United Nations & Split Nationality !

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations General Assembly Declaration calls for member states, the states already enjoying the benefits of the declaration, to respect the full human rights of persecuted indigenous minorities (and majorities in the case of Morocco) including the rights to "self-determination", "self-government", and "nationality". 

The Declaration affirms that "all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust".


The Declaration of course is not a legally binding document under international law; but it does however "represent the dynamic development of international legal norms [and all that] and it reflects the [recommended] commitment of the UN's member states to move [on] in certain [future] directions". Needless to say, the UN "hopes" the declaration will set an "international standard", a kind of precedent, for the treatment of indigenous peoples, the ancient humans who brought all of us onto this earth, and for "thank you" the offspring kill them, in so many ways.

The first "resolution 1/2 " was passed on the 29th of June 2006; but it was not until the 13th of September 2007 that the resolution was voted on during the General Assembly's 61st regular session. Some countries were not happy with the implications. 143 countries voted in favour, four against, 11 abstained, and 34 were absent. The four countries that voted against the Declaration are: United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. However, all four countries have moved to endorse the declaration.

The declaration affirms that "indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected as such".

The Declaration is hoped to "enhance harmonious and cooperative relations between the State and indigenous peoples, based on principles of justice, democracy, respect for human rights, non-discrimination and good faith."

Article 1:

"Indigenous peoples have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law."

Article 2:

"Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity."

Article 3:

"Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development."

Article 4:

"Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right to self-determination, have the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions."

Article 5:
"Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions, while retaining their right to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State."

Article 6:
"Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality".

Article 7:
"1. Indigenous individuals have the rights to life, physical and mental integrity, liberty and security of person."

"2. Indigenous peoples have the collective right to live in freedom, peace and security as distinct peoples and shall not be subjected to any act of genocide or any other act of violence, including forcibly removing children of the group to another group."

Article 8:

"1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture."

Article 9:

"Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right to belong to an indigenous community or nation, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the community or nation concerned. No discrimination of any kind may arise from the exercise of such a right."

Download the full United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:
http://www.temehu.com/imazighen/berberdownloads/UN-declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-people.pdf

Libya's Archaeological Vandalism & Robberies: Temehu 2011 Report:

The ancient and modern wars on the Berber, Egyptian and Sumerian civilisations, without a doubt, had dispersed most of their archaeological heritage, as much as they had reduced many of their remaining parts to cumulus rubble. This may explain why so many of the statues and idols you see today in Libya's and Egypt's museums had their noses broken, their ears knocked off, defaced, limbless, headless, cracked, bruised and all the other signs of violent conflict their masters came to endure from the mortals they so hard protected to come about as offspring. 

Needless to say, political or any other desecration of archaeological sites today is outlawed and classified under the acts of terrorism, as in the case of the recent destruction of Buddhist statues and sacred temples; and therefore one dares not, any more, call for the destruction of such heritage in the open. But behind closed doors, greed still plays the role it had always played in human history, as was the fate of so many looted tombs from around the world. The pyramids of the Berber Garamantian civilisation in Fezzan were robbed long before archaeologists got to them to unravel some of their desert mysteries. Yet, our ancestors were well aware of the nature of the beast they hoped to evade, and thankfully some of the Garamantian pyramids escaped looting because the sacred treasures were deceptively buried outside the tombs.

The Ancient Egyptians, too, knew about tomb raiders and mummy traders from the future, as they went to great lengths to hide their tombs in the valley of the kings and beneath the desert's sand. Many of these sites are now being discovered by satellites in the sky, and it is only a matter of time before they too come in contact with air! We have no good reason today to assume the practice of looting the sacred heritage of the ancestors ever ceased to exist, if it has not become an art of autocratic crime. It is almost certain that wars and archaeological robberies do go "hand in hand" as documented throughout ancient and modern history.

Wars create political vacuums of grey areas that easily lend themselves to exploitation by white-collar dealers and the gurus of the black market. Take for example the disastrous looting of Libya's and Egypt's treasures during the World Wars, way beyond imagination; the ransacking of the pagan Sumerian and Babylonian heritage during the Iraq war; the looting of the Berber Sahara by many European explorers and diplomatic tomb raiders during the colonial wars;  and, of course, one of the largest thefts of archaeological material in history that took place in Benghazi, Libya, during the early months of the February 2011 war, while the city was awash with NTC forces, SAS and Special forces.

