tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post9106046771707170925..comments2024-01-17T16:20:10.878+01:00Comments on Mercury Mail: Hermes MSafirihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00286610519438841267noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-3736908556790335802011-05-06T16:46:17.881+02:002011-05-06T16:46:17.881+02:00How we are all apparently interested in these thin...How we are all apparently interested in these things, and how scarce is the information about them!Levantinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-68339191040838404782011-05-06T12:58:26.772+02:002011-05-06T12:58:26.772+02:00Thank you for this. I cited it here:
http://libya...Thank you for this. I cited it here:<br />http://libyancivilwar.blogspot.com/2011/05/tribal-gathering-of-may.html<br /><br />BestCaustic Logichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03082923821952309709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-21800713907585628642011-05-06T11:54:21.434+02:002011-05-06T11:54:21.434+02:00@ Hermes
An excellent description of the past and...@ Hermes<br /><br />An excellent description of the past and current state of play in Libya, to our inquisitive friend Levantine, if you don't mind me saying so.<br /><br />Readers will note that Arab/Ottoman/Muslim 'Imperialist' invasion and occupation of the Magreb predate any subsequent 'Western' designs on that region (ditto the rest of the Middle East).<br /><br />Atl.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-14398251470120447502011-05-06T10:13:34.115+02:002011-05-06T10:13:34.115+02:00@ Levantine
The irony is that the Touaregs are ac...@ Levantine<br /><br />The irony is that the Touaregs are actually the original Libyans. They left the country to the farmers and goatherds and went inside the desert to live their own life and culture.<br />I spoke with a Tuareg family recently which came from the Niger border by camel to pledge their support for Gaddafi and offered their tribal assistance in the fight. No payments involved, only loyalty.<br />Gaddafi thanked them but asked them to stay calm and take care of their families.Hermes MSafirihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00286610519438841267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-61047269447592010872011-05-06T10:09:02.581+02:002011-05-06T10:09:02.581+02:00@ Levantine
The "foreign" elements are ...@ Levantine<br /><br />The "foreign" elements are concentrated in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misurata(before the troubles), Tobruk, and are composed of old Ottoman Turkish descendants, Egyptians(mostly), Chadians and Touaregs.<br />The use of the name Berbers is misleading. In the whole Maghreb the name Berber was given to the local population, non Arab from before the first Arab invasion.<br />Those Berbers were not really one population group but just a name given to the non-Arabs.<br />Libya is a very vast territory with a very small population.<br />Every waterhole was the start of a family, growing into a clan and by intermarriage between clans growing into tribes over thousands of years.<br />Today the rebels claim there are only 160 tribes. Here they play on semantic differences between English and Arabic. When the Libyans say they have 2000 representatives of 850 tribes they actually use the Arabic word for clans. For the Libyans this is important to know, it's not just the tribal chiefs who support Gaddafi but also the clan chiefs, a much more democratic huge number of people, representing the whole population or close to.<br />The figure of 10/15 % berbers is impossible to control, it could be correct as it could be wrong.<br />The Tripoli population is much less attached to the tribes but in case of war like today it is clear that their attachment to their tribes and clans became much stronger.Hermes MSafirihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00286610519438841267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-65966512706814544582011-05-05T22:28:43.071+02:002011-05-05T22:28:43.071+02:00One or two western articles mention that 10-15% of...One or two western articles mention that 10-15% of the Libyan citizenry isn't tribally organised. They are Berbers, Turks... Can you, Hermes, ask about this (what is the factual truth, and how concretely they participate in the political life)?Levantinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1950785292046403853.post-54673745261785524782011-05-05T20:45:31.457+02:002011-05-05T20:45:31.457+02:00Thanks!
:)Thanks!<br />:)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com