the Arab world remains so cynical: “In these two tales, and many others like them in the Middle East, we witness one of the essential attributes of the modern Arab world, namely sovereign but disenfranchised citizens, which explains so many of our weaknesses and mediocrities. National leaderships that rule by coercive security methods that are in turn camouflaged by the thin cloak of hero-worship demagoguery have no serious capacity to engage with other countries in a meaningful manner; at least beyond short-term deals negotiated from positions of weakness, dependency and vulnerability.” According to Khouri, both Egypt and Libya have squandered their exceptional resources by relying on “political governance anchored in the narrow ruling elite’s contempt for the governed” instead of pursuing democratic and economic reforms to better society as a whole.
Posted in Egypt, Libya, Reform | Comment »
Obama Weak on Human Rights?
August 16th, 2010 by Jennifer
Writing in The National Review online, Jacob Mchangama argues that activists who believed that “the so-called Obama effect would lead to America’s championing a new golden era for international human rights” have faced a “rude awakening,” adding that “under Obama, things have taken a turn for the worse.” Mchangama argues that the Obama administration has engaged in the “coddling of tyrants at the U.N.” by proving unwilling to stand up against non-democratic countries such as Russia and China, which have come to dominate the UN Human Rights Council. Mchangama highlights several Arab nations as an example of the U.S.’s failure to criticize “the worst human-rights violators.” He notes that the U.S. was “unable to prevent Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya from becoming a member of the council,” and adds that “the Obama administration has also accepted seemingly harmless compromises that actually chip away at human rights. The best example came in October 2009, when the U.S. and Egypt cosponsored a resolution on freedom of speech that condemned ‘negative religious stereotyping.’” According to Mchangama, this resolution may further enable Egypt to oppress bloggers and other dissidents under bogus charges such as “insulting Islam.” Ultimately, he concludes that the administration must stop “sitting on the fence” and choose between one of two options: either “it must champion the cause of freedom at the U.N. by actively leading a coalition of democracies, confronting authoritarians, and shaming the spoilers”; or it must “build a credible alternative” to the UN as a forum for supporting human rights worldwide.
Posted in Egypt, Human Rights, Libya, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »
Libya Yields to International Pressure on Refugees
July 13th, 2010 by Jennifer
Following recent international criticism of its human rights abuses and deportation of refugees to home countries where they may face torture, Libya announced yesterday that it will allow approximately 400 Eritrean refugees to remain in the country, and promised that the government will “ensure them a decent life and access to employment suitable to their professional abilities.” The International Organization for Migration affirmed Libya’s commitment to find employment for the refugees. Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, Malcolm Smart, had called for Libya to protect the migrants and asylum seekers earlier this week.
Posted in Libya | Comment »
Freedom House: 5 GMENA Countries Among “Least Free” in the World
July 7th, 2010 by Jennifer
In a piece in Foreign Policy, Freedom House highlights the twenty nations it has identified as the “least free” in its 2010 Freedom in the World report. Six nations and territories in the Greater Middle East and North Africa (GMENA) are featured in the piece: Libya, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.
Freedom House offers harsh criticism of the human rights and democracy records of the regimes in these areas. Regarding Libya, the piece argues that “despite Libya’s new, more positive image, gross abuse of human rights endures. Organizing or joining anything akin to a political party is punishable with long prison terms and even death.” The piece criticizes President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, pointing to the fact that al-Bashir rules as a military dictator, is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, and oversaw “highly flawed” elections earlier this year. While giving a nod to some steps at reform recently taken by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, it points out that critics view these measures as aimed at consolidating Abdullah’s power, and calls Saudi Arabia “an authoritarian monarchy in which all political power is held by the royal family.”
Regarding Syria, the piece observes that President Bashar al-Assad’s “early presidency saw a brief political opening that was quickly replaced by a return to repression. Freedoms of expression, association, and assembly are now tightly restricted.” It emphasizes the high numbers of political prisoners held by the Syrian regime, specifically pointing out the cases of prominent activists Ali al-Abdallah, Muhannad al-Hassani, and Haitham al-Maleh, whose sentencing was recently condemned by the U.S. government. Finally, the article designates the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara– the site of a long-running territorial dispute between Algeria and Morocco -as one of the least free areas in the world, commenting that local “Sahrawi activists, human rights defenders, and others continue to face harassment and arbitrary detention and torture. Moroccan authorities regularly use force when quelling demonstrations in Sahrawi villages.”