The ruling authorities of today's Libya need to have in place a dedicated body to tackle the issue and reconsider the program to safeguard the existing heritage and recover the stolen treasures. They need to secure the Sahara's vast heritage, as well as secure sunken and off-shore sites still beneath the sea. They need to install surveillance cameras in all sections of all museums & archaeological sites in Libya. They need to start immediately fencing all archaeological sites still unprotected and grazed by sheep.

To read the full report please visit Temehu.com's Libya's first online museum at
http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/museumvandalism-archaeological-robberies.htm

Libya's War Museum (Conflict Museum): 11/11/11

Conflict Museum: photo from the Metropolitan Workshop
(http://www.metwork.co.uk/).

Conflict Museum

The war museum was envisaged by Gaddafi's government to house Libya’s struggle during conflict, from the colonial periods, to the fake independence, and down to the first of September coup, which Gaddafi called "white revolution" but many others see as yet another "foreign operation". The construction of the Museum of Conflict in Tripoli was envisaged to begin sometime before September 2009, and was hoped to be finished by the end of 2011, to house some of Libya's rich war heritage. 

Read more about and visit the Conflict Museum at: 

http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/museum-of-conflict.htm

The Berber Language: Official Not National

The NTC had recently made a number of statements and declarations in which it mentioned "minorities rights", "Nafousa Lions", and the "protection of minorities" among other descriptive phrases, without specifically mentioning the Berbers and without enlisting Berber as an official language in the constitution.   The NTC also said the minority languages will be considered as "national languages". The indigenous Libyan Berbers, however, were angered and quickly reacted with various online posts, Libya.TV debates, a conference in Tripoli, and an open letter to the NTC. So, what is the problem?

Native Berberists say downgrading Berber language to a national status gives the false impression that the language is not indigenous to Libya. For example, nationalising a foreign company does indicate the company is not Libyan. While some Berberists add that foreigners (or aliens: 'an unnaturalised foreign resident') who had acquired Libyan "nationality" in recent years cannot be compared with Berbers who had been in Libya for tens of thousands of years. This means that nationalising something or someone usually indicates the foreign nature of that something or someone. Fair enough; "but they are not aliens", the Berbers say.

What sort of norms that call the "majority" Moroccan Berbers "minority" in their own home? 

Berberists also feel marginalised because, they argue, speaking of the indigenous Berber tribes as "minorities" who were afforded protection by the constitution that refused to recognise them not only makes them feel like they are living in a "conservation camp", where tourists can flock in to have a glimpse at the fast-dying clan, but also violates the historical fact in that the Berbers are the original inhabitants of North Africa, long before the arrival of  the  Arabs in the 7th Century AD. They are "Libyans", they say, and not a "minority"!

Thus Imazighen reject the term "minority" and instead demand from the NTC to recognise them as "people", as "Libyan people", and as "the native people of Libya" (see the open letter sent by the Libyan Berber Congress (ALT) to the National Transitional Council (NTC) on the 17th of September 2011).


On the other hand, other Berberists say there are no "Libyan Arabs" and no "Libyan Berbers", but only (one) Libyan people who came to speak more than one language: Arabic, Berber, Tebo, etc. This attitude is much healthier as it unites the people of Libya as one people while at the same time grants all Libyans their full and equal rights. It is bizarre that this is not recognisably obvious.

If unprotected constitutionally a language may eventually die. On average, one language goes extinct every week in this modern age, simply because of democratic and totalitarian governments' open neglect. Berber language, however, is one of the oldest languages on the surface of the planet.


There are so many countries in the world which have a number of official languages without these countries being divided nor ruled by imperial powers. Democratic countries usually declare a number of languages as official languages, if there are that many, like in India where 23 languages are listed as official languages in the constitution. While dictatorial countries usually dictate one language (often its language - always the ruling language) and downgrade all others - often the indigenous languages. And there are countries that do not list any official language at all.

