What were the mistakes of Libyan uprisers?
Administrator Thursday, 17 March 2011 15:06
Gaddafi, as I read a while ago in “Spiegel”, sits on approx. USD 160 billion of cash. But the protesters had a chance, and committed one a very grave political error. I wrote some time ago, proposing that the protesters should establish an independent state, instead of claiming to be Libya itself. I proposed that the state should bear the name “Cyrenaica”. If such state would announce independcence, then Gaddafi would be launching an international war, and that is something radically different in the international law, than an internal conflict within one state. Well, Gaddafi could use this argument in his rhetoric, but the protesters from Eastern Libya would most probably save their achievements. Now, without status of an international war, Gaddafi has much easier to fight an uprising of its people.
Protesters would further improved their position if they would immediately and temporarily restore any constitution that Libya had in the past, even if the constitution was that of a monarchy (there is some crown prince, I heard). Such restored constitution would serve only temporarily, until a new one would be put into voting.
Further, any elections, even done in a very temporary way, and a temporary government formed out of elected representatives would further gave credibility to the new order.
It is still not too late to have some changes in policy of the Gaddafi- liberated part of Libya.
Adam Fularz, Polish Liberals in Exile