Posted in Freedom, Libya, Publications, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Western Sahara | Comment »
Libya: New Amnesty Report Condemns Human Rights Abuses
June 23rd, 2010 by Jennifer
Amnesty International has released a new report criticizing human rights abuses in Libya, highlighting in particular violations of the rights of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, in light of Libya’s recent decision to expel the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. Stating that refugees “live in constant fear,”Amnesty said that migrants in Libya receive no protection from abuse, and reported that many are indefinitely held in crowded detention centers or otherwise forcibly returned to their countries without due consideration of their requests for asylum.
The Amnesty report also describes other human rights violations in Libya, including the harassment and arrest of political activists, unexplained disappearance of dissidents, and continued detention of prisoners past the term of their sentences. On the other hand, the report acknowledges that overall, “The climate of fear and repression that prevailed in Libya for more than three decades is subsiding gradually.”
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, the deputy director for Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa program, blamed the continuing problems on Libya’s extensive internal security apparatus. “What is striking in Libya is the omnipresence and the total power that security forces have, especially the internal security agency,” she commented. “There are no accountability, no checks, no oversight. And this really needs to stop.”
Posted in Human Rights, Libya, NGOs | 1 Comment »
Libya: Snapshot of the Regime, Prospects for Reform
February 24th, 2010 by Josh
In an interesting feature for Reason’s March issue, Michael Moynihan draws upon his recent trip to Tripoli in order to elucidate what he views as Libya’s continuing stagnation despite both its tremendous oil wealth and recent efforts to engage in dialogue with the West. Highlighting notable contradictions between the government’s rhetoric of reform and ground-level realities, Moynihan recounts a number of conversations with ex-terrorists who, although touted by the government as fully rehabilitated, were actually taken off death-row or promised reduced prison sentences in exchange for renouncing political violence and aiding anti-terrorism investigations. One such individual, claiming he “saw the light” and had abandoned Islamism to work for Colonel Qaddafi’s government, defended Libya’s freedom of the speech and journalistic diversity — but when asked if one would be allowed to print an anti-Qaddafi slogan, he recoiled questioned why anyone would do that, which Moynihan interprets as an unintentional barometer of Libya’s true level of liberalism.
Despite these encounters, Moynihan retains some hope that Saif Qaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi’s son and presumed heir, will issue in a new generation of leaders that will “loosen their chokehold on power in exchange for a seat at the adult table of international politics.” But the current wave of superficial and cosmetic reforms, he says, “have brought [the Libyan people] no closer to the representative democracy Qaddafi promised 40 years ago.”
Posted in Diplomacy, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Libya, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Recent Freedom of Expression and Human Rights Violations
February 4th, 2010 by Maria
Al-Masry Al-Youm reports today that Egyptian security officials confiscated a novel entitled “Leader Shaves His Hair,” and arrested its publisher El-Demeiry Ahmed, because they believed the novel insults Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi. The novel, written by Idris Ali, “tackles social conditions in Libya in the late 1970s.”
Sawasya Human Rights Center said confiscating the novel violates freedom of expression in Egypt and the legal statute that prohibits doing so without a “legal clearance.” It also said the incident “is a stain on Egypt’s reputation.” Ali said his novel is not intended to criticize Qadhafi, but only to critically examine his ideas “through a popular Libyan perspective.”
Another Al-Masry Al-Youm article from today reports that Egypt’s Education Minister Ahmed Zaki Badr recently said teachers would become vulnerable if they were prohibited from beating their students as a disciplinary method. The Egyptian Center for Education Rights released a statement today condemning Badr’s position and warned it could result in five major consequences - most seriously that it could increase violence against children. “The minister has done away with all international pacts on human rights, local laws, and numerous psychological and educational studies that highlight the negative effects of physical pain on children’s behavioral attitudes both in the present and the future,” it said in its official statement.
