Zuwarah Beach: one of the best in the whole of Libya.
. زوارة مدينة ليبية تقع على شاطئ البحر الابيض المتوسط ،
حوالي 110 كم
غرب
العاصمة
طرابلس
There are many fantastic beaches of pure
golden sand and clear turquoise water spread along Libya’s
northern coast, the most significant of which are those found
west and east of the city of Zuwarah (or Zuwara), and west
of Sabratha and Tellil; extending all the way to the Tunisian
border. These are great beaches of soft sand,
palm trees and sandy hills. Hence the area was chosen for
Libya’s
Free Trade Zone, as an ideal transit platform
for companies seeking to export to Africa, Europe and Asia.
Zuwarah Beach
The market in the centre of Zuwara in 1940s.
The following photo shows the same market area in 2008. Zuwarah City Centre, Western Libya
The heart of Zuwarah centre. It was here that
al-Qaddafi first announced the Libyan Cultural Revolution,
in 1973, in which he declared the Berbers the enemies of the "coup".
The stage from which he delivered the speech was located right
behind the dark car on the left-hand side of the photo.
The Name Zuwarah ( زوارة ) And Its Variants:
1- Ausorianes:
The earliest known name which one can associate with the present
Zuwarah is perhaps the prehistoric Tripolitanian Berber
tribe Ausorianes,
mentioned by Herodotus as a western Libyan tribe. The fact
that the name of the ancient Aussian tribe, mentioned by
Herodotus to had held ceremonies in honour of the Libyan Goddess Neith around Lake Tritonis, is closely related to the present day sea festival
of
Awessu
in Zuwarah, one is even more inclined to link
the Ausorianes of Herodotus with the present day Zuwarah.
2-
Arzosei,
Arzuges or Arzugitani:
These tribes also inhabited the interior regions of Tripolitania
and all the way to Lake Tritonis in classical times, and therefore
including the entire Zuwarah region. According
to Brogan, a bishop of Tusuros (Tozer) passed through the land of the Arzuges in his way to Carthage, presumably to take ship from Tacape,
and that a boundary stone found between Be-Zereos and Tibubuci bears
the tribal name Arzosei.
Also related is the Punic (Berber-Phoenician) tribe name Zeugitane or Zeughitane, which was mentioned during the reign of
Massinissa; easily identifiable with Zwagha (/gh/ = /r/).
3- Casas:
Next, comes the Roman Casas of
the second century BC. This name has been widely suggested
by several writers and historians to have been the ancient
name of Zuwarah. However, in a recent map the name Casas was also associated
with Abu-Kammash, some 40 km to the west of Zuwarah. But since
Abu-Kammash itself was in a way a fishing village occupied
by local families from Zuwarah, and since Zuwarah itself
was a huge region stretching from west of Sabratha to the
Tunisian border, composed of various villages and castles,
then the name Casas could have been originally used to refer
to any of the settlements or homes in the Zuwarah region.
This is also indicated by the meaning of the name Casas itself,
which in today's Italian (based on Latin) means several things
including: 'homes', 'houses',
and 'places', and therefore
it could have been used by the Romans to describe
the settled settlements of the various tribes and villages of the Zuwarah
region, as opposed to the nomadic state generally applied
to the ancient Libyans, who subsisted on herbage and the
flesh of wild beasts as told by Sallust's hallucinations,
and as preserved in the name Numidia, Massinessa's kingdom,
which then included the whole of Tripolitania including Zuwara.
In summary, Casas would indicate a settled state as opposed to
a nomadic way of life, as is still the case with the Tuareg
of the Sahara, with Zuwarah (or Casas) being the later capital city of the entire region.
This distribution is further confirmed by at-Tijani
in his Travels of at-Tijani in Tunes and Tripolitania (1306-1308
AD),
in which he described Zuwarah as a group of villages, rather than
one, including: Wat'in (Zuwarah Minor), Kut’een (Zuwarah Major), and Willoul. (See
below for details).
Based
on the Tabula Peutingeriana (a pictorial road-map of the Roman
empire) and archaeological evidence such as Roman road milestones,
D.E.L. Haynes, relates
that there were several Roman road systems in Tripolitania,
including the Coast Road, which in fact stretched from Alexandria
to Carthage, and, with a fair degree of certainty, gives
the following stations.
