Ostensibly to defend the people, the Revolutionary Committees Gaddafi set up in the 1970s became fearsome tools of his unrestrained dictatorship, writes Mohamed Hafez* Since protesters took to the streets in Libya, demanding an end to the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, one section of the nation stood fast behind their leader. Libya's much-feared Revolutionary Committees rallied supporters, bullied opponents, and used every trick in the book to safeguard the status quo. The demonstrators were put on notice. Unless they back out, the repression would be brutal and far-reaching. In no time, pro-Gaddafi supporters were deployed in the streets, chanting and waving flags. They told the world how much they loved their leader, and Gaddafi in turn told reporters how much he was loved by them. In mid-February, Gaddafi spoke in Bab Al-Aziziah, threatening his adversaries with an all-out offensive. It was clear from that moment that foreign journalists would be a target. It was also clear that the Revolutionary Committees would be unleashed against the opposition. This was to be expected. Since the Revolutionary Committees were formed in 1977, their main task has been to eliminate Gaddafi's opponents at home and abroad. The Revolutionary Committees became involved in surveillance of enemies and targeted killings. And they were allowed to set up their own "Revolutionary Courts", at which death sentences were passed against anyone daring to speak up against the regime. Theoretically, the Revolutionary Committees had a lofty aim. They were hailed as the end of bureaucracy, the end of government control, the end of authoritarian rule. Their job was to take government in their own hands, politics in their own hands, and lead the entire nation into a utopia of self-rule. In reality, they were the tools of a dictator bent on brutal rule with no legal accountability or public oversight. The system was quaint and irrational. At one point, the Revolutionary Committees were given the authority to issue scientific certificates to outstanding citizens for their "revolutionary thinking". Eventually, the Revolutionary Committees took over the country. Their members ran every government agency, held the top offices, and brooked no opposition. Their motto: "Popular Power and Revolutionary Administration," may not have meant much. But their power was unmistakably omnipresent. They had their own "training camps". They were the role models for the entire nation, and woe betided anyone who challenged their heavy-handed ways. The history of the Revolutionary Committees goes back to 1973, when Gaddafi made a speech in Zwara in which he called for the creation of a new movement, one that he called the Movement of Revolutionary Committees. These committees were supposed to act as guardians of the revolution, and they were given a free run of the country. They were allowed to seize power, wealth, and weapons. They were also permitted to "uncover" the counter-revolutionaries who harboured ill will against the nation. They were generally expected to guide and mobilise the people and protect them from all sorts of conspiracies, local and foreign. Addressing the first general congress of the newly-formed committees, Gaddafi said that the "Revolutionary Committees must become a political revolutionary movement that encourages the masses to acquire and exercise power." To encourage the Revolutionary Committees to take over, Gaddafi made a big fuss about leaving public office. In 1979, Gaddafi said that he was stepping down to engage fulltime in revolutionary work. He was a great admirer of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and wanted to turn Libya into something similar. He wanted the Revolutionary Committees to mirror the Revolutionary Guards of Iran. In July 1988, the Revolutionary Committees declared themselves leaders of the revolution. As such, they took it upon themselves to rid the nation of conspirators, eliminate foreign enemies, and teach anyone who dares to challenge the revolution a lesson. Agents faithful to the Revolutionary Committees were deployed all over the country. They called the shots and kept everyone on their toes. Then, in mid-February 2011, wide-scale protests started. Until then, the Revolutionary Committees' power was unchallenged. They controlled the media, suppressed freedom of expression, and generally told the population what to believe. Publications such as Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar (Green March), which specialises in the internal affairs of the Libyan regime, and Al-Jamahiriya, which specialises in foreign affairs, may be too dogmatic for outsiders. But their editorials spelled out the regime's point of view. Just like the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, the Revolutionary Committees were a repressive force, bent on humiliating their foes, and willing to go to any lengths to defend their power. Just as the Revolutionary Guards repressed the reformists in Iran, the Revolutionary Committees silenced all opposition in Libya. In March 1982, Gaddafi formed an outfit that he called the "World Forum for Resisting Imperialism, Racism, and Reaction". He presided over the opening session of the forum and told it to implement "revolutionary programmes" across Europe, the United States, Latin America, Asia and Africa. The forum held its first meeting in June 1982, pledging to spread revolutionary doctrines across the world. Its members promised to coordinate with revolutionary movements in Iran, Tunisia, and elsewhere. The forum also promised to resist US military presence in the region. The goals and subsequent actions of the forum succeeded in dragging Libya into conflict with Egypt, Tunisia, and Chad. Before long, Libya made the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. The forum is also believed to have masterminded the bombing of a French passenger plane over Niger in September 1989 and of a PanAm flight over Lockerbie in December 1988. In 1992, the UN security general decided to impose sanctions on Gaddafi's regime. The sanctions were only lifted after Libya renounced terrorism and paid indemnities to victims. In March 1999, a French court handed down sentences of life imprisonment on six Libya agents found guilty of bombing the French plane. Once the protests began, the Revolutionary Committees sprang into action. They organised demonstrations at home and urged Libyan communities abroad, especially exchange students, to stage their own pro-Gaddafi protests. As the protests increased in intensity, the Revolutionary Committees began collecting intelligence on the opposition and intimidating them in various ways. An editorial by Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar issued an ultimatum to the opposition: "Any adventures by the spineless gangs will be met with decisive action," the paper wrote. Then it was the turn of foreign journalists. The Revolutionary Committees posted a bounty of up to $125,000 for anyone capturing a foreign journalist, $100,000 for capturing an Egyptian journalist, and 250,000 dinars capturing a member of the Interim Council. Subsequently, agents believed to be working for the Revolutionary Committees broke into the hotel rooms of journalists in Benghazi, assassinated the Al-Jazeera cameraman Ali Al-Jabiri, and captured other journalists working for Al-Jazeera. The Revolutionary Committees are believed to have withdrawn from Benghazi, Ajdabia, and Misurata. Their presence is still very much in evidence in Tripoli. The Revolutionary Committees have failed to defend the regime in the eastern parts of the country. They have failed to turn the population against the opposition, and they were unable to thwart the rebellion. They may be heavy-handed, but the Revolutionary Committees are also undereducated and undertrained. They are bent on defending a regime that has been in power for 42 years, but they seem to be losing ground. Brutal as they are, their grip on power is finally loosening. * The writer is a researcher at Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
