But look what Arab News has to say about Libya and "human rights" and "human rights abuses"....pot,kettle, and fox henhouse come to mind....(the kind things...)
Libya human rights report
Libya, Culture, 3/13/2001
arabicnews.com
A report by the US government on human rights describe the current various conditions in Libya. Here are some excerpts from the report.
The Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya* is a dictatorship that has been ruled by Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi (the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution") since 1969, when he led a military coup to overthrow King Idris I.
Qadhafi created a political system that rejects democracy and political parties and purports to establish a "third way" superior to capitalism and communism. Libya's governing principles are derived predominantly from Qadhafi's "Green Book." In theory Libya is ruled by the citizenry through a series of popular congresses, as laid out in the Constitutional Proclamation of 1969 and the Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People of 1977, but in practice Qadhafi and his inner circle control political power. Qadhafi is aided by extragovernmental organizations--the Revolutionary Committees and the Comrades Organization--that exercise control over most aspects of citizens' lives.
The judiciary is not independent of the Government.
Libya maintains an extensive security apparatus, consisting of several elite military units, including Qadhafi's personal bodyguards, local Revolutionary Committees, and People's Committees, as well as the "Purification" Committees, which were formed in 1996. The result is a multilayered, pervasive surveillance system that monitors and controls the activities of individuals. The various security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses.
The Government's human rights record remained poor, and it continued to commit numerous serious abuses.
Citizens do not have the right to change their government.
Qadhafi has used extrajudicial killing and intimidation to control the opposition abroad and summary judicial proceedings to suppress it at home. Security forces torture prisoners during interrogations and as punishment. Prison conditions are poor.
Security forces arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and many prisoners are held incommunicado. Many political detainees are held for years without charge. The Government controls the judiciary, and citizens do not have the right to a fair public trial or to be represented by legal counsel.
The Government infringes on citizens' privacy rights, and citizens do not have the right to be secure in their homes or persons, or to own private property.
The Government restricts freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion.
The Government imposes some limits on freedom of movement.
The Government prohibits the establishment of independent human rights organizations.
Violence against women is a problem.Traditional attitudes and practices continue to discriminate against women, and female genital mutilation (FGM) still is practiced in remote areas of the country.
The Government discriminates against and represses certain minorities and tribal groups. The Government continues to repress banned Islamic groups and exercises tight control over ethnic and tribal minorities, such as Amazighs (Berbers), Tuaregs, and Warfalla tribe members.
The Government restricts basic worker rights, uses forced labor, and discriminates against foreign workers. There have been reports of slavery and trafficking in persons.
Colonel Qadhafi publicly called for violence against opponents of his regime after violent clashes between Islamic activists and security forces in Benghazi in September 1995. Outbreaks of violence between government forces and Muslim militants continued in the eastern part of the country. The Government encouraged reconciliation with opposition groups during the year and invited dissidents living abroad to return, promising that they would be safe. An opposition figure was appointed Ambassador to the Arab League, but few other opposition figures returned, and the sincerity of the Government's offer and the likelihood of reconciliation remain unclear.
clashes between the security forces and militant Islamist opposition groups increased following a lull toward the end of 1999.In the past, the clashes were concentrated predominantly in the eastern region and resulted in an undetermined number of deaths. Since a 1996 prison mutiny in Benghazi and other attacks against the regime, the Government has maintained tightened security measures.
In the years following the mutiny, the Government made hundreds of arrests, conducted military operations in the areas of insurrection, and killed a number of persons.
The Government uses summary judicial proceedings to suppress domestic dissent and has used extrajudicial killings and intimidation to control the opposition abroad.
The regime in the past has abducted and killed dissidents in the country and abroad. Dissident Mansour Kikhiya disappeared from Cairo, Egypt in 1993. There is credible information that, following his abduction, Kikhiya was executed in Libya in early 1994. There have been no reports of such abductions or killings since 1994.
The law provides for fines against any official using excessive force; however, there are no known cases of prosecution for torture or abuse. Security personnel reportedly routinely torture prisoners during interrogations or for punishment.
According to Amnesty International (AI), political detainees reportedly were held in cruel, inhuman, or degrading conditions, and denied adequate medical care, which led to several deaths in custody. AI reported that Mohammad 'Ali al-Bakoush, detained since 1989 without charge or trial, died in Abu Salim prison in August 1999, reportedly as a result of poor conditions of detention.
The Government does not permit prison visits by human rights monitors.