Arae Philaenorum, Tugulus (Gasr el-Haddia),
Zure (er-Rumia), Macomades-Euphranta (Sirte), Aspis-Ad Ficum
(Buerat el-hsun), Thubactis-Cephalae (Misurata Marina), Subgoli
(Zliten), Lepcis Magna (Lebda), Megradi-Getullu (Sidi Bennur),
Turris ad Algam (Tagiura: Tajura), Oea (Tripoli), Sabratha, Ad
Ammonem (Mellita), Casas (Zuara), Gypsaria (Marset Tibuda). (From
Antiquities of Tripolitania, page 136.)
4- Zwwara:
Next, comes Zwara: the
origin of the name Zwara or Zuwarah is not easy
to ascertain, even though its derivation from Casas itself may not seem that
far fetched. But the current form of the name appeared for the first time in
recorded history as the Punta dar Zoyara in a Catalan sailing
manual, dated 1375 AD. Just
under two centuries later, in 1550 AD, it was mentioned
as Zoara by
the Berber geographer and traveller Leo Africanus in
his Description
de l’Afrique. Before that, the 12th century North
African Ibn Khaldun seemed certain to connect
it with the other Berber variant tribal names, like Hawwara,
who according to Ibn A'bd al-H'akam (Futuh' Ifriqiya wa'l
Andalus) established themselves at Leptis Magna, and
who according to Ibn Khaldun lived in the province of Tripoli
(or Tripolitania) in 700 AD.
In this instance Hawwara, Hoggar, Zuwara
and Zuwawa are all forms of the same root. The change of /gg/ or
/bb/ to /ww/ is very common in Berber, as in tabburt = tawwurt.
Presently, the name Zwara is often written in various forms, which
although are not totally dissimilar, they are nonetheless confusing
when running search queries in the Internet or in library catalogues.
There are several reasons for this but arguably the most certain
is dialectical differences or lack of published dictionaries. The form Zwara is
generally written by the natives of Zuwarah; and Zowara, Zuwara and Zouara are
generally used by the rest of the Libyans; while Zuwarah (or Zowarah)
is generally used internationally, by writers, scholars, Google, Encyclopedia
Britannica, etc., in their effort to directly translate how the word is written
in Arabic, although the /h/ (which is written as /t/ in Arabic) at the end
of the word is not pronounced in Libya. The Ait Willoul's name for their home
is Tamort, even though somehow after the February Uprisings Berbers
as well began using the name Zwara, as in Libya.tv, for example.
5- Tamort:
Having said all that, the Berbers of Zuwarah call their city Tamort,
and they never use any of the above forms when they talk to each
other in Berber. The above forms are only used when speaking
Arabic. The name Tamort or Tamourt means
several things, all of which are well recognised in universal Berber language,
from Sebta to Siwa, including 'Zuwarah', 'home', 'earth', 'land', 'village',
'town', 'country', and 'the Earth' (as a planet). And so it follows that the
Berbers of Zuwarah call themselves Ait Willoul,
the singular of which is Willoul, meaning 'free' and 'born' --
or 'free as born'.
At-Tijani: Zuwara Minor
&
Zuwara Major:
According to at-Tijani (Travels of at-Tijani in Tunes and Tripolitania,
1306-1308 AD), Zwara al-Sughra (Zwara Minor) was also
known as Wat
’
in (or Zelten), The Land of al-Murabit
’
in (almuravids). He says it was a village with plenty of
high
palm trees and sweet water, but during his time it was taken
over
by destruction and
its few dwellers are Khawarej. He also says that the most
prominent from the land of al-Murabit
’
in
is al-Shaykh A
’
ebd al-Rrah
’
im az-Zwari, who was respected by all and chosen to be their
leader for his age and good deeds. From Zelten he continues his
travels to Zwara al-Kubra (Zwara Major), known as Kut
’
een, which has a bigger forest than the first one. Then to Willoul,
about 20 miles from Wat
’
in, which he says was named after the tribe of
Ait Willoul who inhabited the area.
