Karima Hussein - Opinion - On the Leaders of Free Libya
http://almanaramedia.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-post_6163.html (Source in arabic)
Translation from the Arabic by wafaaa on www.livestream.com/libya17feb
(After reading, please share your thoughts in the forum below or on the chat in the Libya Alhurra Livestream )
The main objectives of the revolution are political, social, economic and intellectual changes. Libyans have risen up against injustice and for dignity, in order to be citizens treated with respect and dignity. Libya has lived in the dark for four decades, during which mouths were gagged and people were arrested and killed just because of their thinking and because they said no, or tried to say no.
Today, every one of us is looking forward, to the future Libya, with much hope. Every one of us is looking forward to building a free Libya, a country that respects the dignity of her citizens; a country where the minister is questioned before the citizens and where the same sentences are applied to all; a country where there is a President of the Republic, not a ruling family nor a presidential family; a country that respects intellectual competencies and where everyone shares in the building, where each entity is the property of citizens, not government property. When we discuss the future of Libya, an important question comes to mind: Who will participate in building this future that will mark a complete break from forty years of anarchy in everything, of chaos that prevented progress and restricted freedom?
The faces that have appeared in the media from time to time – insulting Gaddafi, his regime and his followers, declaring that they have joined the revolution, and reaffirming their support for the Libyan citizens who are on the front lines giving everything they have for the homeland to make their dreams come true – these are the same faces that have clapped and cheered for Gaddafi over the last forty years. Is it possible for such people to lead a democracy?
The change that we have been seeking since February 17 can not be made by all types of Libyan people, can not be facilitated by people whose hands are stained with Libyan blood and those who were involved in stealing Libyan money. Those who supported tyranny and injustice in Libya can not be the leaders of change or the advocates of justice and democracy today. They are people that grew up in Gaddafi's education system and mastered the vocabulary and the tools of repression and opportunism. It is very clear for us when we see them using the same lexicon, that of the Gaddafi regime, but this time against him.
Yes, we support the idea of tolerance and the focus on building the future. It is the least we can offer in honor of the blood of our martyrs who have given their lives to defend our rights and their rights, but tolerance does not mean that all who have stolen the Libyan people's money can flee, including those who participated in supporting the Gaddafi regime and who represented him inside Libya and abroad take part in representing free Libya. Such opportunists may have mastered the art of the game, such as those who supported the Gaddafi regime in the Lockerbie case and made huge sums of money from their involvement. They are the same people we see today, standing up to defend human rights in Libya and participating in managing the crisis, hoping to land themselves a place in the ruling elite of Libya after the fall of Tripoli. To such people, we say no. While the Libyan people are good, they are not stupid.
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(Other Selected Translations are available here)
Translation from the Arabic by wafaaa on www.livestream.com/libya17feb
(After reading, please share your thoughts in the forum below or on the chat in the Libya Alhurra Livestream )
The main objectives of the revolution are political, social, economic and intellectual changes. Libyans have risen up against injustice and for dignity, in order to be citizens treated with respect and dignity. Libya has lived in the dark for four decades, during which mouths were gagged and people were arrested and killed just because of their thinking and because they said no, or tried to say no.
Today, every one of us is looking forward, to the future Libya, with much hope. Every one of us is looking forward to building a free Libya, a country that respects the dignity of her citizens; a country where the minister is questioned before the citizens and where the same sentences are applied to all; a country where there is a President of the Republic, not a ruling family nor a presidential family; a country that respects intellectual competencies and where everyone shares in the building, where each entity is the property of citizens, not government property. When we discuss the future of Libya, an important question comes to mind: Who will participate in building this future that will mark a complete break from forty years of anarchy in everything, of chaos that prevented progress and restricted freedom?
The faces that have appeared in the media from time to time – insulting Gaddafi, his regime and his followers, declaring that they have joined the revolution, and reaffirming their support for the Libyan citizens who are on the front lines giving everything they have for the homeland to make their dreams come true – these are the same faces that have clapped and cheered for Gaddafi over the last forty years. Is it possible for such people to lead a democracy?
The change that we have been seeking since February 17 can not be made by all types of Libyan people, can not be facilitated by people whose hands are stained with Libyan blood and those who were involved in stealing Libyan money. Those who supported tyranny and injustice in Libya can not be the leaders of change or the advocates of justice and democracy today. They are people that grew up in Gaddafi's education system and mastered the vocabulary and the tools of repression and opportunism. It is very clear for us when we see them using the same lexicon, that of the Gaddafi regime, but this time against him.
Yes, we support the idea of tolerance and the focus on building the future. It is the least we can offer in honor of the blood of our martyrs who have given their lives to defend our rights and their rights, but tolerance does not mean that all who have stolen the Libyan people's money can flee, including those who participated in supporting the Gaddafi regime and who represented him inside Libya and abroad take part in representing free Libya. Such opportunists may have mastered the art of the game, such as those who supported the Gaddafi regime in the Lockerbie case and made huge sums of money from their involvement. They are the same people we see today, standing up to defend human rights in Libya and participating in managing the crisis, hoping to land themselves a place in the ruling elite of Libya after the fall of Tripoli. To such people, we say no. While the Libyan people are good, they are not stupid.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(Other Selected Translations are available here)