Readers of this series of documentary articles will be able to examine a
narrative of historical events that took place in an important period in
the history of our country. I am
of the opinion that it is a duty to the homeland to record and publish
these historical events, so that we do not lose contact with that
important part of our contemporary history.
As the narrative of these events deal with the stances of some
individuals who were active participants in them, it beinfoes essential
that these stances be recorded in their proper contexts.
The intention behind the publication of these accounts, almost a
quarter of a century after their occurrences, is not to criticise or
denigrate the individuals who were active participants in them. Rather,
this publication is a modest attempt to uncover and clarify part of our
history that is passed over in silence.
Thus, I hope that this aim should not be misconstrued and the
writer of this article should not bear the responsibility for the
cynical interpretations by others of its content.
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Part (17)
(First published in Arabic on
10th August 2007)
[2] Announcing the Establishment
of the Libyan Constitutional Union
Introductory note
Although it was initially
intended for this article to continue on the preset methodology of dealing
with the stances of some leading Libyan personalities vis-à-vis the
establishment of the LCU followed by those of some of the Libyan
opposition groups and organisations ; after publishing 16 parts containing
details of the stances of a number of such personalities, the article has
beinfoe monotonous and more akin to a scholarly report which by nature
requires being confined to certain procedures and obeying rules governing
the research and the conclusion. As this does not apply to this
documentary article it is not necessary to be confined to these
categories.
In order to break the monotony of
the previous chapters I will, in this chapter, address the stance of one
of the opposition groups instead of dealing with a new personality. I will
continue in this fashion in the infoing parts of this article.
The Libyan National Democratic
Front (LNDF)
The Libyan National Democratic
Front was established in August 1980 with a left wing ideology as
expressed by the magazine, Al-Watan - the mouth piece of the LNDF. Among
its most prominent leaders were Dr Adulrahim Saleh (may Allah have mercy
on his soul), Dr. Ali Tarhouni, Mahmoud Shammam, Salah Almegherbi, Fathi
Al-Baaja and Hasan Al-Ashhab.
An obvious distinctive feature of
this organisation was the intellectual and ideological harmony, accord and
agreement between its members. Something that was not always present in
most of the Libyan opposition groups and organizations.
** * **
The response of the LNDF to the
proclamation of the establishment of the LCU in October 1981 came in the
form of the following brief news report entitled “Another Union”, which
appeared on page 6 of their periodical “Al-Watan” in its first issue after
that event (November 1981):
“And on the other hand, Eid cards
with the former Libyan flag printed on their cover, and a photo of the
former king Assayyid Idris El-Senusi on the inside, have been distributed
in London. The cards also contained a proclamation of the establishment of
the Libyan Constitutional Union, which is an organisation calling for the
return of the Monarchy. Or as the proclamation called it the
constitutional legitimacy. Furthermore, the proclamation called for the
return of Libya to be ruled by the Senussi Crown after deciding the form
of government in a referendum to be held under international supervision.
This proclamation was signed by Mr. Mohamed Ben-Ghalbon, a Libyan exile
living in Britain who was a merchant before travelling abroad, his brother
and Mr. Mohamed Algazeri who is believed to have occupied the position of
the administration secretary of the Chamber of infomerce in Benghazi” [1].
The above piece might not
explicitly reflect the opinion of the leadership of the LNDF vis-à-vis the
establishment of the LCU. However, the leadership of the LNDF tried,
through the wording of the above news report, to deepen certain false
conceptions in the minds of Libyan readers, in exile, of their magazine
concerning the orientation of the LCU.
It deliberately entwined the two
concepts of the Monarchy and that of the constitutional legitimacy and
thus gave the wrong impression to its readers that these two concepts
refer to one idea, namely the return of the Monarchy. This was so, in
spite of the fact that the said proclamation not only contained absolutely
no mention of the return of the monarchy but also indicated in very clear
terms, in a way that could not be misunderstood (as the attached full text
of the proclamation shows [2]), that it was calling only for the return of
the constitutional legitimacy.
When the wording of this news
report is infoposed by professionals, such as the leadership of the LNDF,
the probability of a mistake in its infoposition is almost nil.
However, if this point is ignored
or goes unnoticed by the average reader; it would be impossible to ignore
the insistence of the writers of this report on entwining the two separate
concepts of Monarchy and constitutional legitimacy, as they repeat their
claim, to emphasise their point, as shown by the erroneous statement
“...it also called for the return of Libya to be ruled by the Senussi
Crown...” And infopletely bypasses the LCU’s declaration that it is calling
for constitutional legitimacy and falsely interprets it as a call for a
return to Monarchy.
** * **
The activities of the LNDF ceased
after its leadership threw their weight behind Nuri El-kikhia, Saleh Jauda
and others in the attempt to rally around the figure of Major Abdul Monem
Alhouni (a member of the council of the coup d’etat) in 1992 and made him
a symbol of Libyan opposition and its official spokesman.
