The echo of fire crackers in the evening on Thursdays is a normal phenomenon here in Libya. It usually announces marriage celebrations in one’s neighbourhood.
However, on other days, with few exceptions, it tends to mean something else. Thunderous sky-rocketing fire-crackers were heard on the evening of Saturday the 20th of October.
Before I could look out of the window to explore the reason for revelries, one of my friends rang me up.
“Mohammad, the celebrations are due to news coming from Bani Walid”, he said without my having to ask.
He continued, “Khamis Gaddafi (the son of the former oppressive dictator Muammar Gaddafi) has been killed in Bani Waleed. Also, many other high profile figures from the previous regime have been arrested including the spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim.”
He then quickly concluded, “The reason why Libya witnessed violence in recent past might be due to such evildoers being at large. Now Libya will be in peace. This is indeed a moment to rejoice in.”
My friend was indeed speaking on behalf of many people in Libya. The festivities outside in the streets or on the roads in Zliten confirmed what he said and explained.
The military operation in Bani Waleed may very well have been necessary. At the same time, it is unfortunate.
Necessary in the sense that possibilities of a peaceful settlement through negotiations between the authorities and Qaddafi loyalists were exhausted, in part, by the loyalists brutal torture and killing of Omran Shaaban, the 22-year-old Libyan who was honored to be the captor of Colonel Qaddafi.
Unfortunate in view of the fact that such reprisals only ensure that Libya will continue, perhaps indefinitely, to hunt internal rivals and kill them a cycle of revenge in the name of security and stability.
The roots of revenge killing between the tribes in Libya are deep. It was perpetuated by the dictator himself during his forty-years in power through divide and rule methods.
That is why just after the revolution, those who had suffered immensely during the harsh regime, took the path of revenge as a form of justice to settle scores and further personal and political interests.
This recourse to action outside the preview of the legal system is what is referred to as a kind of “wild justice”.
Such revenge killing is a tremendously harmful response by a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called retribution, retaliation or vengeance.
Revenge killing is a phenomenon normally witnessed during the time of armed hostilities. But now the time of war in Libya is over. Furthermore, the country has elected government.
Violent death occurring from government actors or even police action should also accountable to the law of the land.
Individuals who have no relationship with the previous regime or even those who have had only an indirect role must not be punished except through proper legal procedures.
The operation in Bani Walid may be, for some reasons, justified. But against the backdrop of widespread fighting and violence, shouldn’t we ask just how many innocent lives have been lost through such activity? Shouldn’t we ask how many more women and children have to be further widowed and orphaned?
This act of tribal war is very akin to the “settling of accounts” among criminals and it will certainly weaken the authority of state control.
One should not forget that Libya is now a democratic country. It is supposed to have gone far away from the era of Qaddafi when unlawful detentions, ill-treatment, and senseless killing of the suspects opposed to the regime were the order of the day.
The new Libya cannot afford to follow the same for long if it wishes to emerge as a nation where the law of justice rather than the act of revenge should be its fundamental principles of governance.
In this respect the valuable words of the Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to resolve the crisis peacefully and to work together to strengthen the legitimacy and effectiveness of state institutions seems very timely and noteworthy.
Moreover, revenge is the tool of the weak and it obscures the way to the logical solutions. There is a famous saying ‘The tree of revenge never yields any fruit”. It is self-defeating. It is an infection of the spirit. For Libya to progress it must be left behind.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of MuslimVillage.com.