Today, the various tribes of Zwara call themselves by the collective
name of Ait Willoul, translated by some as
“
the free people
”
, from the Berber tilelli (freedom) and loul (born).
And from Willoul, he continued to Tellil, just before Zwagha (Sabratha),
a fortress on top of a hill by the seashore surrounded by many
houses all the way down to the ground level, where they mingle
with gardens and farms, on which they depend for food.
Territories of Zuwarah:
Based on various historical documents and sources, it becomes
evident that the territories of Zuwarah (as a region composed
of various villages and towns) included most of Tripolitania.
The Arab writer al-Bakari (11th century)
informs us that the Berber tribes Zwagha, Zwara and Nafousa
were among the tribes living in the Tripolitania region.
While al-Yaqubi (9th century) had informed us that
the territory of the Nafousa extended from southern Tripolitania
to the neighbourhood of Kairouan (in Tunisia).
After the various arrivals during the course of the centuries,
the Nafousa tribes were forced back towards their stronghold
(the mountains), while the various Zwawa, Zwagha and Zwara tribes
were slowly moved west towards the border as Tripoli continued
to grow across the centuries.
Currently,
the Zuwara territories extends from al-Manqoub (about 20 km east
of Zuwara) to the Tunisian border (about 60 km west of Zuwara),
where the fishing village of Abu-kemmash is still inhabited
today by various tribes from Zuwara city.
According to a
study published in 1946,
Zuwarah was
the largest region in the whole of Tripolitania: an estimated
one thousand and three hundred and thirteen
square
miles (1,313).
In a recent case study of the Libyan
Zuwara population, published in the Journal of Applied Science
[6 (3): 616-621, 2006],
the authors Tarik B. Benomar, Fuling Biant and Abdolaziz Muosa
Shalgam have used a population project model to estimate the
population growth for Zwara city until the year 2050, and came
to the conclusion that the average population growth rate of
Zuwara city is 7.2% per year.
Ammi S3eed
The holy tomb of Ammi S3id (Sidi Sa'eed or Sa'id), just before Farwa, during
the 1920s.
The Holy Tomb of Sidi Saeed (S3eed), Zuwarah, Libya.
The tomb was demolished during the last decades
of the 20th century, when Gaddafi declared his so-called war on
"charlatans". But, typically, the Berbers of Zuwarah were allowed to rebuild
their holy tomb, as shown above. Sidi Sa'id was also
the name of one of the most important battles fought by the locals against the
colonial Italian armies.
Ighermawen (The Castles):
Zuwarah village as it looked in 1920s: mud houses and palm trees.
Ighermawen, meaning 'the castles', is a place of
ancient ruins, about four kilometres west of Zuwarah city, including a
Roman villa, dilapidated buildings, shreds of pottery and
mosaics, possibly dating to the second century BC. The site
is part of the local culture, but it has not been documented or studied.
Future research may one day shed more light on the distant history of Zuwarah.
Tawsent
Tawsent, Zuwarah.
Tawsent is a Berber name for the coastal area
located between Zuwara city and Zuwara Marina (the seaport of Zuwara), characterised
by large mounds of seaweed (the dark formations shown in the photo) -- igodayen
n talga. A few years ago these seaweed heaps reached up to three meters
high, and formed a huge platform, about few hundred meters long, with several
holes in between going all the way down to the water level. Walking across the
top of the platform one often sees water coming up these holes as waves hit the
base of the cavities. But unfortunately these natural formations are now history,
as they were cleared away a few years ago in a massive clean-up operation; while
most Libyan beaches and streets still littered with empty plastic bottles and
garbage to this day.
The above photo shows the process to have started again and
it will take decades for the seaweed to reach the levels it had reached before.
Natural landmarks such as these ought to be left alone and even protected for
the wildlife they harbour and for the aesthetic beauty they provide. Tawsent
has started the recovery process by herself.
Produce of Zuwarah:
Tisent ('salt'):
The ancient produce of the towns and villages of Zuwarah
(from Tellil and Willoul to Abukammash and Farwah)
included salt (tisent),
lime (jeer), gypsum
(ulous),
cereals (timz'een & irden),
dates (izegnan),
and esparto grass, generally used to make ropes, mats
and sandals. Surrounded
by salt marches, the main export of the region was salt,
with the main importers being Venice, in Italy.
