As Gaddafi was growing up, he was watching and understanding the changes happening in the Arab world very closely. He considered Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt as his political hero.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
Black eyeglasses, colored clothes, round cap on head, female bodyguard nearby and fire-spewing inflammatory speeches. In the African country of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi emerged as a young soldier full of zeal and enthusiasm, but then over time his mood swings of power and strength changed and his image as he got older. Became a dynastic brutal dictator.
Gaddafi ruled Libya for six decades, some call him unmatched, some cruel and some call him Zalim. Gaddafi’s water was widely discussed in Arab countries as well as in Western countries. He was also called the ‘Picasso’ of Middle East politics. Muammar Gaddafi, who had been in power of Libya for 42 years, was just 27 years old when he overthrew Libya’s monarchy by overthrowing anyone without shedding blood.
Oil reserves changed Libyan’s fate
Born on 7 June 1942 in a village in the city of Sirte, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi belonged to a Bedovin family. Bedovin refers to the nomadic Arabic people who live in the desert. As Gaddafi was growing up, he was watching and understanding the changes happening in the Arab world very closely. He considered Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt as his political hero. Abdel Nasser advocated the elimination of colonialism in Western countries as well as promoted Arab nationalism. Impressed by his ideas, Gaddafi joined the army and then became an officer in the Signal Corps.
Earlier, Libya’s change of fate had begun. In the 1950s, many large and important oil reserves were discovered in Libya. Foreign petroleum companies used to extract oil and the same companies used to fix the price of oil. The same foreign companies used to own almost half of the income from oil. At that time, King Idris ruled Libya.
Libya’s earnings had increased significantly due to the discovery of many oil reserves and it had started moving from the list of the poorest countries to the list of rich countries. When Libya’s earnings increased, King Idris’ government also began to face allegations of corruption. Protest in Libya began to increase and by the late 1960s, public anger against the Idris government had increased.
In 1967, Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries lost to Israel in a 6-day war. Libya’s King Idris was being held responsible for this defeat. Idris was considered pro-Israel due to its proximity to Western countries. Protests began in cities such as the capital Tripoli and Benghazi. The army of which the Idris hoped to escape the anger of the people, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of the same army had made a plan to end the game of his monarchy.
Gaddafi’s coup without shedding blood
In fact, by 1964, Gaddafi had started the ‘Free Officer Movement’ in Libya, like Egypt. The people of this institution used to meet with each other from the eyes of the government and Gaddafi was its leader. In the beginning of 1969, there were loud rumors of a coup in Libya. The US intelligence agency, the CIA, was suspected of a coup, but Muammar Gaddafi was unnoticed. King Idris allowed the United States and Britain to maintain a military base in Libya. He often used to live outside the country.
On 1 September 1969, King Idris was undergoing treatment in Greece. Meanwhile, military vehicles in Libyan capital Tripoli and Benghazi reached government offices, police stations and all important places. Rumors of the coup were going on in the country so much that when the coup took place in reality, no one even paid attention. When people came to know about this, the name of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the youth of the ‘Army Signal Corps’, came up as the leader. Gaddafi led a 12 member directorate of the ‘Free Officer Movement’ which carried out this coup. During this time, Gaddafi himself went to the capital Tripoli and entrusted this responsibility to one of his companions. Crown Prince of Libya Syed Hasan-ar-Rida was taken into custody.
When the coup began, the state of confusion was that the private bodyguards of Idris and the US Army stationed outside Tripoli did not interfere in it. The army felt that this command would have been given by the top officers. The coup which was feared was expected from the army officers but Gaddafi used the army in a strategic and strong way to gain control of the country.
Ronald Reagan said ‘mad dog’
When King Idris, present in Greece, came to know of the coup in Libya, he expressed his wish through the Egyptian Gamal Abdel Nasser that he would not return to Libya. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Hassan announced to relinquish all his rights. In Libya, the regime changed in just a few hours, the monarchy was over without shedding any blood, and its command was placed in the hands of a young Colonel Gaddafi.
