Revolutionary sector Organs of a
military junta were first put into place in 1969. These organs were never dissolved throughout the period of Gaddafi's rule, though after the proclamation of the
Jamahiriya, they were reorganized. The "revolutionary sector" of Gaddafi's
Jamahiriya was officially under the control of "
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" Muammar Gaddafi after 1979. Beginning in 1977, Gaddafi had introduced "revolutionary committees" assigned the task of "absolute revolutionary supervision of people's power"; that is, they were to guide the people's committees and "raise the general level of political consciousness and devotion to revolutionary ideals". In reality, Gaddafi's revolutionary committees worked incredibly well and were considered some of the most direct democratic processes in all of Africa. Reportedly 10 to 20 percent of Libyans worked in surveillance for these committees, a proportion of informants on par with
Saddam Hussein's Iraq or
Kim Jong Il's North Korea.
Prominent members with U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton in 2009. Until the
Libyan Civil War, General
Abdul Fatah Younis may have been second to Gaddafi in the government hierarchy and was also Interior Minister. He resigned on 22 February 2011. On 1 March 2011,
Quryna reported Gaddafi sacked his right-hand man, information chief
Abdullah Senussi, who was responsible for the brutality against the protestors.
Interpol on 4 March 2011 issued a security alert concerning the "possible movement of dangerous individuals and assets" based on the
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (travel bans and assets freeze). The warning lists Gaddafi himself and 15 key members of his regime: •
Muammar Gaddafi: Responsibility for ordering repression of demonstrations, human rights abuses. • Dr.
Baghdadi Mahmudi: Head of the Liaison Office of the Revolutionary Committees. Revolutionary Committees involved in violence against demonstrators. •
Abuzed Omar Dorda: Director, External Security Organization. Regime loyalist. Head of external intelligence agency. • Major-General
Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr: Defense Minister. Overall responsibility for actions of Armed forces. •
Ayesha Gaddafi: Daughter of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. •
Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. •
Mutassim Gaddafi: National Security Adviser. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. •
Al-Saadi Gaddafi: Commander Special Forces. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Command of military units involved in repression of demonstrations. •
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi: Director, Gaddafi Foundation. Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Inflammatory public statements encouraging violence against demonstrators. •
Abdulqader Yusef Dibri: Head of Muammar Gaddafi's personal security. Responsibility for regime security. History of directing violence against dissidents. •
Matuq Mohammed Matuq: Secretary for Utilities. Senior member of regime. Involvement with Revolutionary Committees. Past history of involvement in suppression of dissent and violence. •
Sayyid Mohammed Qadhaf Al-dam: Cousin of Muammar Gaddafi. In the 1980s, Sayyid was involved in the dissident assassination campaign and allegedly responsible for several deaths in Europe. He is also thought to have been involved in arms procurement. •
Khamis Gaddafi: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. Command of military units involved in repression of demonstrations. •
Muhammad Gaddafi: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. •
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi: Son of Muammar Gaddafi. Closeness of association with regime. • Colonel
Abdullah Senussi: Director Military Intelligence. Military Intelligence involvement in suppression of demonstrations. Past history includes suspicion of involvement in Abu Sulim prison massacre. Convicted in absentia for bombing of UTA flight. Brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi.
