State-based Discrimination Against Tebu and Amazigh Libyans

Even in a post-Ghaddafi world, Libya's non-Arab ethnic minorities face language, citizenship, and cultural discrimination supported by law.

The political history of modern Libya can be divided into three distinct periods: before, during, and after Muammar Ghaddafi. Coming to power in 1969 after a successful coup which abolished the nation’s monarchy, Ghaddafi held onto power for 42 years until being ousted by the rapid 2011 revolution which culminated in his untimely execution. Ghaddafi’s rule centered around the imposition of his political ideals onto the nation. While he changed the nation’s official name several times, from the “Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” to the “Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”, a common thread was clear: Ghaddafi sought to mold Libya into a powerfully centralized Arab society, part of his broader pan-African ambitions. The authoritarian means he used to achieve this goal, from public executions to mass kidnappings of political dissidents, created a legacy which post-2011 Libyan successor administrations have sought to distance themselves from. However, despite Ghaddafi being near-universally condemned by Libya’s modern government parties, aspects of his regime live on: namely, the continued systemic discrimination against non-Arab residents. 

Former Libyan dictator Muammar Ghadaffi addressing the UN General Assembly.

Ghaddafi’s repressive tactics were especially harsh against Libya’s non-Arab indigenous communities. His aim of unifying Libya under an Arab ethnic identity led to the persecution of indigenous groups in order to achieve a culturally monolithic nation. For example, more than one million Amazighs, some 16% of Libya’s population, make up dozens of communities across the country. Ghaddafi’s administration outlawed Amazigh names, songs, and other forms of cultural expression. Additionally, Tamazight, the traditional Amazigh language, was expunged from school curriculums in an effort to destroy the language. Decrees No. 12 and 24 required that only Arabic should be used in official transactions and on public names, leading to the erasure of Tamazight heritage (Quallen). Those who attempted protest, especially academics or influential community leaders, were swiftly detained or executed by the regime. Some have described the Ghaddafi’s policies toward the Amazigh as “linguistic genocide”, fostering a social and civil environment which sought to wipe out their culture. As a leaked US embassy cable accredits Ghaddafi as saying, “You can call yourselves whatever you want inside your homes — Berbers, Children of Satan, whatever — but you are only Libyans when you leave your homes.”

The Tebu people, also known as the Toubou or Gorane, are another indigenous ethnic group within Libya who faced persecution under Ghaddafi. In the pre-Ghaddafi era, the Tebu inhabited small, pastoralist communities throughout the Saharan parts of Libya, Niger, and Chad, which made their official induction into the Ghaddafi regime difficult: many did not have official citizenship or registration within the government at all. Official numbers of Libyan Tebu are incredibly hard to place: estimates range from as low as 12,000 to as high as several hundred thousand. The legal anonymity of the Tebu people began to rapidly change in 1975, during which Libya forcibly annexed the Aouozu Strip, a piece of disputed territory also claimed by Chad. Tens of thousands of Tebu were forced to relocate into the Aouzou region and register as Libyan citizens, facing expulsion from other parts of Libya. However, after a 1994 ICJ ruling required Libya to withdraw from the Aouzou Strip, Ghaddafi’s 1996 decree No. 13 proved disastrous for the Tebu. The decree stated that all those who had received Libyan citizenship in the Aouzou Strip were no longer Libyan citizens. As a result, the Tebu, who had been forcibly moved into the Aouzou Strip from other parts of Libya, were deemed illegal in both Libya and Chad. This order effectively stripped large parts of the Tebu community of their Libyan citizenship, even if they had not been residents of the Aouzou Strip before their forced displacement. This anti-Tebu policy intensified in 2007, when Tebu were outright banned from receiving state welfare and medical benefits, and in extreme cases new Tebu births were not given documentation at all. Regardless of whether there was documentation that a Tebu individual was associated with the legal quagmire of the Aouzou Strip, the discrimination was enforced. As was typical with the Ghaddafi regime, those who spoke against this legal erasure of the Tebu were met with arrest, expulsion from their homes, or execution.

A map showing the historic range of the Tebu (Toubou) and their nomadic pastoralist lifestyle.

A map of the Aouzou Strip, where Libyan Tebu were forcibly relocated and then expelled.

Both Amazigh and Tebu groups played critical roles in revolting against the Ghaddafi regime in 2011, though have found themselves on the end of the same type of discriminatory treatment even under new governments. The post-Ghaddafi period from 2011-2014 saw hope for a new democratic regime, but the lack of indigenous representation, continued infighting among the 300+ rebel groups, and the devastation of major infrastructure due to heavy NATO-led bombing resulted in the country being split, with no truly comprehensive central administration being present to this day. Both the Amazighs and the Tebu continue to face a legacy of discrimination in modern Libya, despite Ghaddafi being gone. Both the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), which rules much of Libya’s west from Tripoli, and the Egypt-backed Libyan National Army (LNA), which rules the east from Tobruk, refuse to grant legal status to those Tebu without documentation. Without official papers or the ability to pay out of pocket, they are blocked from medical facilities, ration stations, and other critical infrastructure, a problem that was greatly exacerbated during the Covid pandemic. Additionally, raids against “Chadian rebels” in the country’s south have been reported as simple cover to target Tebu communities. 

It is clear that, even 13 years on from Ghaddafi’s fall, non-Arab indigenous communities in Libya, namely the Amazigh and the Tebu, continue to face repression and discrimination. While both Amazigh and Tebu languages are no longer officially banned, discrimination continues. Many communities are still violently xenophobic to Amazigh language and culture, and the Tebu have been made strangers in their own land. With anti-Arab sentiment promoted by regimes even before the Ghaddafi era, it is no surprise that both Tebu and Amazigh militias have risen, further adding to the web of semi-autonomous actors operating within Libya’s borders. So long as the Libyan state remains divided and without an effective means of regulation or reparation, any long-term remedy seems beyond the horizon. However, it is important to note that even the GNA, which has been heralded as Libya’s best chance at a democratic new start, has proved itself unwilling to address indigenous issues or provide concrete guarantees of civil rights. Any resolution of Libya’s ongoing political crisis must explicitly address the concerns of its non-Arab indigenous minorities. Ghaddafi’s state-sanctioned discrimination, which contributed to the marginalization of Tebu and Amazigh communities, continues to rear its head: recognition of the plights of these groups is necessary for social equality within the country.


Bibliography

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Former Libyan dictator Muammar Ghadaffi addressing the UN General Assembly.

A map showing the historic range of the Tebu (Toubou) and their nomadic pastoralist lifestyle.

A map of the Aouzou Strip, where Libyan Tebu were forcibly relocated and then expelled.