Posted in Egypt, Freedom, Human Rights, Libya | Comment »
Just Released: New Issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin
January 14th, 2010 by Josh
The new issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, highlights ongoing political battles in Palestine, Jordan, Libya, and Egypt. Helga Baumgarten, professor of political science at Birzeit University in Palestine, uses her column to explore the question, “Who will be Arafat’s true successor?” The increasingly complex nature of the Palestinian political infrastructure has thrown a wrench into the traditional power equation which presumed, “whoever leads Fatah will lead the PLO, and the leader of the PLO will be elected president of the PA.” Though Mahmoud Abbas managed to win power immediately following Yasser Arafat’s death, Baumgarten largely dismisses him as a viable long-term option since he “lacks the charisma, mass popular base, and free access to external funds necessary to exercise control as Arafat once did.” After consideration, Baumgarten settles on four men who have what she believes is a sufficient balance between entrenched domestic ties and external (read: U.S.) friendships in order to challenge for a position of power: 1) Mohammed Dahlan, former head of Preventive Security in Gaza; 2) Jibril Rajub, Dahlan’s West Bank counterpart as head of the Preventive Security; 3) Tawfiq al-Tirawi, the former head of General Intelligence in the West Bank; and 4) Hussein al-Sheikh, another high-ranking official from the Palestinian security sector.
Elsewhere in the issue, George Joffé of the Centre of International Studies at Cambridge takes a critical look at Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s ascension within Libyan politics, noting that he recently achieved the second most powerful post in the Libyan political hierarchy despite his ideological differences with his father, current Libyan president Muammar al-Gaddafi. Joffé maintains that “the significance of this appointment cannot be overstated,” although “it remains to be seen how compromised [Saif al-Islam’s] reform agenda might be” due to his “domestication within the current Libyan political system.”
With regard to Jordan’s recent parliamentary dissolution, journalist Ibrahim Gharaibeh examines the potential areas of political consequence. He senses newfound optimism emanating from domestic Islamist movements, writing that “there are changes to the electoral law rumored that might favor their interests.” The original election law was instituted in 1993 following a previous decision by King Abdullah to disband parliament, and Gharaibeh predicts that the government may use the space created by this most recent dissolution “to embark on a series of social and economic reforms to meet the goals of IMF and WTO programs.”
For an overview of Issandr Amrani’s article on Egyptian electoral politics, published in the Bulletin as well, see our earlier post here.
Posted in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Political Parties, Publications, US foreign policy | Comment »
Libya: Human Rights Abuses and Reform
December 14th, 2009 by Zack
AFP reports that a foundation run by Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has catalogued an array of cases of torture, wrongful imprisonment, continuing state domination of the media, and “several flagrant violations” of human rights during 2009. The report condemned such abuses, demanded full liberalization of the Libyan media, and called for a “transparent, just and fair” probe into the 1996 massacre at Abu Slim prison.
AP reports that Human Rights Watch followed with their own report claiming “Libyan dissidents continue to face arbitrary detention and unfair trials, despite a limited expansion of freedoms since the country began to shed its pariah status several years ago.” While Gadhafi’s decision to abandon weapons of mass destruction opened the country to warmer relations with the West, HRW argues “this transformation in Libya’s foreign policy has not galvanized an equivalent transformation of Libya’s human rights record” and that “every Libyan knows that the true reform in the country will not be possible so long as the Internal Security Agency remains above the law.”
Lastly, Dana Moss and Ronald Bruce St. John gave speeches at a policy forum about Libya’s rapprochement with the U.S. Moss believes that Gadhafi’s work to reconcile with the West over WMD’s does not represent a change in Libyan outlook, but rather should be seen as a shift in policies to follow the same ” irrational and erratic” decisions, “perhaps to prove his independence to his hardline domestic constituents, or else to increase his leverage.” St. John argues that rapprochement has benefited Libya, but the country’s inherently flawed political system will continue to hamper all manner of reforms and as a result “it is likely that social and political change will be on hold until Qadhafi leaves power.”
