The Palestinian Crisis in Libya 1994-1996 (Interview with Professor Bassem Sirhan)
In 1994, after the signing of the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel, the Qadhafi government in Libya sought to show its objection to the agreements by expelling the Palestinian community residing in the country. One of the Palestinians living in Libya at the time was Professor Bassem Sirhan, we spoke to him about the Libyan policy of expulsion and the injustice that befell the Palestinian community.
Can you tell us something about the composition of the
Palestinian community in Libya and the conditions they lived under
until 1995?
Libya is not a host country for Palestinians (i.e. Palestinians are
not refugees there), as is the case with Lebanon, Syria and Jordan;
it is rather one which imports skilled labor in the technical,
scientific and professional fields; therefore, the residency of any
Palestinian in Libya is based on a personal or individual contract
with the state and its institutions, or with Libyan companies or
foreign companies operating in Libya. Libya calls itself “The Land
of Arabs” and its leader has been referred to by the late President
Jamal Abdul-Nasser, as “The Trustee of Arab Nationalism”; it does
not require any Arab to hold an entry visa or a residency permit,
regardless of the position he will be assuming or the purpose of
his stay. As for residency permits, they aim to allow their holders
to open bank accounts in order for them to be able to repatriate
half of their income in hard currency to their country of
origin.
The Palestinian community in Libya was very small in comparison to
Palestinian communities in other Arab host states or in Arab states
which import skilled labor, according to Libyan estimates, and as
per a census conducted by the Libyan Foreign Security Agency in
1995, after the eruption of the crisis, the number of Palestinians
in Libya stood at 30,000, a very small number when compared to the
number of immigrants from other Arab countries. The number of
Palestinians in Libya did not constitute any economic burden on the
country, especially since they are highly qualified, efficient,
productive and devoted, which has been the opinion of Libyan
officials over the years. If the Libyan government had extended a
helping hand to Palestinian resistance or liberation movements, the
same did not apply to Palestinians working in Libya, who did not
receive, during the twenty-five-year period, any dinar as donation
or sign of gratitude.
What happened in 1994?
In his speech during the Sept 1 1994. celebrations, Colonel Mouamer
Qadhafi announced his plan to expel Palestinians residing in his
country in order to prove to the whole world that PLO Chairman
Yasser Arafat had failed to establish a state and, therefore, was
unable to fulfill the demands of the Palestinian struggle.
Palestinians residing in Libya originally thought that the
Colonel's speech was nothing more than a maneuver intended to
politically attack the fragile peace accord between Arafat and
Israel. Things went on in an ordinary and normal manner during the
months of September, October and November, 1994, as Palestinians
were allowed to enter and leave Libya, and their labor contracts
with ministries, government agencies and various corporations
(public and private) were renewed without problems and they could
secure new labor contracts.
So when Colonel Qadhafi ordered, by phone, the Labor Ministry not
to renew any labor contracts involving Palestinians and to further
refrain from ratifying (granting final approval to) any new labor
contract involving a Palestinian, even those who had obtained the
necessary prior approvals from the ministries concerned,
Palestinians were stunned and started feeling deep concern and
uncertainty. Furthermore, the Passports and Immigration Department
was informed, again via a telephone call, that it may not grant or
renew residency to any Palestinian, irrespective of his profession
or area of practice; this affected all Palestinians, from medical
school professionals to junior technicians.
What were the feelings and reaction of the Palestinian
community?
For a number of reasons these developments were met with combined
feelings of doubt, shock and astonishment, mainly because Colonel
Qadhafi, during his long years in power, had been one of the Arab
leaders who showed the most support for Palestinians and their
cause, and had sponsored and granted assistance to Palestinian
resistance movements. Above all, since Colonel Qadhafi had assumed
power, Palestinians working in Libya enjoyed favorable treatment,
similar to that given to Libyans. At the same time, Palestinians,
whether as a community or resistance movements, had been a prime
and solid ally of Qadhafi's regime. On occasions, Libyan forces
even joined Palestinians in Al-Biqaa valley in Lebanon, and Libya
generously armed Palestinian resistance fighters.
Palestinians in Libya, for the above reasons and more, sought to
find a reasonable explanation for the Libyan actions; they could
find no justification. Palestinians had not committed any political
crime against the Libyan regime and did not adopt any stance that
may have jeopardized, even indirectly, the reputation and position
of Libya. For example, they did not support Arafat's moves or the
Oslo Accords, neither explicitly nor in writing. The contrary is
true, I was able to sense that most Palestinians in Libya opposed
the Oslo Accords.
How did the crisis develop?
The official position of the Libyan government became clear in the
period between mid-December 1994 and mid-February 1995, as the
Libyan government adopted the following measures: (1) Deleting
names of Palestinians from the lists of renewable labor contracts
which were sent by the various ministries to the Labor Ministry;
(2) Returning all new labor contracts which were sent by these
ministries to the Labor Ministry for ratification; (3) Refusing, at
the Passport administration, to grant residency to any Palestinian
requesting a new residency permit or whose residency had expired;
(4) Circulating news that the Libyan government prohibits any
Palestinian entry to Libya; and (5) Preventing any Palestinian who
had left Libya, whether on a business trip or to meet with family
members, from returning, even if his residency permit was valid and
despite the fact that he would still be entitled to receive from
the Libyan government certain labor rights and compensation.