The Berber name for salt, namely tisent,
appears to be related to the above Tawsent,
which leads one to ask: was Tawsent
the seaport through which salt was exported to Europe?
Maybe, as Tawsent is located very close to the seaport
of Zuwarah (Zuwarah Marina).
Or was the area behind Tawsent an ancient source of good salt,
as it is today?
Palm tree trunks, each cut into four long planks, used to support the roof.
Awessu
The Ancient Sea Worship
Full Moon Over Zuwarah Beach, Western Libya.
The ancient and traditional ceremony of Awessu designates
the period of the heat wave between the 12th of July and the 23rd of August according
to the Julian calendar; or the 26th of July to the 5th of September
according to the Gregorian calendar. Hence it is not surprising
that the name
"Awessu"
itself has been linked by several sources with the month August.
The change of August to Awessu
is also found in other languages from all over the world: for
instance: Awousse in the Wallon;
Awst in Welsh; and
Awissu in Maltese, all of which
mean the month of "August". According to current etymological
dictionaries, the word August entered the English language in 1097 AD, from
Latin Augustus (sixth month of the Roman year), named after the
emperor Augustus Cæsar (meaning 'venerable Cæsar'); in turn
from the Latin word 'augustus' (venerable).
But August is the eight month of the year.
In the original ceremony of Awessu the native
Berbers of Zuwarah take to the sea before sunrise, to observe
the rise of moisture from the sea, and to swim in
its magical, silent, mirror-like water, for cleansing one's
sins and for benefiting from the inherent healing properties
of the saline water. As the sun begins to rise, the inhabitants
of Zuwara take sea water with their two palms joined together
and throw it up in jubilation into the sky, several times;
as if "enacting" rain to come once again, year after year. Then dive seven
times under water, as if to avert the traditional belief that
the sea "needs seven lives a year"; which it claims by drowning its
victims, or maybe just a myth to explain the accidental
loss of life to the sea. Who knows? Those who cannot go into the sea, say the
elderly and the very young, are sprayed with sea water instead.
After they complete their purification
rituals, they also take their domestic animals (goats
and sheep) into the water, to gain the necessary blessing
for prosperity and for protection.
Wool garments and blankets are also washed by the beach for purification
purposes.
The remaining of the days will be spent feasting on traditional
foods, especially utshu d udi -
a kind of bazin served with olive
oil.
This festival is very ancient and pre-islamic. According
to the Berber Christian theologian St Augustin the ancient Libyans celebrated
Awessu by bathing naked in the sea. It is common in many ancient
cultures to bath naked in the water in the belief that coming
in direct contact with water transmits the hidden and healing
properties of the water to the human body, in the same way nowadays
people take their cloths off to swim in the sea - to feel
the cold water in the heat. This fact has falsely and slowly led to the association
of the festival with promiscuity and eventually its popularity faded away
with time, where it is now almost forgotten. The current festival of Awessu,
if it takes place, is only an occasion of joy and fun, including
sailing and swimming races, folk dancing
&
singing, and feasting on traditional food.
Further information: U. Paradisi's work (La terminologia araba el berbera del mare a Zuara), published in L'Atlante Linguistico Mediterraneo, Fondazione Cini di Venezia.
Matshouk Coffee Shop, Zuwarah.
Matshouk Beach, Zuwarah.
Zuwarah Free Trade Zone
Information and laws regarding the establishment of Libyan free trade zones,
including Zuwarah Free Trade Zone and Musratha Free Trade Zone: www.zuwarahfreetradezone.com.
Confiscation of Berber Land: on
the 3rd of September 2006 the Libyan government passed Law (215) of 2006, which
declared the foundation of Zuwarah-Abu-Kemmash Free Trade Zone in an area owned
by the Berbers of Zuwarah. The head of the project, now fugitive Saadi Gaddafi,
confiscated around 45,000 hectares of Berber land, stretching 60 kilometres
along the coast (between Zuwarah and the Tunisian border) and 30 kilometres inland
-- way pass Regdalin and Ejmeil.
