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Muammar-Gaddafi (Photo: James Gordon)
Hundreds of anti-government protesters have clashed with police and government supporters in Libya’s second city, in the latest display of unrest in the Arab world. Dozens of people are said to have been hurt in the clashes in Benghazi. The overnight unrest followed the arrest of an outspoken government critic, who was reportedly freed later. State TV showed demonstrations in several cities said to be in support of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The unrest comes a day before planned anti-government demonstrations on Thursday, dubbed ‘Day of Anger,’ which are being organized via internet social networks. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC’s Rana Jawad in Libya. Download MP3
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Lisa Mullins: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World. Libya is the latest country in the Middle East where protests are challenging the longtime ruler. Anti-government demonstrators clashed with riot police overnight in Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi. It’s been tough to get details, but footage of the clashes can be seen on YouTube. [chanting sounds] Libya is sandwiched between Libya and Tunisia. It’s been under the control of one man, Muammar al-Gaddafi for more than 40 years now. Reports from the city of Benghazi say the protests began after the arrest of a human rights activist. That activist is a spokesman for the families of political prisoners in Libya. The families were the first to march according to the BBC’s Rana Jawad in the capital of Tripoli.
Rana Jawad: Our understanding is that they went out to protest in the afternoon and then it seems as though it took a turn. They were apparently joined by others who started chanting “down with the government, we want the constitution.” Clashes ensued after that with police forces. It ended at about 2:00 AM local time here, was footage being broadcasted by state television of rallies that are pro-Gaddafi across the country.
Mullins: Is there any coverage on the state controlled media of the protests that went on in Benghazi?
Jawad: No, the Libyan media landscape is dominated by the state. There is no independent media here. There is one what we could call semi independent newspaper, that’s about it. Everything else is completely state controlled. Of course, this is now happening at a time when the region is undergoing a lot of changes. We’ve seen Facebook pages appear calling for protests to take place here that are similar to what we saw in Tunisia and Egypt. But the overall view here is that these calls are coming from outside, from the opposition that is based abroad, whether it’s in the United States or in the UK. So a lot of people view these calls for protests due tomorrow as mainly being calls from outside. But then again, these events have been so unpredictable in region we’ll have to wait until Thursday what will happen.
Mullins: You mentioned Facebook there, to what extent are the people of Libya able to access the internet, cell phones, any kind of social media?
Jawad: Well, it has increased in recent years, but it’s still quite expensive for your average Libyan. Regionally if you compare internet usage and access in Libya to the rest of the region across the board, all the way from Morocco to Egypt, it has the lowest rates of internet users. So you average, regular Libyan doesn’t really have access to the internet. But in terms of mobile phone usage everyone pretty much has a mobile phone. People have heavily relied on mobile phones for the past five or six years now.
Mullins: The geography is very important here because Libya is sandwiched right between Tunisia and Egypt. What is the Libyan government and Muammar Gaddafi’s official line about what’s happened in Egypt and Tunisia?
Jawad: Gaddafi, Colonel Gaddafi only came out to speak after the Tunisian president, Ben Ali, was ousted and fled the country. He came out criticizing Tunisians for going to the streets, and then he went on to praise Ben Ali saying he did good for the country, and he said he would’ve liked to see Ben Ali stay in power for life even. With Egypt it was different. There was no official commentary at all up until after Hosni Mubarak had stepped down. Colonel Gaddafi did not comment. However, the Revolutionary Committee Movement here issued statements and their view reflects Colonel Gaddafi’s view. But they said that perhaps now we can have an even better relationship with Egypt, and the people have spoken, and it is their right, and they tried to liken it to Egypt’s revolution and said the people will take power now just like in Libya.
Mullins: The BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tripoli, Libya. Libya saw demonstrations in the eastern city of Benghazi last night. Thank you for the update, Rana.
Jawad: You’re welcome.
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