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Libya, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Libya: Legalizing NGO’s
November 25th, 2009 by Zack
While Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi played host to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, he announced that he will personally intercede to bridge the rift between Egypt and Algeria. Middle East Online is reporting that legislation has been proposed that will allow citizens to create civil associations “on condition that they are apolitical.” To further the prospect that such a law will be adopted, Abdelrahman Boutouta, the head of a legal committee tasked with amending Libya’s penal code, confirms that he intends to decriminalize the creation and membership of NGOs, which previously carried the death penalty. However, the report notes that Boutouta gave no time-frame for these changes.
Posted in Freedom, Judiciary, Legislation, Libya, NGOs, Reform, Turkey | Comment »
New Arab Reform Bulletin
November 12th, 2009 by Jason
A new Arab Reform Bulletin has been released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
In this issue, Sam Parker explains why the passing of the Iraq election law provides a “fair” outcome for the Kurds while also offering a “small victory” to the anti-Kurd forces. The election law will allow Kurds on the 2009 voting rolls to vote normally, despite fears by anti-Kurd politicians that Kurds are moving to Kirkuk en masse to alter political outcomes. However, the law also stipulates a mechanism to investigate fraud, should the voting outcome appear suspicious. Parker concludes that the “national elections law debate is emblematic of the current state of Iraqi politics: slow, messy, and factionalized, but ultimately democratic and successful in achieving the minimum necessary to carry Iraq forward without falling apart.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Algeria, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Journalism, Legislation, Libya, Military, Morocco, Muslim Brotherhood, North Africa, Palestine, Political Islam, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Publications, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism | Comment »
Middle East International Refounded
November 9th, 2009 by Jason
The Middle East International has restarted its printing press after a six-year hiatus, releasing a free PDF issue online in commemoration. According to the Arabist, MEI offers “long articles and analysis from writers based in-country who [know] what they [are] talking about.”
There are several articles in the first issue related to democracy in the Middle East. David Gardner explores why “the Arab world is mired in despotism” and blames America’s “morbid fear of political Islam” for its failure to promote democracy in the region. While the Bush “freedom agenda” is no more, the realization that “tyranny, connived in by the West, breeds terrorism, instability, and societal stagnation” still holds true. Therefore, “President Obama needs to rescue that insight before it is swept away in a backlash of shallow realism.” Gardner continues, “support for autocracy and indulgence of corruption in this region, far from securing stability, breeds extremism and, in extremis, failed states.” Yet while the U.S. must do more to promote democracy, Gardner reminds us that ultimately Arab citizens must lead the effort to democratize their respective countries.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Arab League, Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Gulf, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Islamist movements, Israel, Lebanon, Legislation, Libya, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Neocons, Oil, Political Islam, Political Parties, Publications, Reform, Sectarianism, Secularism, Turkey, US foreign policy, Uncategorized, United Nations, sanctions | Comment »
Gadhafi’s Son Given Influential Post
October 19th, 2009 by Daniel
Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, was appointed as the head of an important organization of business, political and tribal leaders. Some observers expect Seif al-Islam to use his new position as the second-most powerful person in Libya to propose a constitution. Others are concerned that the move is a signal Ghadafi is grooming his son to succeed him.
Gadhafi’s recent move toward liberalism should not be trusted, writes Michael Taube in The Washington Times. Still, he can be a useful ally for the U.S. as long as he is kept on a short leash.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was supposed to announce the winner of its Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, which is awarded to a democratically elected leader who has left office in the past three years, but the committee decided there were no suitable candidates this year. The Foundation recently rated North Africa less democratic than sub-Saharan Africa (see our previous post).
Posted in Libya, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
North Africa Rated Less Democratic than Sub-Saharan Africa
October 14th, 2009 by Jason
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released its latest index that “provides a comprehensive ranking of African countries according to governance quality.” The index breaks the data down into four broad categories: safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.
The Arab countries of North Africa fared moderately well on the overall score. Out of 53 countries, Tunisia ranked 8th, Egypt 11th, Algeria 14th, Morocco 16th and Libya 23rd. For the safety and rule of law vector, Arab countries performed slightly above average, with Egypt ranking 16th, Tunisia 17th, Morocco 22nd, Algeria 28th and Libya 33rd.
