Struggle not over for Libya

Libyan Col. Moammar Gaddafi’s 42-year brutal reign is over, but the future looks murky for a country primarily known for exporting oil and terrorism.

Though there is much celebration for the Libyans, who have been waiting more than 40 years for justice, but freedom in Libya is far from secure.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, president of Libya’s National Transitional Council and the interim leader of the Libyan government, told a massive crowd gathered in Benghazi their sacrifices in the drive to depose Gaddafi had not been in vain.

As his speech came to an end, bursts of gunfire erupted in Benghazi and in the capital ,Tripoli. Men, women and children chanted in support of the revolution and waved hundreds of the red, black and green flags. The reality of events to come, however, is far from the excitement in response to Gaddafi’s death. There are sure to be a number of foreign interests gathering to stake their claim in a post-Gaddafi Libya.

Now that the fighting is apparently over, the issue of Libya’s oil production will swiftly move front and center in international interests.

One thing is certain: International oil companies will be packing into flights to Tripoli to cut deals for a piece of largest proven oil reserves in Africa with 42 billion barrels of oil and more than 1.3 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

The future composition of Libya’s post-Gaddafi government could also prove a point of controversy and political strife. Last month Abdul Jalil, who is also the country’s leader, told his audience in his first public appearance in Tripoli, “We seek a state of law, prosperity and one where Sharia is the main source for legislation, and this requires many things and conditions.”

The legacy of Gaddafi’s repressive regime already seems everlasting, and with further combined complications as a result of Gaddafi’s death, it regrettably seems as if dark times lie ahead for Libya.

 

Kelly Speca is a junior majoring in narrative studies.