Berberists from Zuwarah were not not to react,
protested about the true motives behind the project, which they said was designed
to Arabise the area of Zuwarah, and called for the resignation of Saadi and the
appointment of competent experts instead -- competents who would consider the
local population into the workings of the zone and encourage local jobs and investment
including the use of Berber language within the zone.
Legally speaking Article
(11) of Law 215/2006 says "It is allowed to use English language as
well as other languages, in addition to Arabic, in all the dealings of the free
trade zone", and therefore in theory one can use Berber language (under the clause "as
well as other languages").
However, as anything else Libyan, the project
had never materialised, and today's NTC had already declared during the Liberation
Day (23 October 2011) that all confiscated land should be returned to its rightful
owners and urged the Libyan people not to take matters into their hands and instead
wait of the law to implement justice. In fact "land
& indigenous peoples" is a global problem, disaster to say the least,
and it is no use insisting it does not happen in Europe, America, Asia or anywhere
else in the world where natives are to be found.
Zuwarah Wars:
In the year 1958, which the Berbers of Zuwarah call "Aseggas
n Etthawret" ('Year of The Revolution'),
a full fledged tribal war broke out between the Berber Ait Willuol natives
of Zuwarah and the Arabs of nearby settlements including Rigdalin's. The
war was not documented. However, the events taking place at the time may point
to the Italian bombardments of Zuwarah,
where the inhabitants were repeatedly bombed out of their homes and forced to
flee south where they came in conflict with the nearby Arab villages. Most of
the land and farms around and beyond these villages belonged to Berbers from
Zuwarah. The picture described by Alan Ostler states that "The
Italians had again bombarded Zuara; but, when they tried to effect a landing,
Musa Bimbashi fought them off, for perhaps the sixth time . . ."They brought
out air-ships and dropped shells from them," the Kaimakam informed
me "but they have little luck". One of their shells fell upon
a tent, and bounded off, doing no harm. Others fell amongst a flock of
goats . . . All the women and children who were left are hiding in the palms
round Rigdalin; but it will be as it was before. Musa Bimbashi drives
the Italians away, and then the people come back slowly, and put their houses
in order, if they can find them. If not, they must go to the desert. So
the women and children suffer; but the fighting men are not at all affected" (The
Arabs in Tripoli, p. 310).
During the
2011 February wars the Arabs of Regdalin and Ejmeil had again attacked the Berbers
of Zuwarah with rockets and missiles, but the war once again escaped the scrutiny
of analysts; and soon "foreign
agendas"
rained on them like hail.
February War
Zuwarah
Zuwarah Rebels Workshop,
stationed by the sea
in a building that was originally a school.
Zuwarah Rebels improvising rocket launchers; please do not try this at home!
The aluminium launcher (left) was originally attached to a
military helicopter. The rebels dismantle it, take it to the workshop, weld a
mounting base, attach an electronic control to program the number of rockets
to fire, and presto: ready to go.
Here is another "do not try this at home" device,
used by Zuwarah rebels to halt the advances of Libyan government doomed troops: six
gas cylinders, with dynamite in between, placed on the road and ignited
just before the tanks grind their way forward across the tarmac.
Since Zuwarans are
fisherman by nature and use dynamite as well as nets for fishing, it emerged
later that some of the government soldiers were more bemused than afraid, as
they sarcastically spoke of not being fish.
Zuwarah
Zuwarah ('Tamort'): celebrating the capture of Gaddafi on the 20th of
October 2011.
The Berber flag flies free over the Town Hall in Zuwarah, the
seat of local authority,
together with the independence flag.
A Tilelly mani n loul d mani llan
Ait Willoul?
Tallast g ujenna tesqiqeel am tiseet, d af tamort tamettant tedwel tameghara.
List of Zuwarah's February Martyrs.
The Black Crescent:
Most Libyans and international media institutions speak about
Libya being liberated, some three months ago. But many Berbers from Zuwarah say
their city is not liberated yet, as the Arab loyalists of the "Black Crescent" still
fly the green flag, and as they are still to this day (January 2012) being attacked
by Gaddafi's loyalists still surrounding the Berbers (unofficial) capital Tamort ('Zuwarah'). So what is the story?
