We Don't Want to Be Like Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan

October 30, 2011

Published in Kompas
(Indonesia) on 21 October 2011
by Musthafa Abd Rahman (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Yuliana Sari. Edited by Derek Ha.

Two Western officials have suddenly visited Tripoli, Libya: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Tripoli on Oct. 18. One day earlier, British Foreign Secretary William Hague also visited Tripoli.

Clinton affirmed that the priority in Libya is to establish security and stability to prevent the country from slipping into civil war in the post-Gadhafi era. In that context, Clinton emphasized the importance of unifying the armed militias under the national command. The secretary of state promised $40 million in aid to support the security program in Libya. Meanwhile, William Hague promised 42 million pounds in aid for Libya's economic development and stabilization fund.

Nowadays, the security issue in Libya and North Africa seems to be the priority for Western countries, especially the United States. The West indicates that Libya cannot successfully go through the process of transition from dictatorship to democracy without first establishing security and stability. The West realizes that without adequate stability and central government control, Libya may become an easy target for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Up to recently, former Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi, often threatened to cooperate with AQIM to attack Western interests in Libya and North Africa.

The United States apparently learned a lot from its experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, neither of which have security and stability to this day. In Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States simply formed a government without further considering whether the government would have broad popular support. As a result, the new governments in Baghdad and Kabul exercised weak governance, resembling puppet governments highly dependent on the U.S.

The West realizes that it needs to exercise greater responsibility so that the scenario in Iraq and Afghanistan will not be repeated in Libya. The West is responsible for everything that happens in Libya because of the strong intervention of NATO in overthrowing the Gadhafi regime.

Meanwhile, recent developments in Libya have not always led to a positive outcome. The post-Gadhafi era has been characterized by a battle between Islamist and nationalist camps over power, which has been raising serious concerns.

The weakness of the National Transitional Council (NTC) causes people not to adhere to its policies and worsens the situation in Libya. The NTC disarmament program in Tripoli has not worked. The leader of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, had difficulties persuading the armed factions in Tripoli to unify under the command of Abdul Hakim Belhaj, the NTC military commander who freed Tripoli from the Gadhafi regime on Aug. 23.

Even the chairman of the executive board of the NTC, Mahmoud Jibril, revealed in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper in early October that he had already offered his resignation to Mustafa Abdul Jalil. The resignation will take effect after the liberation of the city of Sirte. Jibril insisted that his resignation begin after the release of the entire region of Libya from Gadhafi loyalists; it is known that the city of Sirte is the last holdout of Gadhafi loyalists.

Jibril admits that the ultimate ruler in Libya now is not the NTC but the armed militias that often force the NTC to accept their decisions. According to Jibril, many NTC decisions are only on paper because they are often ignored by the armed militias.

Political conditions and internal security in Libya after Gadhafi are still fragile. That caused Hillary Clinton and William Hague to pour financial support substantial enough to develop solid stability in Libya and so avoid repeating the scenarios in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Dua pejabat tinggi Barat ini mendadak mengunjungi Tripoli-Libya. Menteri Luar Negeri AS Hillary Clinton tiba di Tripoli Selasa (18/10). Sehari sebelumnya, Senin, Menteri Luar Negeri Inggris William Hague juga berkunjung ke Tripoli.
Clinton menegaskan, prioritas di Libya saat ini adalah menciptakan keamanan dan stabilitas hingga negara pasca-era Khadafy tidak terjerumus ke dalam perang saudara lagi.

Dalam konteks itu, Hillary menekankan pentingnya menyatukan milisi-milisi bersenjata di bawah komando nasional. Menlu AS itu berjanji menggelontorkan bantuan dana 40 juta dollar AS untuk mendukung program keamanan di Libya itu.

William Hague merogok kantongnya pula dengan berjanji memberi bantuan sebanyak 42 juta pound sterling untuk pembangunan ekonomi dan stabilitas di Libya.

