THE STORY of how this rundown city lapped by the Mediterranean birthed the revolution that dislodged Muammar Gadafy is everywhere on its dusty streets.
It is in the layers of graffiti, some dating from the dangerous days last February when the first anti-regime protests were met with violence from Gadafy’s forces, exhorting Libyans to shrug off decades of fear. It is in the billboards and posters featuring ghostly portraits of those “martyred” during the uprising that followed.
Today Benghazi will celebrate the anniversary of the main demonstrations that later tipped into armed revolt against Gadafy’s 42-year rule. “It all began here. We are so proud of the role our city played,” said Omar, a student strolling past the seafront courthouse where the fledgling revolutionaries were first headquartered last spring before forming an interim body, the National Transitional Council (NTC), which would later become post-Gadafy Libya’s de facto government.
The square next to the dilapidated courthouse, its walls still covered in caricatures of Gadafy, has been renamed Liberation Square and will today play host to celebrations marking the anniversary. Security in the city has been stepped up in recent days, with machine gun-mounted pickup vehicles stationed at junctions and roundabouts.
The jubilant mood is laced with some trepidation after Saadi Gadafy, son of the former leader who was killed in his hometown of Sirte in October, warned from exile in Niger earlier this week that he would foment a counter-revolution.
But many fear the anniversary could also be marred by protests directed at the ruling NTC, which some Benghazians accuse of incompetence and corruption. Others claim the NTC has neglected Libya’s eastern flank since it moved from Benghazi to Tripoli last autumn. “It looks like they have forgotten us, even though we were the ones who lit the first spark,” said one resident. “People are getting more disillusioned every day.”
Last month, a crowd demanding the NTC’s resignation forced their way into its Benghazi offices. The council’s chief, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, was trapped inside for several hours as the protesters smashed windows and attacked his car. Abdel Jalil later warned such actions could drag Libya into a “bottomless pit”.
This week Libya’s de facto prime minister Abdel-Rahim el-Keeb was confronted at a Benghazi hotel by dozens of state employees angry because their salaries had not been paid. Grumbles over the NTC are a constant in conversations in the city.
Another headache for the NTC is the question of what to do with former revolutionary fighters that remain armed and part of a constellation of brigades formed during the revolt. Last month the NTC appointed an army chief of staff, Yousef al-Manqoush, and set up a commission to register former combatants and assist them to either join Libya’s nascent army or police forces or offer them financial incentives to return to civilian life.
“The army is an institution that cannot be built in a matter of days. We need time,” Manqoush said at a ceremony on Tuesday where he announced that 5,000 former fighters had joined the army. Some 400 have completed training to join the police.
But these numbers constitute a tiny percentage of the men who took up guns against Gadafy last year, many of whom now see their weapons as a source of power and influence on a local and national level. In a hard-hitting report released this week, Amnesty International said Libya’s aspirations to replace Gadafy’s oppressive rule with a just, democratic state were being undermined by armed militias who paid little heed to the NTC. The human rights group said its researchers had documented dozens of cases of militias committing war crimes, torturing detainees and forcing entire communities to flee their homes.
“Militias in Libya are largely out of control and the blanket impunity they enjoy only encourages further abuses and perpetuates instability and insecurity,” said Amnesty’s Donatella Rovera. “A year ago Libyans risked their lives to demand justice. Today their hopes are being jeopardized by lawless armed militias who trample human rights with impunity.
“It is imperative that the Libyan authorities firmly demonstrate their commitment to turning the page on decades of systematic violations by reining in the militias,” she added.