By law the Government may hold detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods. It holds many political detainees incommunicado in unofficial detention centers controlled by members of the Revolutionary Committees. Hundreds of political detainees, many associated with banned Islamic groups, reportedly are held in prisons throughout the country (but mainly in the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli); many are held for years without charge. Hundreds of other detainees may have been held for periods too brief (3 to 4 months) to permit confirmation by outside observers
The 1994 Purge Law was established to fight financial corruption, black marketeering, drug trafficking, and atheism. It has been enforced by the "Purification" Committees since June 1996. Scores of businessmen, traders, and shop owners have been arrested arbitrarily on charges of corruption, dealing in foreign goods, and funding Islamic fundamentalist groups, and dozens of shops and firms have been closed. As part of the campaign to implement the Purge Law, the wealth of the middle class and affluent has been targeted as well.
In March 1997, the Libyan General People's Congress approved a law that provides for the punishment of accomplices to crimes of "obstructing the people's power, instigating and practicing tribal fanaticism, possessing, trading in or smuggling unlicensed weapons, and damaging public and private institutions and property." The new law provides that "any group, whether large or small," including towns, villages, local assemblies, tribes, or families, be punished in their entirety if they are accused by the General People's Congress of sympathizing, financing, aiding in any way, harboring, protecting, or refraining from identifying perpetrators of such crimes.
Special revolutionary courts were established in 1980 to try political offenses. Such trials often are held in secret or even in the absence of the accused. In other cases, the security forces have the power to pass sentences without trial, especially in cases involving political opposition.
A large number of offenses, including political offenses and "economic crimes," are punishable by death.
The security agencies and the Revolutionary Committees oversee an extensive network of informants; one credible foreign observer estimated that 10 to 20 percent of the population was engaged in surveillance for the regime. Libyan exiles have reported that family ties to suspected regime opponents may result in government harassment and detention. The Government may seize and destroy property belonging to "enemies of the people" or those who "cooperate" with foreign powers. In the past, citizens have reported that the Government warned members of the extended family of any regime opponent that they, too, risk the death penalty.
The authorities tolerate some difference of opinion in People's Committee meetings and at the General People's Congress; however, in general they severely limit freedom of speech. This is especially true with regard to criticism of Qadhafi or his regime. The occasional criticism of political leaders and policies in the state-controlled media, which does occur is interpreted as a government attempt to test public opinion or weaken a government figure who may be a potential challenger to Qadhafi.
Public assembly is permitted only with regime approval and in support of the regime's positions.
Despite these restrictions, members of the Warfalla tribe staged several informal protests in 1995 against the regime's decision to carry out the death penalty against tribe members involved in the 1993 coup attempt. The Government responded by arresting hundreds of tribe members and expelling others from the military and security forces.
The Government limits the right of association; it grants such a right only to institutions affiliated with the regime.
According to recent reports, individuals rarely are harassed because of their religious practices.
In June 1998, at least 100 professionals in Benghazi and several other major cities were arrested on suspicion of political opposition activities, specifically support of or sympathy for the Libyan Islamic Group, an underground Islamic movement that is not known to have used or advocated violence.
Members of some minority religions are allowed to conduct services. Christian churches operate openly and are tolerated by the authorities. Christians are restricted by the lack of churches; there is a government limit of one church per denomination per city.
The Government usually does not restrict the internal movement of citizens.
The right of return exists. The regime has called on students, many of whom receive a government subsidy, and others working abroad, to return to Libya on little or no notice. Students studying abroad have been interrogated upon their return
The Government has expelled noncitizens arbitrarily.
The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government Citizens do not have the right to change their government. Major government decisions are controlled by Qadhafi, his close associates, and committees acting in his name. Political parties are banned. Qadhafi appoints military officers and official functionaries down to junior levels. Corruption and favoritism, partially based on tribal origin, are major problems that adversely affect government efficiency.
The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on these factors; however, the Government does not enforce these prohibitions, particularly discrimination against women and tribal minorities.
the opportunity for women to make notable social progress has increased.
In recent years, a growing sense of individualism in some segments of society, especially among the educated young, has been noted. For example, many educated young couples prefer to set up their own households, rather than move in with their parents, and view polygyny with scorn. Since the 1970's, educational differences between men and women have narrowed.
The Government subsidizes education (which is compulsory to age 15) and medical care and has improved the welfare of children; however, declining revenues and general economic mismanagement have led to cutbacks, particularly in medical services.
The law does not provide workers with the right to strike. In a 1992 speech, Qadhafi affirmed that workers have the right to strike but added that strikes do not occur because the workers control their enterprises.
Although foreign workers constitute a significant percentage of the work force, the Labor Law does not accord equality of treatment to them.
It should be noted for completeness that this report was produced by a government that has adversarial foreign and regional policy with Libya. |