The Black Crescent refers to
the area surrounding Zuwarah from all land sides -- east,
south and west, from Lajilat and all the way to the Tunisian border. The only
safe side is the sea, obviously. This area is inhabited by Arab Bedouin tribes who
still are loyal to Gaddafi and his vanished regime. A number of
fights took place between the Arabs and the Berbers before and after the
liberation day, as they still take place today, albeit not reported internationally as
they were early on during the bombing campaign!
After rebel forces from Nafousa, Zuwarah, Zawiya and Mesratha
captured Tripoli, some of Gaddafi's remaining units fled to the Crescent area,
where
they remained, practically unchallenged by the NTC. The people of Zuwarah say
the loyal units attacking them were initially commanded by Saadi Gaddafi
(now in Niger) and Alkhwildi Alhamidi from Lajilat (at the eastern tip of the
crescent).
On the 24th of August 2011 they began shelling the town of
Zuwarah as well as the seaport of Zuwarah. Anees al Fonas, a member of the rebel
media council from Zuwara, has reported that rockets and mortars continued to
be fired from the nearby towns of Zelten, Riqdalin and Ejmeil "for the last
24 hours, nonstop". At least 8 civilians were killed and many more were
wounded. One civilian was killed on Monday by a rocket which landed on the roof
of his house, and four others were injured. But somehow the Zuwarah rebel forces
eventually succeeded in seizing Mazraq al-Shams army base and even took the fight
to Ejmeil and Regdalin.
Ras Ejdir crossing was
closed and barbed wire set up along the border. However,
on the 27th of August 2011 Zuwarah rebels took control of Ras Ejdir border point
with Tunisia, after fighting with government loyalists, who fled back to the
safe haven of the Black Crescent. Both flags, the Berber and independence flags,
were raised over the border point.
Many Berber revolutionaries
and members of Zuwarah's local council had openly criticised both NATO and
the NTC for not doing enough to enforce the "protection of civilians" as
called for by the UN mandate. They have sent coordinates to NATO, but no bombers
arrived. They were left alone. Reinforcements from
nearby Sabratha could not reach Zuwarah because Gaddafi
forces were in control of the area between the two towns (the crescent part between
Ejmeil and Lajilat).
On the 6th of October 2011 at
least three more missiles hit Zuwarah, two landed in the sea and the
other on an empty house. The missiles were fired by Gaddafi's loyalists from
the Regdalin area. Three days later the battle was still raging, with both sides
sustaining more casualtuies. Reports from Zuwarah said at least 15 Gaddafi loyalist
and two fighters from Zuwarah were killed, but the true figure could be much
more. On the 8th of October 2011 another rocket landed in Zuwarah, but luckily
the occupants of the destroyed house were in Tunisia at the time. Even after
Liberation, rockets and missiles continued to fall on civilian homes in Zuwarah,
when others were celebrating the liberation of libya and the completion of NATO's
mission "with precision". The Berbers defended themselves and a full
battle broke out again.
North
South
The Black Crescent: shown by the green flags representing
the Arab areas still loyal to Gaddafi,
as of January 2012.
To avoid escalating the conflict into a full tribal war, Arabs
against Berbers, it was decided to bring a military force from Mesratha to keep
the two sides apart. But even though the force did succeed in wearing
down the resistance after a serious of battles and bringing the situation under
control, the Berbers continued to be attacked whenever they ventured inland in
an attempt to visit their farms. The Mesratha force stayed in place until
last week (first week of January 2012), when they suddenly left the area, thereby
leaving Zuwarah without any protection, once more. This means that Zuwarah now
remains unprotected and heavily surrounded by Gaddafi loyalists who still
fly the green flag in liberated Libya.
Ever since whenever the Berbers attempted to reach their farms
(located all around the Arab villages), they came under attack by the Arabs of
Ejmeil and Regdalin. Their cars were either smashed or stolen; they were beaten
up and robbed, and left to flee home. With Mesratha rebels back at home,
understandably, one can only continue to live in fear and terror when others
already sharing the spoils of Liberated Libya and compiling glossy reports at
the Roxis Hotel.
