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On 3 February 2006, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Independent Expert on Minority Issues, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous sent a letter of allegation concerning information received regarding discrimination toward Berbers, particularly on the existence of discriminatory legislations toward the Berber culture and identity, such as the law number 24 of the year 1369 w.r. (1991). Reportedly, the said laws prevent people from using any other language than Arabic in the country and also forbid literature and writings which is not in Arabic, and therefore, the use of the Berber language. It is also alleged that it is forbidden to use names of Berber origin to name children. It has been also alleged that the Libyan government deliberately withholds the development of regions with Berber communities. As an example, the only hospital in the region of Zouara, which was closed in the 1980’s, has not been reopened and that there is no hospital in the region. Similarly, it has been alleged that the water projects in the country have deliberately excluded the regions of Nefoussa and Zouara. The information also alledged that the Libyan education system and school books do not take into account the Berber component in Libya’s geography, history and culture. Allegations also report the harassment and ill-treatment of persons working for the defence of the Berber community, culture and identity.
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Activists claim that the authorities on December 25th launched a security campaign against the Berber town of Yafran,170km south-west of Tripoli, the Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported. Fathi Bin-Khalifah, coordinatorof the Libyan Action Group and the Lib-yan Amazighs’ Grouping, said in a tele-phone contact from his base in Moroccothat the Libyan authorities were besiegingthe town, electronically jamming telephonecontacts between it and the outside world,and also banning anyone coming fromother areas from entering. He claimed thatthere was intensive security deploymentafter units from the anti-riot Central Sup-port Forces were brought in and that hehad received information that military air-craft had flown over the town which has apopulation of around 50,000.According to assertions by Bin-Khalifahand various Amazigh (Berber) internetwebsites, groups from the ‘‘Youth Lea-gues’’ ofSayf-al-Islam, the second son ofLibyan Leader ColonelMouammar Gad-dafy, and elements from the Revolution-ary Committees attacked the capital ofJabal Nafusah and encircled and raidedthe houses of some known Amazigh fig-ures. Local residents said they did notknow the specific reason for the securitycampaign, while some sources said theLibyan authorities were punishing all theAmazighs because some of their leadershad taken part in an expanded recentconference held to discuss their condi-tions in the Maghreb.But Bin-Khalifah said ‘‘there is no direct orimmediate cause for these events’’ andnoted that the ‘‘International AmazighCongress’’, which adopts the Amazighs’causes from its base in France, had a meet-ing recently with Colonel Gaddafy andadded: ‘‘There are no signs or indications.What happened was sudden and there wereabsolutely no moves beforehand other thanthe regime’s attempt to get rid of thenatives and create a new pit of tension.’’Amazigh activists claim that their influenceand presence in Libyan social, profes-sional, economic, scientific, administrative,and military circles could have aroused thefears of the authorities towards thembecause of their opposition to any attemptto bequeath leadership of the nation toCol. Gaddafy’s son.Yafran with its Amazigh majority is thesecond Libyan town to witness suddentroubles following the violence thatoccurred a few weeks earlier in Al-Kufrahtown in the south of Libya between theLibyan authorities and the local citizens.They were demonstrating against their dete-riorating living conditions and the central authorities’ neglect of their rights to have official identity cards in addition to depriving their sons of the right to government education and other basic services.(Al-Sharq al-Awsat website 27⁄12: BBC Mon.)
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