Ghadafi and Libya essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ghadafi and Libya - Essay Example The Egyptian conflict was the first example where the protestors of the country fought for justice and freedom and forced their leader, Hosni Mubarak to resign. These protests were followed in other countries where the citizens wished to revolutionize their countries and attain liberal governments that would fulfill their demands and recognize the importance of... the citizens of the country. The most prominent amongst these is the Libyan Conflict which began in the month of February in the year 2011. The conflict is still in progress and rebels have taken to the streets to force the step down of their leader Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi who has been in power since almost 42 years. Qaddafi has not given up and does not intend to give in to the demands of the people and has resorted to severe measures which include oppression and killings of the masses. The conflict has met with criticism from international countries and allies of Libya have also requested Qaddafi to step down and abide by the wants and wishes of the people (Libya — Protests and Revolt 2011). Libya is an Arab nation which is located on the map in North Africa. The country like many other Arab countries contains very high reservoirs of oil. The country has been under the rule of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi from the year 1969 who has proved to be a very strict and harsh ruler for the country. Qaddafi has always been a ruler who has followed the policy of dictatorship and has tried to keep all the powers of authority in his hands. Qaddafi is an intelligent man who has used all his powers to keep the country divided so that there could be no united strong appraisal against his oppressions. He did not create any strong national organizations and at the same time, he also did not form a nationalized army so that no revolt to overthrow him could be very strong. He has been criticized on the international level owing to his oppressive acts which have resulted in the expulsion of Libya as a member fr om the United Nations Security Council. There was an internal unrest in the country but the actual conflict resulted due to the wave of revolution that started in the neighboring countries of Egypt and Tunisia and led to the freedom of these countries. It was followed by the Libyans who started their revolt against the government and initiated a mass protest demanding the resignation of their leader (Fahim et al 2011; Libya — Protests and Revolt 2011). The revolt against the government started in the city of Benghazi and spread across the country and rebels were seen to be operating in different cities of Libya against the four decade old rule. It was expected by many that Qaddafi would opt for resignation but these hopes vanished when he chose for fighting against the people of his own country. He used threatening and derogatory remarks against the rebels terming them as â€Å"cockroaches† in his speech and threatened to kill all of them. It seemed that the revolt wou ld not last long and the protesters would be crushed but international intervention and military assistance and strikes from the United States and United Kingdom in the month of March served to increase the revolt and the side of the rebels became stronger again. The NATO forces also came to the assistance of the rebels and assisted them to fight back the forces of Colonel