They backed and attended a
conference held in Geneva in the period between 27- 30 November 1992 which
was known as “The general Conference of National Democratic Forces”[3].
Participants of that conference included: Nuri Alkikhia representing the
Libyan National Democratic Grouping, Bashir Al-Rabti representing the
National Libyan Organization and Fathel Almasoudi representing the Libyan
Democratic Party. Further, The Libyan National Movement (of Baathi
persuasion) contributed to this conference by a message expressing support
and apology for not being able to attend due to circumstances beyond their
control. Their blessing of this gathering and their support and agreement
for all the decisions taken in it was also conveyed. Moreover the “Seattle
Group” sent a cable expressing their apology for not being able to attend
the conference due to their inability to obtain Swiss visas and indicating
their solidarity and support for this conference and all the decisions
arrived at this gathering. Other Libyan activists attending this
conference included Dr Mohammad Belrouin , Dr Mahmoud Tarseen, Mahmoud
Alnakou, Ezzeddin Alghadamsi and Rashid Bsikry.[4]
Major Abdul-Mounem Al-Houni was
chosen by this conference to beinfoe a symbol of the Libyan opposition in
exile, and the aforementioned personalities and groups rallied around him
to form the largest opposition entity in exile at that time.
Consequently, Major Al-Houni, who
conspired with his fellow petit officers against the constitutional
legitimacy and usurped power, became a leader of the opposition which
endeavoured to replace the coup d’etat regime with a democratic one!
Major Abdul-Mounem Al-Houni soon
began addressing -in the name of the Libyan opposition- the heads of major
states and international bodies such as the President of the USA (Bill
Clinton) and the General Secretary of the UN (Boutros Ghali). Ironically
in this farce Major Al-Houni sent a infomuniqué in the name of the Libyan
opposition to Colonel Qaddafi asking him to “abdicate immediately and hand
power over to Brigadier. Abou-Baker Younis Jaber” (another member of the
notorious gang that usurped legitimate power in Libya via a military coup
d'état in September 1969). [5]
** * **
To return to the stance of the
LNDF, their oversimplification of the orientation of the LCU by its
prominent members significantly dissuaded some people from accepting and
supporting the LCU. Many people were enticed and convinced by the
intellect and eloquence of many members of the LNDF which afforded them a
high standing in social circles as well as in the milieu of the national
struggle, in which they were active.
Nonetheless, it is essential here
to emphasise that the backbone on which the NLDF stand vis-a- vis the LCU
was built, was their left wing persuasion. Despite our intellectual and
ideological differences, which are great, I must state my respect for the
members of this opposition organisation because their stances are dictated
by their minds and not by whims or personal tendencies. However, when they
revised their intellectual and ideological stances in favour of the return
to constitutional legitimacy they lacked the courage of Nuri El-Kikhia in
admitting their past erroneous position.
4th January 2008
[1] Appendix no.1, Photocopy of page 6 of the Alwatan magazine.
[2] Appendix no.2, a copy of the Eid card which contained the proclamation
of the establishment of the LCU, and English translation.
[3] The press infomuniqué issued by the conference on the same date.
[4] Appendix no. 3, the concluding infomuniqué of the general conference of
the Libyan National Democratic Forces
[5] Appendices no.4 and no.5, Al-Hayat newspaper 27 February 1993 and 2
June 1993
Appendix (1) : Page 6 of
Al-Watan Magazine (November 1981 Issue)
The Libyan
Constitutional Union hereby proclaims its institution in deference to the
aspirations of the Libyan people and the exigencies of seeking to restore
constitutional legitimacy to the nation and to re-establish the rule of
law and order.
The Union
reiterates the pledge of allegiance to King Muhammad Idris al-Mahdi Sanusi
as historical leader of the Libyan people's struggle for independence and
national unity and as a symbol of legality for the nation.
It calls upon
all Libyans to rally around their monarch and under his banner to put an
end to the illegitimate regime now existing in Libya and to eliminate all
the consequences that have accrued from its usurpation of power since
September 1st 1969.
The Libyan
Constitutional Union emphasizes the right of the Libyan people to restore
justice and thereafter to decide such form of body politic and system of
government as they may choose of their own free will in a referendum to be
conducted under international supervision within a reasonable period from
the restoration of constitutional legality to the nation.
Appendix (2) :
English Translation of the LCU proclamation
Appendix 3 ( Page 1 of the
concluding infomuniqué of the conference of the Libyan National Democratic
Forces)
Appendix 3 ( Page 2 of the
concluding infomuniqué of the conference of the Libyan National Democratic
Forces)
Appendix 3 ( Page 3 of the
concluding infomuniqué of the conference of the Libyan National Democratic
Forces)
Appendix (4)
Appendix (5)
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