Many Berbers left for Tunisia after living conditions became
impossible due to the UN harsh sanctions, the scorching heat of summer sun, and
the war, with the shops empty and the economy under siege, those who stayed often
drive to nearby Tunisia for shopping, and to visit friends. But most often there
too they get attacked by the loyalists living inside Tunisia (at the end of the
western edge of the crescent), and even by Tunisians themselves. In the way back
they get ambushed by Regdalin's loyalists and loose everything, and go back to
Zuwarah empty handed once again.
The frequent attacks took place
near the border and near Bengerdan, in Zukra, where they were stopped,
their money taken, and their cars broken -- almost the exact revenge attacks
seen at the heart of the crescent and further east, while the green flag was
seen waving on top of lamp posts (inside Tunisia). Eventually the revolutionaries
of Zuwarah decided in early December to defend themselves against the loyalists,
as they did before liberation day, since there was no other
law authority in sight at the strategic
border between the two turbulent countries nor in or around the Black Crescent;
leading to a shooting incident and trouble erupting now and then.
Zuwarah Media Centre
Zuwarah Police Station speaking of the attacks in Tunisia, 31 December 2011.
The official reaction to all of this is perhaps summed up
by Libya's new ambassador in Tunis, who warned that there
are those individuals who want to create divisions between Libya and Tunisia
-- as if Libya and Tunisia were one and united country! Both authorities
eventually intervened and closed down the border point for two weeks. On the
15th of December the border was reopened after an agreement was reached between
the Libyan army and the Tunisian authorities. The new Libyan army has now taken
control over the border points at Ras Ejdir and Dehiba.
However, two weeks later, on the 31st of December 2011, the
last day of the last year, Berber citizens from Zuwarah were once again attacked
inside Tunisia by Tunisians and Gaddafi loyalists, near Bengerdan. They were
stopped while driving through (road blocks), hit with stones, their money and
property taken, and their cars smashed or even taken. The victims now have no
option but to report the attacks to Zuwarah's Police Station; the station passes
on the messages; then no one hears anything, except the new reports that continue
to arrive in and from Zuwarah.
The NTC made an obligation early on, and according to this
obligation the NTC is urged to send an official Libyan army unit to this volatile
zone to ensure the protection of Berber civilians of Zuwarah by all necessary
means. It is indeed the irony of the UN that its mandate to end the "Protection
of Civilians" came so soon when war was still going on in so many parts
of Libya and when civilians were killed, missiles blasted, and homes shelled
with rockets.
The Libyans were told to resolve their issues alone, now,
after they were plunged into deep chaos, and their infrastructure was completely
obliterated! Thank you Banki; Libya is now free for all.
Zuwarah Elections:
Abubaker Attaloua', president of Zuwarah's Local Council.
The Berber city of Zuwarah became the first ever city in Libya
to organise and hold democratic elections after the liberation of Libya, while
they were still fighting to liberate their town alone. The following
Libya TV interview (in Berber) speaks to some of the organisers of the elections,
including Ashour Almansouri, who pointed out that the NTC should have published
guidelines and laws governing the elections in Libya. But due to lack of such
guidelines from the government the Zuwarah elections, he said, were a local effort
based on the goodwill of the people.
A few months later the NTC did publish the "Election
Law Project" but the law was unusually un-numbered and undated! People
in Mesratha are still protesting at the Justice Square (رفع-الاعتصام-الدائم-إلى-اعتصام-ثقافي-ب),
demanding elections (to elect the local council, "correct the path",
and other issue that were a constant source of protests across Libya in the past
two months). In fact even the protests started in Benghazi on the 12th of December
2011 are still going in Tree Square, as of January 2012 (اعتصامات-في-ميدان-الشجرة-تدخل-شهرها-ال).
The story of Zuwarah's first elections in New Libya -- in Tamazight
('Berber Language').
Temehu.com has translated the main points made by each
speaker to English as follows:
Ashour Almansouri had clarified a
number of issues regarding the actual procedure:
A vote of 51%
is required to declare a winner, and if there was no winner, then the first and
the second will go into the second round of elections to decide the final winner.
When he was asked to provide details, he said that a Preparation
Committee was first of all selected to organise and prepare for the elections.
Regarding the actual list of the candidates he says originally there were
twelve people who put their names forward for the elections, but five withdrew
their names later including one woman,
just before the elections started.