To read more about these and similar issues please visit:

• Berber Political Movements: http://www.temehu.com/imazighen/berberism.htm


• Libya TV:  Revolution Path: http://www.libya.tv/2011/10/ : Berberists debating the official status of Tamazight ('Berber Language')


• Libyan Berber Congress: an open letter to the NTC: http://www.libya-nclo.com/2011Bayanat/حولاستحقاقاتالحقالامازيغيفيليبيا.aspx

Libyan Visa Update (2): 15 October 2011:

As a result of the clashes in Tripoli in the past couple of days we are reviewing our advice by strongly advising against all travel to Libya for the time being. Business and diplomatic visits do not come under travel, as these missions have their own security arrangements.  Read the full update at: http://www.temehu.com/Visas.htm

Libya Visa Update: 01 October 2011:

Libyan Visa Update

There are a number of individual reports from visitors who say they had obtained visas on arrival at the border(s) or from Libyan embassies. Even though many of these remain unconfirmed reports, they do not represent the official view of the transitional government. What is the Transitional National Council (TNC) has to say in relation to the visa issue?

The new law according to the TNC's Constitutional Declaration:

The TNC has announced on the 3rd of August 2011 a 37-point interim "Constitutional Declaration" to provide a framework for the transition to an elected government, and to call for a constitutional assembly within eight months. This Constitutional Declaration updates the current (or the old) law, and also cancels a number of old laws that are related to constitutional matters. Article (35) of this Declaration specifically states that the law regarding all provisions decreed in the current legislations stay the same and remain effective as before, until they are amended or repealed. Here is what it says in Arabic:

TNC's Article (35), Constitutional Declaration.

Translation:

"All the current provisions decreed in the existing legislations shall continue to be effective, in as much as they do not conflict with the provisions of this "declaration", until the announcement of new provisions to amend or repeal them. Each reference in these [old] provisions to the so-called "People's Congresses" or the "General People's Congress" shall be taken as a reference to the "Interim Transitional National Council"  or the "General National Council [Congress]"; each reference to the "General People's Committee" or the "Peoples' Committees" is a reference to the "Executive Board" or to the members of the Executive Board or to the government or to the members of the government, each within his or her jurisdictional boundaries; and each reference to the (Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) shall be deemed as a reference to (Libya)."

What this means is that almost everything stays the same, as before, with the change of the old names of Libya and its institutions to the new names, until the TNC completes the transition period and supervises an elected government. Therefore the old visa law should stay the same. Embassies provide diplomatic, study and business visas; tour operators and visa bureaus provide tourist visas on arrival. In fact Turkey was one of the first countries to take advantage of this when it reiterated that its citizens were allowed into Gaddafi's Libya without an entry visa (http://www.independent.com.mt/) and therefore they do not need any visas to enter new Libya. These issues are still being addressed, and the following update from the Libyan embassy in Malta hints at a new visa update to be released by the TNC soon.

Read Temehu.com's full visa update and download copies of the Constitutional Declaration at:
http://www.temehu.com/Visas.htm

The Guardian Confirms Vandalising Assaraya Alhamra Museum:

In an article titled: "In Tripoli's museum of antiquity only Gaddafi is lost in revolution", the guardian.co.uk confirms the vandalising of the National Museum in Tripoli:

"At 11.30pm on 20 August 2011, as rebels launched their first attack on the Libyan capital, 20 armed men entered the museum . . . the rebels spotted the colonel's vintage cars and, as elsewhere, wreaked their revenge. The windows of the sky blue Beetle were smashed; thousands of shards of glass now lie on the floor . . . The headlamps are also damaged but the period gearstick, glovebox, running boards, speedometer and steering wheel remain intact. Staff at the museum . . . had no choice but to let the rebels enter. Mustafa Turjman, head of research at the national department of archaeology, said: "It was a revolution – you can't resist . . . But the vandalism was swiftly quelled by a plea . . . Although there is graffiti in places and one broken window, just a cloak and a rifle, used in the Libyan resistance against Italian occupation, were stolen."

Read the full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/sep/11/tripoli-museum-antiquity-shattered-gaddafi-image

Short link for the report:
http://gu.com/p/3xz76

Looting of Libya's Archaeological Artifacts & Assaraya Museum: is it true?

Assaraya Alhamra  Museum (al-Jamahiriya National Museum)

Last week a number of Internet sites and blogs circulated the claims in that massive looting was underway in Libya; Leptis Magna was affected by the war; and that prehistoric art sites were vandalised during the recent events in Libya. The claims originally came from the Russian Nikolai Sologubovsky, apparently a deputy head of a Russian committee of solidarity with the people of Libya and Syria, who told Russian television, without providing any evidence, that the National Museum in Tripoli has been looted and antiquities were being shipped out by sea to Europe.