Jamahiriya sector ) of "Socialist People's Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya" in
Prague. The term
Jamahiriya ( ''
) is generally translated as "state of the masses". It is intended to describe a state following the political philosophy expounded by Gaddafi in his Green Book''. The term does not occur in this sense in Gaddafi's
Green Book itself, although the text does dwell on the concept of the "masses" (). The concept was presented as the materialization of the
Third International Theory, proposed by Gaddafi to be applied to the entire
Third World. The term in practice has only been applied to the Libyan state, of which Gaddafi was the
Caid (translated
Leader; strict transliteration ''''). Although Gaddafi no longer held public office or title after 1980, he was accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press. The government of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya declared Libya a
direct democracy without political parties, governed by its populace through local popular councils and communes (named
Basic People's Congresses). Making up the legislative branch of government, this sector comprised Local People's Congresses in each of the 1,500 urban wards, 32 Sha’biyat People's Congresses for the regions, and the National General People's Congress. These legislative bodies were represented by corresponding executive bodies (Local People's Committees, Sha'biyat People's Committees and the National General People's Committee/Cabinet). Every four years the membership of the Local People's Congresses elected by acclamation both their own leadership and secretaries for the People's Committees, sometimes after many debates and a critical vote. The leadership of the Local People's Congress represented the local congress at the People's Congress of the next level and has an imperative mandate. The members of the National General People's Congress elected the members of the National General People's Committee (the Cabinet) by acclamation at their annual meeting. While there was discussion regarding who would run for executive offices, only those approved by the revolutionary leadership were actually elected. The government administration was effective as long as it operated within the directives of the revolutionary leadership. The revolutionary leadership had absolute veto power despite the constitutionally established people's democracy and alleged rule of the people. The government controlled both state-run and semi-autonomous media, and any articles critical of current policies were requested and intentionally placed by the revolutionary leadership itself, for example, as a means of initiating reforms. In cases involving a violation of "these taboos", the private press, like
The Tripoli Post, was censored. There was no separate defense ministry in Gaddafi's Libya; all defense activities are centralized under the presidency. Arms production was limited, due to extensive imports from the
Soviet Union, and manufacturers were state-owned.
Legislative branch The '''
General People's Congress'
(Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm'') consisted of 2,700 indirectly elected representatives of the
Basis People's Congresses. The GPC was the legislative forum that interacted with the
General People's Committee, whose members were secretaries of Libyan ministries. It served as the intermediary between the masses and the leadership and was composed of the secretariats of some 600 local "basic popular congresses." The GPC secretariat and the cabinet secretaries were appointed by the GPC secretary general and confirmed by the annual GPC congress. These cabinet secretaries were responsible for the routine operation of their ministries.
Judicial system The Libyan court system consisted of four levels: summary courts, which try petty offenses, the courts of first instance, which tried more serious crimes; the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court, which was the final appellate level. The GPC appointed justices to the Supreme Court. Special "revolutionary courts" and military courts operated outside the court system to try political offenses and crimes against the state. When
Muammar Gaddafi came to power in the Libyan Revolution, he promised to reinstate sharia law and abrogate imported laws which contradicted Islamic values. Initially, all old laws remained in effect, except for ones contravening the new constitution. In 1973, Gaddafi suspended all legislation, stating that sharia would be the law of the land, Gaddafi's sharia was based only in the quran and not in a classical Muslim legalistic source of
fiqh. The dual-court system was also abolished that year, replaced by a single court system which aimed to bring together Islamic and secular principles. However, by 1974, progress in the Islamicisation of the law had come to a halt. In 1977, the Libyan government promulgated the Declaration of People's Power, which superseded the constitution; this also stated that the
Qur'an was the source of legislation for Libya. However, throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, Gaddafi repeatedly emphasised in speeches that Islamic law was an insufficient basis for modern economic and social relations, and that the traditional Islamic guidelines for property and commerce had no legal standing. In practise, secular policies overrode religion as a source of law.
Political parties and elections Political parties were banned by the Prohibition of Party Politics Act Number 71 of 1972, including
Hizb ut-Tahrir. The establishment of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) was allowed under the Association Act of 1971. As they are required to conform to the goals of the revolution, however, the number of NGOs in Libya was small in comparison with neighboring countries. Unions did not exist as such. However, the numerous professional associations were integrated into the state structure as a third pillar, along with the People's Congresses and Committees, though they did not have the right to strike. Professional associations sent delegates to the General People's Congress, where they have a representative mandate. The '''
General People's Congress'
(Mu'tammar al-sha'ab al 'âmm'') consisted out of circa 2700 representatives of the Basis People's Congresses. Before Gaddafi's
coup, general elections were held in the 1950s and 1960s. Although political parties contested the
1952 elections, they were subsequently banned, and all other elections were carried out on a non-partisan basis. ==References==