Why do libyans like gaddafi

It is for this reason, his life and death became pivotal events in Libya and key to understand the current situation. However, the U. When oil reserves were discovered in , the exploitation of wealth did not translate into benefits for the people. According to political analyst Thierry Meyssan, during the monarchy, the nation was mired in backwardness in education, health, housing, social security, among others.

The low literacy rates were shocking, according to Meyssan, only , inhabitants of the four million could read and write. But it was in that the Senussi dynasty was overthrown by a group of officers led by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi who proclaimed true independence and removed the dominant foreign forces from the country.

One of Gaddafi's immediate policies was to share the benefits and wealth to all Libyans. Since Gaddafi took power, oil has been the main resource in the hands of the leader of the newly proclaimed Libyan Arab Republic. The triumph of the revolution marked a paradigm shift, moving the new government to use its oil income to boost redistributive measures among the population, generating a new model of economic and social development for the country.

This translated status meant a literacy rate of At the national level, Gaddafi was able to deal with two central dilemmas characteristic of Libyan society, on the one hand, the difficulty of exercising control over the tribes, and, on the other, the fragmentation of society into diverse and sometimes opposite tribal and regional groups.

Gaddafi had the ability to hold together these territories with little connection to each other. With Libya set to hold a high-stakes presidential election on December 24, Saif al-Islam profited from this media exposure to announce his return to the political arena. It is not the first time his comeback has been heralded. In the NYT interview, Saif al-Islam, sporting a greying beard and dressed in a black qamis traditional shirt embroidered with golden motifs and a black turban, did not say if he would run in the December election.

Pro-Gaddafi sentiment also lingers among a section of the population, disappointed by the chronic instability and violence that has roiled the country over the past decade. There is no more life here. Go to the gas station: there is no gas. We export oil and gas to Italy. We light half of Italy and we have power outages here. This is more than a failure. However, the Libyan public is not used to reading this American newspaper. But what has happened since hasn't been a real revolution, it has been a conspiracy against Libya," he said.

The 10th anniversary of Gaddafis death comes as the country prepares for December elections, part of a United Nations-led peace process that some hope will help start a new, more peaceful chapter in Libya's history. But many in Bani Walid are sceptical, seeing more hope in the old regime than in the country's current political forces.

For Abouhriba, the state of the country's economy -- wracked by inflation and conflict -- is more stark evidence that life was better under Gaddafi. He said Bani Walid's attachment to the former leader stretches to his son Seif al-Islam, whose face appears on posters on the walls of town.

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