On Wednesday 17 September, a panel chaired by Channel 4 News’ international editor Lindsey Hilsum, came together to discuss the current plight of Libya; what has gone wrong since the 2011 revolution, whether it really is on the brink of becoming a failed state, and what role the international community should play in pulling Libya away from this fate.

The discussion began with an attempt to untangle the complexities of Libya’s warring factions, which are divided by regional, religious and political differences. These difficulties were described by Hilsum as “sort of three-dimensional chess”. Hassan al-Amin, a human rights activist and founder of Libya al-Mostakbal (The Future Libya) observed:

“I don’t really call it a revolution; I think to me it is an uprising, because revolution, usually, would have leaders, would have some thoughts, some ideas, some kind of organisation, but this didn’t. We have people coming from everywhere.”

The panel agreed that the blanket use of the term ‘Islamist’ was, in many cases, both inaccurate and problematic, creating unnecessary divisions within the Libyan people.Libya Correspondent for The Guardian Chris Stephen, expressed similar sentiments, adding that, “This [recent] election has simplified things. You now have two sides, those with the parliament and those against the parliament.”

Next, the problem of the ‘Gaddafi vacuum’ was addressed. The panel discussed the difficulties that Libya has faced in rebuilding a nation in his wake. Huda Abuzeid, a filmmaker and TV producer, reiterated that:

“Gaddafi was the state. Once you removed Gaddafi, there was no state. What the failure has been is building that state. I think to say it’s a failed state after three years is, really, unfair.”

The Political Isolation Law, implemented in May 2013, was criticised for exacerbating this problem. Hilsum pointed out that, “For 42 years you have one man in charge, and if you’re going to work in government there’s no-one else to work for.”

The isolation law, therefore, has created a dearth of experienced government officials in Libya. Ghazi Gheblawi, editor of el-Kaf online newspaper, pointed out a secondary consequence of this law:

“Lots of people who were active in government and were doing good things . . . found themselves overnight just isolated completely.”

The panel also touched upon the role that the international community has played. Hassan al-Amin criticised international diplomacy efforts: “They don’t have any coherent strategy; what they have is, in my opinion, incompetence on all levels.”

This ‘incompetence’, according to al-Amin, was due in part to the failure of NATO countries to work together after the 2011 revolution; instead, they started going individually their own way. Al-Amin also emphasised that the failure of the international community to work with Libya was a double-edged sword:

“The Libyans . . . have never come up with a clear plan, a road map for what Libya actually wants from the international community, and at the same time the international community never actually helped Libya in trying to come up with some ideas.”

However, the panel agreed that it was too early in Libya’s development to write off the nation, with Abuzeid praising the country’s ‘amazing’ civil society.

Thanks to @frontlineclub and @reportingLibya @almostakbal @hudduh @lindseyhilsum for an energetic inspiring panel on #Libya

— Ghazi Gheblawi | غازي القبلاوي (@Gheblawi) September 17, 2014

Watch and listen back here:

Is Libya on the brink of becoming a failed state? Three years after Nato-backed rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and the country was held up as the success story of the Arab Spring, Libya is deeply divided.

The fragile government, which has seen three prime ministers since March, has been unable to impose authority on militia groups who refuse to disband. Power, fuel and water shortages disrupt daily life, the economy has not been restored, and the planned new constitution remains as yet unwritten.

As Libya’s parliament calls for foreign intervention to protect civilians from deadly clashes between rival militia groups, we will be asking what has gone wrong in the country. Where do the divisions lie and what can be done to pull the county away from becoming a failed state? We will be examining what the role of the international community should be in supporting Libya in its transition to democracy.

Chaired by Lindsey Hilsum, international editor at Channel 4 News and author of Sandstorm; Libya in the Time of Revolution.

The panel:

Huda Abuzeid is a filmmaker and TV producer who has been based in Libya since the start of the revolution in 2011. She is currently the director of the Rashad Foundation, a Tripoli based NGO, which initiates projects to support Libya’s transitional process.

Chris Stephen, Libya Correspondent for The Guardian and author of Judgement Day: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic.

Ghazi Gheblawi, a writer, surgeon, public speaker and the editor of el-Kaf online newspaper on Libyan affairs.

Hassan al-Amin, a human rights activist and founder of Libya al-Mostakbal (The Future Libya). He is a former member of Libyan General National Congress and head of its Human Rights Committee.

Photograph: rm / Shutterstock.com

https://soundcloud.com/frontlineclub/famine-and-conflict-in-somalia
Caught between political instability, conflict and violence, whilst famine and drought destroy the people and the land, there is seemingly little that can be done to bring relief to Somalia

Aid envoys have been restricted from reaching over 2.2 million refugees in the Al-Shabab controlled region of South-Central Somalia, and refugees have to brave fighting in conflict zones in Mogadishu in order to collect food provisions.

As land access is blocked, the UN is considering airlifts to distribute food and water to the refugees.

Aid agencies have been criticised for not acting sooner and making provisions for prevention, as the famine and drought in the Horn of Africa were deemed “predictable.” Does the international aid system need to step up its efforts and produce a more coordinated response? And what lessons can we learn for the future about prevention rather than cure?

Join us at the Frontline club with an expert panel to discuss the role of the international aid system, and what more can be done to bring relief to this war -torn and famine-stricken country.

Chaired by Mike Wooldridge, BBC World Affairs Correspondent.

With:

Abdi Garad, chairman of Central Committee of Somali National Party (Hanoolaato) a grass root based non clan, non regional and diverse political movement. He is actively involved in humanitarian work, through local Somali NGO, Markabley Development Trust and worked with the UNISOM mission in Somalia from 1993-95. He is currently in southern Somalia, working at a feeding famine victim  centres.

Jehangir Malik is the UK Director of Islamic Relief, an international aid and development NGO. It has a significant presence in East Africa and has been one of the few agencies to get into South Central Somalia.

Duncan McLean, operations manager at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) based in the United States. He manages MSF programs in Nigeria, Uganda, Haiti, Ethiopia and Somalia.  His work at MSF has included Head of Mission in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Nepal, and Chad, and Field Coordinator in Sudan, Thailand, and Myanmar. In addition to his humanitarian field work he has lectured at a number of universities, including Charles University and the Anglo-American University in Prague, and worked as a journalist.

Ridwaan Haji, programme producer and Newscaster at Universal TV, the biggest Somali Satellite TV station. He raised a campaign on his programme Have Your Say to free the Chandlers, a British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates last year. During Ramadan the channel raised nearly a million dollars to support those effected by famine in Somalia.

Jamal Osman, award-winning journalist and filmmaker specialising in Africa. He runs Jamal Media, a production company that makes current affairs programes for British broadcasters. He has won several awards including the Amnesty International’s Gaby Rado Memorial Award 2010 and the news story of the year prize at the Foreign Press Association Awards 2009.

Image Credit: Andy Hall – Oxfam