Op-Ed ~ Libya: To oust a tyrant, Sarah Leah Whitson of HRW

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Libyans never had much faith Moammar Kadafi would learn new tricks. Their stand against oppression is awe-inspiring
By Sarah Leah Whitson

February 24, 2011
E-mail Print Share Text Size A year ago, my colleagues and I organized an unprecedented news conference in Tripoli to release our report assessing Libya's human rights record and steps toward reform. We invited victims of government abuses to join us and speak about what they had suffered.

Seif Islam Kadafi, one of the sons of Libya's ruler, was primarily responsible for persuading officials to allow us to hold the news conference. As the semi-sanctioned internal voice for reform, his "private" foundation had pushed publicly for changing the country's laws and freeing political prisoners, and it helped establish two private newspapers that sometimes criticized government policies. We had a sense that, with Seif Islam's support, some genuine political liberalization was possible and civil society might be able to breathe more freely.

Yet early Monday, the same Seif Islam told the world that he and his father's government would fight to the "last bullet" to keep themselves in power. And true to his word — this time — the Libyan authorities attacked their own people, declaring "major military operations" against "pockets of terror." As of this writing, the death toll since protests began has reached the hundreds. Doctors have told us that many deaths were from gunshot wounds to the head, neck and shoulders. Seif Islam, who might have led Libyans to a peaceful transition, has become an advocate for policies leading to their deaths.

Seif Islam in fact abandoned his nascent reform agenda long before the past week's demonstrations rocked "Brother Leader" Moammar Kadafi's rule. With no progress on any institutional or legal reforms, and a stalemate with the old guard over his efforts to rein in the country's notorious security forces, Seif Islam last year announced his withdrawal from political life and said that his foundation would no longer focus on human rights and political affairs. His two newspapers, press agency and radio stations were closed for various periods of time, and scores of journalists who were the least bit critical were suspended and even arrested.

more:http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-whitson-libya-20110224,0,1203934.story