Civil Unrest Reaches Libya

The Takeaway

The wave of anti-establishment, pro-democracy demonstrations made its way to Libya on Friday as several cities saw demonstrations against its leader Colonel Muammer Qaddafi.  Taking cues from Egypt and Tunisia, Libyans hope to use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to mobilize the popular support necessary to topple Qaddafi’s nearly forty-year regime. For their part, Libya’s state run media did not report the domestic uprisings, focusing instead on pro Qaddafi rallies in Tripoli and other cities. Do Libyan protesters have a chance to make a change?   Abdullah Darrat  is  a founding member of Khalas. The website and movement, whose name is the Arabic word for “Enough,” hopes to provide a network of information for Libyans at home and abroad. Zachary Lockman, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University, also joins the conversation.

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