Vandalising prehistoric art in Libya is not new, as Temehu.com covered at: http://www.temehu.com/vandalised-rockart.htm, and there is no reason to suppose it will not happen again or it did not happen recently; and if it did then there is nothing new about it. Also we have no evidence regarding the looting of Assaraya Alhamra Museum, but we are very much interested to hear from those who have any evidence to share.

According to http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/09/claims-of-mass-libyan-looting.html (Claims of Mass Libyan Looting Rejected by Archaeologists): "The antiquities in the major sites are unscathed," says Hafed Walda, an archaeologist at King's College London, who has been in frequent contact with his Libyan colleagues during the recent arrival of rebels in the capital city last week. "But a few sites in the interior sustained minor damage and are in need of assessments."

Berber Political Movements In Libya & North Africa

The term Berberism is generally used to describe 'the political movements of the Berber communities in North Africa during the 20th century'. Berberists are the Berber activists who campaign for greater cultural and political freedom for the Berbers or Imazighen of North Africa.  More about the history of Berberism in Libya, Algeria, Morocco and the Sahara at: 

http://www.temehu.com/imazighen/berberism.htm

Berber Language Will Be A Key Issue In New Libya!

CNN: the Editor Peter Fragiskatos, in an article published by CNN in its website (see link below), asks if New  Libya will bring new freedom for the  Berbers of Libya. In an attempt to answer the question, he points out that:

"Over the past few months, they [the Berbers] have secured control over a wide area near the Tunisian border, a strategic position that helped open the way toward Tripoli .  .  .  Libya's Berber minority .  .  .  is engaged in a cultural revival. The teaching of Berber language courses and the airing of radio broadcasts .  .  .  are now openly practised and Berber activists are adamant about preserving their newfound freedom. How this will play out is anybody's guess. What is clear is that language rights will be a key issue going forward not only in a post-Gadhafi Libya, but also in Morocco and Algeria, where much larger Berber communities live."

Read full article at:

 http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/26/fragiskatos.berber.language/

Great Man-Made River (GMMR): النهر الصناعي العظيم

GMMR

Searching for oil beneath the desert's sand the Libyans have instead struck water reserves in various parts of the country, some of which are just 100 meters below the surface.

Due to water shortages in Libya, and after considering the available options including the creation of desalination plants, transportation of water by tankers, and conveying water by pipeline from southern Europe, it was decided that there is no solution to the water crisis in Libya other than the creation of the Great Man-Made River, to extract water from the underground reserves and transport it to the various cities and town in the north of Libya.

Read more about the Great Man-Made River Project at: http://www.temehu.com/great-man-made-river-gmmr.htm

Ancient Libyan Art

20000 year-old master pieces that are yet to be enjoyed!!! 

Ancient Libyan Art

Dazzling and vivid mages of its early pastoralists, tribal shamans and early artists can be grasped directly off the rocks of the Sahara. Breathtaking depictions that not only withstood time but also have brought time to a stand-still; to a degree where these preserved treasures are believed by the Berber Tuareg to be lessons from their ancestors and as such are true history of the Great Sahara Desert. The first written history of human civilisation long before the Pharaohs of Egypt left and then made to vanish into oblivion.  Full article & galleries at: http://www.temehu.com/sahara-prehistoric-rock-art.htm

Libyan Desert Glass

Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) is a naturally occurring glass made of silica (silicon dioxide), and generally found in the Libyan Desert - the Western Desert of west Egypt, widely scattered along the Libyan-Egyptian border (the Great Erg). Scientists say the the glass is the largest known deposit of a natural silica glass on the planet Earth (about 98% SiO2). Early confirmed reports of the glass were made by members of the survey expedition led by P. Clayton, who were sent to explore the Sand Sea and Gilf Kebir in 1932 and to investigate the earlier reports of 1846 as well as to find the legendary oasis of Zerzura. In December 1932 Clayton (and his team) was driving across the sand dunes towards the red rocks of the Saad plateau when suddenly he felt the tyres of his car crunch. Upon stopping the car and stepping out he came face to face with . . . http://www.temehu.com/libyan-desert-glass.htm