However, the Arab countries performed below average on participation and human rights, which considered political participation, human rights and gender equality. On these marks, Algeria ranked 31st, Egypt 34th, Tunisia 35th, Morocco 40th and Libya 50th.
Among the Arab countries, Tunisia fared better than expected while Morocco fared worse. Tunisia’s surprisingly good performance seems to be a result of its relatively high levels of gender equality compared to other Arab countries. However, Tunisia’s scores on political participation and human rights rank below other Arab countries, with particularly dismal scores for freedom of expression, freedom of association and the risk of human rights abuses.
Morocco’s particularly low aggregate score stems largely from its lack of executive elections, for which, as a monarchy, it receives a score of zero. However, Morocco ranked the highest among the Arab countries on many indicators, including free and fair general elections, political rights, freedom of association, civil liberties, and freedom of expression.
Despite the internal highs and lows among the Arab countries, it is clear that Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt all lag significantly behind the rest of Africa in the areas of participation and human rights.
Posted in Algeria, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Human Rights, Journalism, Judiciary, Libya, Morocco, Political Parties, Publications, Reform, Tunisia, Women | 1 Comment »
Qaddafi Speaks at the U.N.
September 24th, 2009 by Jason
President Obama was not the only one to deliver a speech to the U.N. General Assembly yesterday. Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi rambled for over 90 minutes on topics as far ranging as the Kennedy assassination and jet lag. Qaddafi sparked outrage by not only what he said, but by his mere presence.
Walid Phares interpreted the speech as yet one more example of why the U.N. needs reform to better defend democracy. Meanwhile, Qaddafi’s diatribe reminded Richard Just just “how little he deserves the aura of quasi-respectability he has somehow acquired” despite his abuse of human rights and bizarre behavior. Mohammad Eljahmi, brother of Libyan dissident Fathi Eljahmi who recently died while under government custody, said the speech was one more reward that gives Qaddafi respect he does not deserve.
The editors of Foreign Policy identify oil as the only reason why the “bizarre” speech will not leave Qaddafi “completely isolated.” In fact, Andy McCarthy reports the State Department intends to donate $400,000 to foundations run by Qaddafi’s two children.
UPDATE: David Billet of Commentary Magazine adds that beyond the $400,000 directed to Qaddafi’s children, the majority of the $2.5 million in State Department funds assigned to Libya for “Governing Justly and Democratically, Investing in People, and Economic Growth” will be directed through government agencies. Billet expresses sincere doubts Qadaffi will use this money as intended.
Posted in Freedom, Human Rights, Libya, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »
Dealing with Islamists
September 18th, 2009 by Jason
Michael Allen has summarized a recent meeting that included Egyptian activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Rob Satloff of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Jeff Gedmin of Radio Free Europe. Ibrahim argued the specter of radical Islam is receding and therefore the U.S. should seek to engage moderate Islamists who have forsaken violence. He also emphasized the broad support of democracy and liberal values throughout the Middle East. Satloff cautioned, however, that the U.S. should only actively support those groups that genuinely share American values. Finally, Gedmin explained how the Eastern Europe example may be misleading when analyzing the Middle East because individualist values have less appeal in conservative Muslim circles.
In The Daily Star, Omar Ashour details the robust history of successful de-radicalization of jihadists, citing examples from Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Saudi Arabia. While dictatorships have had success in disarming jihadists, Ashour contends “success[ful] democratization and religious reformation remain critical to a long-term, durable solution.”
Posted in Algeria, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Libya, Political Islam, Reform, Saudi Arabia, US foreign policy | Comment »
Qaddafi’s Son Calls for Greater Civil Society
September 17th, 2009 by Zack
Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of Lybian President Muammar Qaddafi, has published a dissertation concerning “the central failing of the current system of global governance in the new global environment: that it is highly undemocratic.” Qaddafi, 37, continues to play a role in Libyan politics and his work calls for the introduction of elected officials into international non-governmental organizations. He writes that the “behaviour of the Bush Administration does not invalidate the liberal view that we can build meaningful international rule by law and institutions based on expectations and reciprocal obligations”.
Posted in Libya, NGOs, Reform | Comment »
