Advocating Constitutional Democracy in Libya Press Release June 24, 2006 Subject: Libya’s 1951 Constitutional Conference, June 23-24 The purpose of the conference is intended to show the American public and the world community the civil society that existed in Libya between 12/24/1952 until 9/1/1969. In 1951, the United Nations, the yet-to be-independent Libya, and the superpowers of the time, fashioned a constitution to be adopted and implemented by Libya to guide it through its formative years. Indeed, the 1951 constitution of Libya was adopted upon Libya’s independence, and became the source of all its legal references, until the disastrous military coup of September 1, 1969, when Gadhafi and his military junta seized power and abandoned the rule of law as stipulated in the constitution. Once Gadhafi consolidated his grip on the country, he embarked on a policy marked by violence and terrorism aimed at Libyans primarily and other nations who resisted his dictates. Libyans witnessed street hangings in public places, Libyan exiles were massacred in cold blood in various European cities; international flights were blown apart in mid air (American PAN AM 103 (270 dead); French UTA 772 (170 dead, including 7 Americans); Libyan Airliner 1103, shot down over Tripoli). Gadhafi waged wars against Egypt and Chad, and was deeply involved in fermenting civil strife in many African countries alongside other notorious tyrants such as Liberia’s Charles Taylor. The conflict with Chad started in the mid 70's, breaking into a full-scale war in 1979, claiming thousands of Libyan and Chadian lives before it drew to a close in 1987. Despite the war's longevity and extensive loss of life, Gadhafi never acknowledge the war, or its victims. Hundreds of victims of that particular conflict reside here in the United States, after they were evacuated from prison camps in Chad (through a joint venture between the US and the UN). June 28, 2006 marks the tenth anniversary of the Abuslim Prison (on the outskirts of Tripoli) massacre in which over 1200 political prisoners were massacred in cold blood. Nowadays, we witness moves by the US administration to rehabilitate a savage criminal, who has lived and prospered on shedding the blood of the innocent. It appears that oil, while being factually thicker than blood, it is undoubtedly more valuable. While we understand the desperate need for secure oil resources, it is our hope that such a need does not preclude other important considerations such as respect for human rights and democracy. We caution the US administration against a government-to-government relationship that excludes the wishes and interests of both the US and Libyan peoples. American Libyan Freedom Alliance The 1951 Libyan Constitution Arabic | English   ALFA, P.O. Box 22262, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002, USA; website: http://www.alfa-online.net Telephone: 610 703 1382, e-mail: info@alfa-online.net