The major question on everybody’s mind in Libya now is: Where does the problem lie? Is the rumor previously circulated by Arab dictators and circulated spontaneously nowadays by ordinary citizens after the Arab Spring that “democracy does not fit Arab peoples” somehow true? What are we looking for: A democracy or democrats?

The major question on everybody’s mind in Libya now is: Where does the problem lie? Is the rumor previously circulated by Arab dictators and circulated spontaneously nowadays by ordinary citizens after the Arab Spring that “democracy does not fit Arab peoples” somehow true? What are we looking for: A democracy or democrats?

Arab Spring countries are now at a dangerous crossroads, starting with deteriorating security and the waves of assassinations and bomb explosions in Libya; to the assassination of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi in Tunisia: and the success of the Tamarod Movement and secular parties in Egypt in bringing down the Muslim Brotherhood regime with the help of the military.

Haunted by inadequate constitutions of the past

Around a quarter of a century ago, Lebanese politician Ghassan Salamé wrote a book entitled Democracy without Democrats which reflects our situation today after the Arab uprisings. In all Arab Spring countries, people revolted against dictators that were in power for decades, during which time, those dictatorships emptied their countries of politicians, nearly obliterated all schools of thought and designed inadequate constitutions.

The economic situation deteriorated, as citizens forgot to demand their civil rights and freedoms and only demanded their very basic human rights – housing, employment, healthcare and education. This situation gave dictators room to toy with what was left of the political elites of their respective countries.

The political vacuum led to tensions in different countries wherein diversity of opinion and ethnic, sectarian and political plurality were not appreciated. Things even went to the brink of civil war in countries like Iraq and Lebanon. Sudan fought a 50-year civil war leading to the cessation from Sudan of South Sudan and the independence of the latter in 2011.

Today in Libya we are witnessing the impact of four decades of dictatorship preceded by ostensible constitutional monarchy, wherein all political parties were dissolved immediately after independence. Most of these parties went underground or into exile, for the intensity of the repression today is nothing compared to the torture and executions under Gaddafi.

Political elites in Libya have never enjoyed freedom of association since independence. They lack any political experience in power, which has prompted many citizens to demand the dissolution of all political parties pending the drafting of the constitution. Some have gone too far by demanding the dissolution of all parties for good, while others have suggested that tribes should be politicized to replace political parties.

Rise of rebels

The peculiarity of the Libyan revolution was propelled by armed struggle rather than a political solution from the beginning, as a result of Gaddafi’s extreme violence against his own people.  This created new elements in the political formula; namely, the rebels and the countries that provide military aid for them. This has evoked accusations from ordinary people and from politicians of subjection to foreign powers.

Tribal balance in Libya should not be overlooked in this complex picture, because ethnicity is a key factor in this country’s politics – a factor that was frequently used by the former regime and then played a vital role against it.

Goodbye Gaddafi cronies

Moreover, the remnants of the former regime have not come to terms with the fact that they have lost their strong, unopposed grip on the country and that they have been totally eliminated from public life after passing the Political Isolation Law, which will keep them away from political life for a decade to come.

Yet the current climate of resorting to arms has become the norm, politics backed up by the barrel of a gun, which is a worrying trend. Democratic actors lack the very basics of coexistence, tolerance and democratic practices.

Assassinations to settle political differences

A key event that many people feared might turn into an endless series of bloodshed was the assassination of Abdelsalam al-Mismari on July 27, 2013.

Mismari was a prominent secular figure in the country, an outspoken critic of armed rebel groups, the Islamist current, and the constitutional declaration that was issued by the Transitional Council in August 2011 (which has virtually been the country’s constitution ever since).

Another high-profile assassination followed on August 9 and the victim this time was Islamist Ezzidine Qussad, Libya Al-Hura Channel anchor and a former Al Manara News Agency reporter.

This assassination sparked rumors of ‘hit lists’ for certain anti-Islamist figures and counter ‘hit lists’ for certain Islamic activists.

Both sides have ‘hit lists’

Despite the recent assassinations that claimed the lives of tens of brigadiers, colonels and other senior officers in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Dernah, the government is yet to point a finger at any suspect in any assassination or explosion, which has prompted each side to accuse the other side of either negligence or direct involvement.

All this make us conclude that the political process in Libya is now on its last legs. People have replaced common sense with guns. The recent wave of carefully-planned assassinations means that dialogue has no place in political life anymore.

Libya’s politicians are the architects of their own demise because instead of abiding by the principles of democracy and letting people decide who is best in the polls, they prefer to kill one another.

When bullets fly, no one is safe.