LIBYA ARABS SQUEEZED BETWEEN NASSER AND BOUMEDIENNE

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31461, 30 August 1967, Page 14

LIBYA ARABS SQUEEZED BETWEEN NASSER AND BOUMEDIENNE

(By

CLARE HOLLINGWORTH,

, WTiling to th* "Dall* T«l*»raph”, London, from Tripoli)

fßepHnUd from the “Doily Teleraph“ by arranemeiit; The prosperous, fully-employed Libyans are emerging more quickly from the emotional shock of the Egyptian defeat by Israel than their poorer extremist “brothers” in Algiers. Superficially the towns have already returned to normal; oil production has reached a new peak and parties of British and Italiaa tourists can now be seen waging their private wars against over-avaricious taxi-drivers, the August heat and humidity.

But the real business of Tripoli has not recovered from the sudden loss of several thousand Jews and Italians, many of whom were in control of import-export businesses, banks and shops. Only a third of those who left for Italy are expected to return.. Meanwhile, many shops remain dosed and certain secton of industry, notably construction, are almoat at a standstill through lack of raw materials which are piling up on the docks. There is little newsprint, no paper and it is impossible to buy a nail or a film. English newspapers are still banned. Pogrom In Tripoli Frustrated young Libyans who listened to Cairo Radio on June 5 sought an outlet in totally unjustifiable violence and lawlessness directed against the Jews. Twenty people were killed in Tripoli —all Jews except one, a Maltese who was mistaken for a Jew—and the ruins and bumt-out shops especially in the old Turkish quarter illustrate the madness of the mob which rioted while members of the Government of Hussein Maziq melted quietly away to their own tribal areas.

When the mob demanded that the oil be cut off, this was done. When they screamed for foreign bases to be liquidated, faceless officials In Government offices agreed with them. But on the second and third days the police restored order and, after a week, Hussein resigned. The rioters, like the Government, appeared leaderless, though several young men are now serving gaol sentences for incitement.

A new Government of all talents, led by Sayyid Al Badri, was sworn in on August 1, but he, like his predecessors, has made no effort to bridge the great gap between Government and people, either by radio or through the Press, by explaining his own internal policy and Libya’s role in the Arab world.

The new Prime Minister did, however, immediately initiate talks with the British and American Governments on the future of their military bases and with the 15 oil companies in the hope of increasing the State revenue and demonstrating to his

Arab brothers that ho it out to squeeze the “imperialists.”

To Leave Benghazi On August 3, it was announced that the British nrrison would evacuate Benghazi by February 4,1968, but no mention has been made of any change of status of the company of British Infantry in Tobruk nor, far more important, the Royal Air Force staging post at El Adem, 25 miles to the south, which wil’. provide access to the British training areas after the Benghazi headquarters are closed. . Further, members of the Libyan Government are at pains to stress that the Treaty of Alliance between Britain and Libya is still in force, and Britain is pledged to defend Libya should its territory be violated. The Americans were training the new Libyan Air Force, but the rift when the Libyan pilots left Wheelus, the giant American air base, for Idris airport on June 5 is unlikely to. be healed in the immediate . future. The French appear willing if not anxious to take over the task, and, at the same time, to supply the Air Force with Mysteres. But it would seem reasonable that as Britain still has greater responsibilities here the Royal Air Force should assume this role.

The Government proposes to increase the size of the Libyan Army, which is at present about 10,000 men. There is also the Cyrenaiean Defence Force, used largely as a police force in both the desert and the towns. King Idris regards the Cyrenaiean Defence Force as “his army” and relations between it and the Regular Army are not always cordial. A New Nationalism One of the most important developments arising from the disillusionment and disappointment which followed the Egyptian defeat by Israel is the speedy growth of a new form of nationalism which is “Libyan” as opposed to “Arab” and is not based on any political ideology but merely self-interest The movement, which has supporters in the present Government, has undoubtedly been fanned by reports from Algiers and Cairo that when

the respected old monarch, Idris L dies Colonel Boumedienne will take . over

Tripolitania while President Nasser or bis successors will annex Cyrenalca. “Libyan first and Arab afterwards” is the new theme song of the educated city dwellers who realise that the petroleum revenue of £l7O million a year will rise during the next two decades; that there are only a million and a half Libyans to benefit from these riche*, which would be virtually lost U diluted among the hungry millions of Egypt and Algeria. A desperate effort is being made by men who have tittle else in common to devise way* and means of preserving the unity of the kingdom in spite of the enormous differences and provincial pressures which exist between Cyrenalca and Tripolitania, which have never had the same interests. Indeed, the 500 mites of hot, waterless sand which divides them formed the natural frontier between the western and eastern Roman empires. Many of the new “Libyan" nationalists are trying to build up the Crown Prince as the only possible future link between the two provinces. Unlike his uncle, the King, who rarely leaves Tobruk, the Crown Prince lives In Tripoli and is married to a Tripolitanian. This is important, as the Senussi of Cyrenalca are likely to rally to him automatically. Communications Easier Communications between the provinces are growing easier and a new and wider road is now in course of construction on the alignment constructed by the Italians and used by Rommel and the Eighth Army. But it is not easy to run a vast country with four capitals: Tripoli and Benghazi are both commercially important and most of the Ministries are situated in the former. The King recently built a new capital, Baida, among the few green hills of Cyrenalca which houses the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, though he continues to live In Tobruk.

Opportunities for creating internal unrest are legion. They arise from the fact that until 1960 Libya was a desperately poor country. In 1952, a United Nations report stated that “Libya is an excellent example of universal poverty in the extreme form." The vast wealth derived from petrol has yet to penetrate through all classes: much of it remains in the hands of a few hundred families. But already the attraction of high wages in the towns has caused many thousands to leave the land. Further south the situation is even worse and pleasant farmsteads remain' empty while the former agricultural labourers live in the filthy shanty towns that surround Tripoli and Benghazi. These

unattractive suburbs are hotbeds of incoherent discontent with the regime, the foreign oil companies and the Libyan middle classes. The Libyan workers will be increasingly important, as one of the results of the crisis has been a rise in the prestige and power of the trade unions, especially the petroleum workers* union. Popular Methods In theory, the Government wants to spread the wealth to all classes but it has no idea how to begin. The most popular official method of offering high wages to unskilled labour is to cut down trees which the Italians planted as a means of providing welcome shade In order to double the width of roads which are already more than adequate for the traffic they carry. There are many other contradictions In the present situation. The angry young men of Benghazi, who are anxious for the British troops to leave their town, stoutly refuse to allow a British ship into the harbour to take the heavy equipment away. Nor will they service British military aircraft at Benina airport. Last year nearly 23 per cent of Libya’s imports came from Britain and if there is a second language here it is English. Indeed, a new English language newspaper, which is slightly critical of the Government and even more critical of Nasser and Boumedienne, was launched only three weeks ago in Benghazi. The courageous owner, one of the new Libyan nationalists, admits that the very young must inevitably fall under the Boumedienne or Nasser spell because of the radio. But he thinks they will quickly grow out of it if a constructive alternative is offered. This is not easy in a country with neither political parties nor leaders and where the population, however Libyan, la conscious of its Arabism.