Gaddafi promised to restore democracy in the country. Tried to reverse the country’s physique with development and progress. This new country was named ‘Libyan Arab Republic’. Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years. Whatever the people of Libya thought of him during such a long rule, his attitude and color were mocked around the world. Former US President Ronald Reagan even called Gaddafi a ‘mad dog’.
Gaddafi’s attitude began to change
In Libya, those who spoke against Gaddafi were sent to jail or murdered. Gaddafi’s intelligence used to be police everywhere. Under his rule, people had houses, good hospitals and healthcare, clean roads and a lot of money. Although there was not much difference in the oil production of Libya and Dubai, but there was a big difference in the lifestyle of the people of the two countries. It is said that a large part of the earning of oil was spent on Gaddafi’s life of luxury.
A few months after the coup in Libya, the Egyptian intelligence agency tried to overthrow Gaddafi in December 1969 by joining several leaders and military officials, but it failed. It was from here that the equations started changing and Gaddafi’s attitude began to change. Enlisted his close friends in the army and intelligence department. In the name of religion, Gaddafi changed the names of the months of the English calendar. Colonel Gaddafi approved a political party called Arab Socialist Union to reduce the growing pressure on the demand for democracy.
Then came a period when, after 1972, Gaddafi stayed away from Libya’s internal politics for two years. The argument has been given that they are engaged in the task of creating a successful Islamic republic. Major Junaid was made the Prime Minister of the country, but then rumors started spreading, then Colonel Gaddafi again surfaced. In the year 1973, freedom of expression was banned, making a big change in the law of the country.
The beginning of the ‘end’ of Gaddafi
A few years later, several factions were formed against Gaddafi in the country, in the 1980s Gaddafi was accused of waging war against angry tribal groups. A special team was formed to kill 25 people who supported Gaddafi’s rebels outside Libya by staying abroad. When these people did not surrender, then these opponents present in America, Europe and Middle East were murdered and then the process continued.
There was a growing relationship between the Libyan intelligence agency and the intelligence agencies of the Western countries. It is said that the US intelligence agency CIA also made its center in Libya. Russian language was started to be taught in schools and arms were also being purchased from Russia itself. By the 1980s, the changes and claims of Inquilab had cooled down. Gaddafi waged a war in 1987 in the Christian-dominated area of Chad. In this battle 7,500 Libyan soldiers were killed. In Libya, there have been agitations and struggles from time to time to get rid of Gaddafi. Then in the year 2004, Gaddafi was accused of giving a contract of one million dollars for killing a journalist.
In fact, being an oil producing country many things were ignored. Most countries of the world wanted to maintain good relations with Libya. When Gaddafi arrived in Laquila to attend the G-8 meeting in 2009, US President Barack Obama was seen smiling on stage with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, but things began to change from January this year. The Arab revolution started from Tunisia reached Libya on 15 February. After the withdrawal of Husni Mubarak in Egypt, the strength and strength of the Libyan opponents went on increasing. Gaddafi called the rebels active in the eastern part of the country an Al Qaeda terrorist, but Gaddafi continued to be pressurized by the resignation of some Libyan ambassadors posted abroad.
The news of the death came from where the birth took place
Reports started coming in that Gaddafi’s army was killing opponents. The United Nations Security Council and Western countries imposed several restrictions on Gaddafi and his government. Gaddafi’s property was seized abroad and warrants were issued for arrest. In March 2011, the United Nations declared Libya a no-fly zone. After this, NATO forces started air strikes on the bases of the Libyan army. Britain and France openly supported the Libyan rebels.
Gaddafi’s forces retreated and moved towards the northern part of the country. Gaddafi’s own city became the last ground for this war. When Gaddafi’s convoy was passing through Sirte, he was attacked by NATO aircraft and then when Gaddafi hid in the streets, he was killed in heavy firing with the rebels. The news of Gaddafi’s death came on 20 October 2011 from where Gaddafi was born. Gaddafi’s son was killed, one was caught. Three sons and a daughter escaped. No information was found about the rest for years.
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