History of modern Libya 5171141 220929054 2008-06-22T07:20:34Z 에멜무지로 4711501 é {{History of Libya}}{{Unreferenced|date=November 2007}} On [[November 21]], [[1949]], the [[UN General Assembly]] passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before [[January 1]], [[1952]]. [[Idris I of Libya|Idris]] represented [[Libya]] in the subsequent UN negotiations. When Libya declared its independence on [[December 24]], [[1951]], it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in [[Africa]] to gain independence. Libya was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary [[monarchy]] and Idris was proclaimed king. == Qadhafi's Coup d'état == On [[September 1]], [[1969]], a small group of military officers led by then 28-year-old army officer [[Muammar al-Gaddafi|Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi]] staged a coup d'etat against King Idris, who was exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the [[Revolutionary Command Council]] (RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Qadhafi emerged as leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto chief of state, a political role he still plays. The Libyan Government asserts that Qadhafi currently holds no official position, although he is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution." Qadhafi took control of Libya from the [[Senusi]]yyah. They gained support by opposing Italian and British occupiers. Their rise in power followed a similar path as that of the Wahhabis in [[Saudi Arabia]], although with obviously different endings. Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Qadhafi has espoused his own political system - a combination of [[socialism]] and [[Islam]] - which he calls the Third Universal Theory. The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity." It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness," take an active role in the [[Palestinian]] Arab cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, nonexploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth. An early objective of the new government was withdrawal of all foreign military installations from Libya. Following negotiations, British military installations at [[Tobruk]] and nearby El Adem were closed in March 1970, and U.S. facilities at [[Wheelus Air Base]] near Tripoli were closed in June 1970. That July, the Libyan Government ordered the expulsion of several thousand Italian residents. By 1971, libraries and cultural centers operated by foreign governments were ordered closed. Qadhafi rejected both Soviet Communism and Western capitalism and claimed that he was charting an independent course, portraying himself as a champion of "oppressed peoples" and Third World nations seeking to assert their independence on the international stage. In the 1970s, Libya claimed leadership of Arab and African revolutionary forces and sought active roles in international organizations. In 1974, Libya and [[Tunisia]] briefly planned to merge and create the [[Arab Islamic Republic]]. == US and Libya == Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were redesignated as "people's bureaus," as Qadhafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious, political, educational, and business institutions overseas, exported Qadhafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, Qadhafi used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting militants abroad to hasten the end of Soviet and U.S. [[hegemony]]. In 1977, Libya fought a [[Libyan-Egyptian War|short border war]] with Egypt. === Gulf of Sidra incident === On [[August 19]], in the [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)]], a dispute over whether the [[Gulf of Sidra]] was international waters or not, two [[Sukhoi Su-22]] fighter jets engaged two United States [[F-14 Tomcat]]s operating from U.S. aircraft carrier [[USS Nimitz (CVN-68)]] operating in the gulf near the "line of death." The U.S. jets shot down the Libyan fighters and the [[United States]] placed an [[embargo]] on Libyan [[petroleum]] imports starting on [[March 10]], [[1982]]. == Libya-Chad War == Libyan [[Libya-Chad War|military adventures]] in Chad failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the [[Aozou Strip]] in northern [[Chad]] was finally repulsed in 1987, when extensive US and French help to Chadian rebel forces and the government headed by former Defence Minister Hissan Habré finally led to a Chadian victory in the so-called [[Toyota Wars]]. [[Image:Map of Aouzou stip chad.PNG|thumb|120px|Libya occupied the [[Aouzou strip]] (blue) in [[Chad]] between 1976 and 1987]] == Foreign Relations == U.S.-Libyan relations quickly deteriorated following the inauguration of U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] in January 1981. The Reagan administration saw Libya as an unacceptable player on the international stage because of its uncompromising stance on Palestinian independence, its support for revolutionary [[Iran]] in its 1980-1988 war against [[Saddam Hussein]]'s [[Iraq]] (''see'' [[Iran-Iraq War]]), and support for international terrorism. On December 11th, 1981 the [[US State Department]] invalidated US passports for travel into or through Libya, effectively banning US citizens from travelling there. A ban on US citizens spending money in Libya was also instituted. Both were only lifted in February 2004. In March 1982 the U.S. declared a ban on the import of Libyan oil and the export to Libya of U.S. oil industry technology; Europe did not follow suit. The U.S. attacked Libyan patrol boats from January to March 1986 during clashes over access to the [[Gulf of Sidra]], which Libya claimed as territorial waters. Later, on [[April 14]], [[1986]], Reagan ordered [[Operation El Dorado Canyon|major bombing raids]] against [[Tripoli]] and [[Benghazi]] that killed 60 people, including Qadhafi's daughter, following U.S. accusations of Libyan involvement in a bomb explosion in a German nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen on [[April 5]], which had killed 3. Charges that this attack on Libya was an Israeli [[false flag]] operation were made by former [[Mossad]] agent [[Victor Ostrovsky]] in his book [[By Way of Deception]]. <ref> {{cite book | last = Ostrovsky | first = Victor | authorlink = Victor Ostrovsky | coauthors = Claire Hoy | title = By Way of Deception | publisher = St. Martin's Press | date = 1990 | isbn = 0-312-92614-6}}</ref> Libya was accused in the 1988 bombing of [[Pan Am flight 103]] over [[Lockerbie]], [[Scotland]], UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. [[UN Security Council]] resolutions (UNSCRs) passed in 1992 and 1993 obliged Libya to fulfill requirements related to the Pan Am 103 bombing before sanctions could be lifted, leading to Libya's political and economic isolation for most of the 1990s. The UN sanctions cut airline connections with the outer world, reduced diplomatic representation and prohibited the sale of military equipment. Oil-related sanctions were assessed by some as equally significant for their exceptions: thus sanctions froze Libya's foreign assets (but excluded revenue from oil and natural gas and agricultural commodities) and banned the sale to Libya of refinery or pipeline equipment (but excluded oil ''production'' equipment). Under the sanctions Libya's refining capacity eroded. Libya's role on the international stage grew less provocative after UN sanctions were imposed. In 1999, Libya fulfilled one of the UNSCR requirements by surrendering two Libyans suspected in connection with the bombing for trial before a Scottish court in the [[Netherlands]]. One of these suspects, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was found guilty; the other was acquitted. UN sanctions against Libya were subsequently suspended. The full lifting of the sanctions, contingent on Libya's compliance with the remaining UNSCRs, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation, was passed [[12 September]] [[2003]], explicitly linked to the release of up to $2.7 billion in Libyan funds to the families of the 1988 attack's 270 victims. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and to renounce terrorism, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. Libya has responded in good faith to legal cases brought against it in US courts for terrorist acts that predate its renunciation of violence. Claims for compensation in the Lockerbie bombing, LaBelle disco bombing, and UTA 772 bombing cases are ongoing. The US rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006. In late 2007, Libya was elected by the General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.<ref> </ref> Currently, [[Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara]] is being fought in Libya's portion of the [[Sahara Desert]]. == References == <references/> == External links == * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4380360.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4380360.stm] [[Category:20th century in Libya]] [[Category:21st century in Libya]] [[ar:تاريخ ليبيا المعاصر]]