Women Explorers of Libya

There are a number of women who challenged their times as well as the Sahara itself in order to explore. Their journeys and accounts are not often explored,  and most people even do not realise that there were women explorers.   For a comprehensive English bibliography of women travellers and explorers of Africa between 1763 and 2004 . . . . . http://www.temehu.com/Explorers-of-Libya.htm

Libya: Origin of Name Libya & Libya In Mythology:

Libya

There are several theories attempting to explain the origin of the name, but it is almost certain that it comes from the ancient Berber tribe known to the ancient Egyptians as Rebu or Ribu; from which the Greeks derived "Libya", and which the Arabs of today's Egypt know as Lubia, whence Lubians, in line with their relatives and neighbours the Nubians. Libya was the name of the Goddess known to the Greeks as the Goddess Libya, and also of the whole continent before the Romans named it Africa after the Berber Goddess Afri. In mythology, the Goddess Libya had three sons by the Libyan Sea-God Poseidon: Belus, Agenor and Lelex. King Belus ruled  at Chemmis or Chamesis of Leo Africanus,  Agenor migrated to Cana'an (the Middle East), and Lelex became king of Megara. Read full story at  http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Libya.htm

Libyan People: The Various Ethnic Groups of Libya: Arabs, Berbers, Tebu, etc.

The major ethnic groups of Libya include the Arabs, the Berbers (the native and indigenous inhabitants of North Africa), the Tebu, as well as a number of smaller communities from various continents including Africa, Europe and Aisa.  The Tuareg tribes of the Sahara (pictured above)  are also a Berber group, comprising a number of confideracies and smaller tribes.  See http://www.temehu.com/Libyan-People.htm for more.

Egyptian-Libyan Border Re-Opened

07 February 2011

The border between Egypt and Libya is now open for business as usual. Travellers leaving Libya via Emsaad can now continue their journey overland to Egypt as before. The situation in Egypt itself seems to be returning to normal gradually.
http://www.temehu.com/news-Libya.htm

The Land Border Between Egypt And Libya Is Closed:

Tourists Leaving Libya For Egypt Were Returned To Libya:

31st of January 2011

The border between Egypt and Libya is closed. The first we learnt about this is when our visitors who completed their transit tour in Libya were returned immediately after reaching the Egyptian check point beyond Emsaad on the 31st of January 2011. They were refused entry into Egypt and were ordered to return to Libya immediately. It is not known for how long the border will be closed, but it looks set to remain so until the situation in Cairo is defused. http://www.temehu.com/news-Libya.htm

Tunisian-Libyan Border: Update On Movement Across The Border:

17th of January 2011

The border area between Libya and Tunisia still is open, and the border movement seems okay as tourists do come in and out of the country as usual. However, the Libyan side of the border is closed at night, probably due to the fact that the border authorities need to prevent cross-border movement of people illegally at night.

Please note that the Libyan side of the border is still open during the day and therefore tourists wishing to enter Libya must do so either in the morning or around midday.

We also hear that the Tunisian police have road blocks between some areas in Tunisia to protect tourists from being attacked while traveling between cities and towns. Otherwise the Tunisian side of the border with Libya is also still open as usual.  If you can make it to the Libyan border then your escort will be there to meet you and welcome you into Libya.  Please check our news page for the latest updates at http://www.temehu.com/news-Libya.htm .

Travel Restrictions Affecting The Western Mountain & The Red Hamada:

Following the recent local development in the Western Mountain near the Kabaw area the tourism authority decided to close some of the sites for foreign visitors to ensure their safety, and subsequently informed Libyan tour companies about a number of restrictions affecting certain areas, including Kabaw, Yefren and Nalut. Travellers passing by Nalut in the way to Ghadames cannot stop in Nalut but are allowed to drive through. Gharyan, Qasr Al-Haj and the neighbouring areas are not affected.  Also in a separate incident al-Hamada al-Hamra is closed for tourists. Travellers who had the Hamada in their itineraries have to drive to Sabha via Qaryat instead. It is not known why nor for how long the ban will stay in force. (Source: http://www.temehu.com/news-Libya.htm).

Areas closed for tourists:

• Yefren
• Kabaw
• Nalut
• Hamada Al-Hamra
• All areas bordering the Algerian border
• Acacus (Takherkhuri)
• The route Murzuq - Edhan Murzuq - Ennay - Takseet - Acacus

A request from the Tourism Police instructing Libyan tour operators to follow the listed restrictions, namely the border areas and the Murzuq-Acacus route.