Isu keamanan di Libya dan Afrika Utara kini menjadi isu prioritas bagi Barat dan AS, khususnya. Barat tampaknya memandang, tanpa terciptanya keamanan dan stabilitas terlebih dahulu di Libya, mustahil negara Afrika utara itu akan sukses melakukan proses peralihan dari era diktator ke era demokrasi.

Barat menyadari pula, jika dibiarkan tanpa stabilitas dan tiadanya kontrol pemerintah pusat yang memadai, Libya akan menjadi sasaran empuk Tanzim Al Qaeda Maghrib Arab (AQIM). Apalagi, mantan penguasa Libya, Moammar Khadafy, terakhir ini sering mengancam akan bekerja sama dengan AQIM untuk menyerang berbagai kepentingan Barat di Libya dan Afrika Utara.

AS rupanya banyak belajar dari pengalaman di Afganistan dan Irak yang hingga saat ini kedua negara tersebut tidak menikmati keamanan dan stabilitas.

Di Afganistan dan Irak, AS seenaknya begitu saja membentuk pemerintahan, tanpa melihat lagi sejauh mana pemerintah tersebut memiliki basis massa luas di akar rumput. Hasilnya, lahir pemerintahan lemah, bahkan ibarat pemerintah boneka di Baghdad dan Kabul yang sangat bergantung pada AS.

Barat kini merasa punya tanggung jawab besar agar skenario Irak dan Afganistan tidak terulang di Libya. Barat tentu bertanggung jawab atas segala sesuatu yang terjadi di Libya lantaran campur tangannya yang kuat lewat NATO dalam menumbangkan rezim Khadafy.

Sedangkan perkembangan terakhir di Libya tidak selalu mengarah ke jalan positif. Pertarungan antara kubu Islamis dan nasionalis untuk memperebutkan kue kekuasaan, cukup mewarnai dan sekaligus mencemaskan Libya pasca era Khadafy.

Lemahnya Dewan Nasional Transisi (NTC) hingga sering keputusan-keputusannya tidak dipatuhi juga membuat khawatir situasi di Libya saat ini. Program NTC untuk melucuti senjata yang tersebar di tangan penduduk di kota Tripoli tidak jalan pula.

Ketua NTC Mustafa Abdul Jalil kesulitan pula membujuk faksi-faksi bersenjata di Tripoli bersedia berada di bawah satu komando komandan Abdul Hakim Belhaj. Abdul Hakim Belhaj adalah komandan pasukan NTC yang membebaskan kota Tripoli dari loyalis Khadafy pada 23 Agustus.

Bahkan, Ketua Dewan Eksekutif NTC Mahmud Jibril dalam wawancara dengan harian Asharq al Awsat pada awal Oktober lalu mengungkapkan telah mengajukan pengunduran diri kepada Ketua NTC Mustafa Abdul Jalil, dan pelaksanaannya menunggu pembebasan kota Sirte.

Jibril menegaskan, pengunduran dirinya berjalan mulai setelah pembebasan seluruh wilayah Libya dari loyalis Khadafy. Seperti diketahui, kota Sirte adalah kota terakhir yang kini masih terdapat loyalis Khadafy.

Jibril mengakui, penguasa hakiki di Libya saat ini bukan NTC, tetapi milisi-milisi bersenjata di lapangan yang sering mendikte keputusan mereka pada NTC.

Menurut Jibril, banyak keputusan NTC hanya di atas kertas karena sering diabaikan milisi-milisi bersenjata itu.
Kondisi politik dan keamanan internal Libya pasca-Khadafy yang masih rawan itu membuat Hillary Clinton dan William Hague harus menggolontorkan bantuan dana cukup besar untuk membangun stabilitas yang kokoh di Libya saat ini agar tidak terulang skenario di Afganistan dan Irak. (Musthafa Abd Rahman, dari Kairo, Mesir)

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