They set up two polling stations, facing each other, one for men voters and
the other for women, he said.
The revolutionaries, he added, demanded extending the elections for another
day because many fighters still fighting in the frontline (in liberated Libya),
and this they did, and attendance overall he said was "reasonable".
They offered to conduct the counting of votes before the voters themselves,
to make sure of the results, but he said most voters declared their loyalty to
and trust in the Committee, and that even those who did not vote were happy with
the results -- amazing.
The winner was Dr. Abubaker Ibrahim
Attaloua', who secured a majority of 63.48
% of the vote.
But the total number of people who voted was only 1585 voters
-- hardly a democratic representation of Zuwarah -- just over 3% of
the population of Zuwarah (according to the outdated census).
When he was asked if the elections can be repeated to allow more people the
chance to take part, he replied by saying that the election stations continued
to be open in the second day until there were no voters outside, and that the
winner will remain the head of the council until the transitional period of the
NTC comes to an end.
Zuwarah's Libya's First Elections.
Muneer Bosaoud says that the idea of the
elections goes back to the Crisis Council that was
set up in Djerba, in Tunisia, by the Berbers of Zuwara to assist during the war
for freedom. After the presumed liberation the members of the Crisis Council
returned to Zuwarah; many of whom resigned from the council because Libya was
declared liberated, and because, they said, a new council should be formed to
represent the whole of Zuwarah and not just a few self-appointed activists.
The
remaining five members immediately began debating the idea of holding
an election in Zuwarah to elect a democratic council to represent the whole community
of Zuwarah.
The names of the remaining team are as follows: Muneer Abosaoud,
Salim Mousa, Sha'ban Bosaoud, Othman
Rwiha, and Salah Sha'ban Senusi.
They prepared
their plan and then took it to Adel Alkhallas, who represented legitimate authority
in Zuwarah at the time, Muneer said, and requested from him to work with them.
The
committee included two representatives from each of the various civil components
of the Berber society including two from the February Revolutionaries -- all
men, without a single woman.
The whole operation was executed with speed, he adds, because the previous
members of the Crisis Council who resigned left a "vacuum" in
administration, which they felt needed to fill immediately. This may explain
the very low number of voters who turned up to vote, or is the cause of the low
turnout to begin with! It seems that everything, like elsewhere, done in a hurry
under the pretext of urgency and in realty progress is deadly slow!
Muneer emphasised the transparency issue, and added that
the councils of Tripoli, Mesratha and Tajura had also demanded similar elections,
and it is an honour for all of us for others to follow the experiment of Zuwarah
if it succeeds.
Fawzi Elmeskhout however was positively critical
and to the point:
He says first of all we must know that Zuwarah has
not been liberated like
other Libyan towns and cities because it is surrounded by the so-called
"Black Crescent" -- in reference to the Arab villages surrounding Zuwarah,
almost all of which are still supporting Gaddafi (nearly
three months after liberation); but it is an honour, he adds, that Zuwarah had
"lifted our heads high" for being the first in Libya to hold democratic
elections.
Khaled Ftis moreover provides more information about the
elected council, which slightly differ from Muneer's statement:
Khaled said they did
select a council, and that the members of the council were elected
to advise the president of the council (Dr. Abubaker) and work with him for
the benefit of all;
but no one took any notice of them. The
elected head Dr. Abubaker Attaloua', he adds, acts alone, making his
own decisions, without any regard to the other members of the council, and that
he has no administration and is influenced and directed from outside!
He said that the fact that we have organised the first elections in Libya
is a clear sign that we are not "secluding" ourselves and that we are
not "negative" as we have been criticised by others.
He also pointed out the need to translate what
the Berbers debate in Tamazight to Arabic, so that all Libyans can understand
what the Berbers are talking about. This is a valid point often overlooked
by the current government of Libya, as it made no attempt to educate the Arabs
of Libya about the true identity of the Berbers in Libya, about their Libyan
culture, and about the persecution they endured under the previous regimes. The
NTC needs to supervise the democratic debate over the Berber crisis.
The boat of freedom sails away off the shores of Zuwarah towards its desolate
destiny: Berber offshore. A few favour war, but fearfully most prefer peace.