The most crucial element in the rise of tension and evolution of
the crisis came in an interview with Colonel Qadhafi conducted by
Ahmad Al-Hauni, editor in chief of Al Arab (an Arabic newspaper
published in London), in mid-February, 1995. Qadhafi responded to a
question regarding the Palestinian community in Libya by stating
that: “Arafat and the United States, Israel and others declare
that the Palestinian cause has been resolved finally and
exclusively. This is not true, as there are millions of Palestinian
refugees who are still out of their homeland. And as I care about
the Palestinian cause, and in order to achieve the best interest of
Palestinians, I will expel the thirty thousand Palestinians who
currently live in my land, and try to secure their return to Gaza
and Jericho. If Israel would not let them in, while Egypt does not
allow them to pass through its territories, then I shall set a
great camp for them on the Egyptian-Libyan borders” Qadhafi also
added that “all of what I will be doing is for their best interest.
No matter how they suffer, and even if they remain in the camp for
years to come, this would still be for their national interest. And
the whole world would come to the conclusion that the settlement is
a big lie, and that Palestinians are still refugees. I hereby call
on all Arab states hosting Palestinian refugees to act
likewise...”.
As the Colonel's statements are considered government policy in
Libya, Palestinians there could not help but feel concerned about
the thought of having to stay in a camp in the empty desert, with
all the misery and suffering that would bring about, including
depriving their children of the opportunity of seeking education.
The major fear for some of them derived from the fact that they
might not be able to return to any other state. It is hard to
describe the state of chaos and fear that the Palestinian community
in Libya passed through during 1995, and this was compounded by the
fact that the Libyan government, including its agencies and
administrations, acted passively and did not make any statements to
ease the tension. The response Palestinian employees received from
the various public authorities, and the Ministries of Health and
Education regarding their status was: “Nothing new—we did not
receive any information or instructions recently. We hope it turns
out OK.”
A few days later the Colonel, in his speech on the Fateh Revolution
Day (September 1, 1995), expressed his determination to expel
Palestinians and called on Arab States to follow suit, while
covering his arbitrary decision with revolutionary, nationalist and
patriotic rhetoric. It seems that the political pressure coming
from Egypt did not allow the Colonel to proceed with his plans to
expel all 30,000 Palestinians in Libya. For the Palestinians not
formally expelled, being left in Libya without work or income is
equivalent to expelling them to the borders.
Where did the expelled Palestinians go?
Hundreds of Palestinians were expelled during the first stage.
Egypt barred 143 of them from crossing its borders, so they were
practically left in no-man’s land near the Saloum border post while
Libya refused to take them back. Later on, a group of 150
Palestinians, after being stranded for weeks on the Libyan Border,
crossed into Egypt en route to Jordan and the Gaza strip. A second
group of 40 Palestinians reportedly headed for Rafah, on the
Egyptian border with Gaza hoping to enter the
Palestinian-controlled area.
By September 1995 there were thirty-two Palestinians in the
Egyptian-Libyan no-man’s land, thirty-six at the Rafah crossings
and 1,500 in Tubrok Camp, all living in severe conditions and
facing humiliation every day. Furthermore, internal Libyan flights
were conducted twice daily, each carrying 300 Palestinians from
various cities in Libya to the camp at Tubrok, a coastal town in
northern Libya. From September 1995 onwards, the number of
Palestinians in the makeshift camp at Saloum (Al-Awda Camp) varied
from 200 to 600, and maybe more. Most were low-income earners who
had no other country to go after being expelled from Libya.
A number of expelled Palestinians left Libya by sea. Syria sent a
ship to carry more than 600 expelled Palestinians carrying Syrian
documents, after they got stranded on board a ship opposite the
coast of Cyprus, which denied them the right to enter its territory
and did not allow their ship to dock in its ports. Al-Hayat Daily
newspaper reported that 608 Palestinians returned to Syria, while
13 of them carrying Jordanian documents returned to Jordan. Thirty
Palestinians from the ship became trapped after being denied entry
to Cyprus and were offered to be allowed to go back to Libya by
Libyan authorities, which sent a ship for that purpose; however,
they refused to board the ship, and preferred to stay where they
were. Lebanon on its part turned back several hundred Palestinians
who arrived from Libya on two ships in late August 1995. Their
entry was made subject to obtaining an entry visa, even for those
holding Lebanese travel documents.
On October 26, 1995, Colonel Qadhafi decided to suspend his
decision to expel Palestinians for three to six months, citing the
need to give students a chance to finish the academic year as a
justification for this move. The Colonel explicitly stated,
however, that upon the lapse of that period, the world would
witness thousands of Palestinians leaving Libya, with the aim of
forcing the international community to recognize the Palestinian
refugees’ right to return to their homeland. During this period
approximately 200 evicted Palestinians remained waiting at the
Al-Awda Camp.
In May 1996, and after the expiration of the aforementioned period,
the Libyan authorities re-embarked on an extensive process to expel
the Palestinians who were still in Libya. The number of
Palestinians living in Libya went down from 30,000 before the
crisis erupted in September 1995, to 17,000 in May 1996. Rumor had
it that the Libyan authorities’ plan was to group together all
Palestinians in Libya and start expelling them according to the
dates when they finish their academic year. It was also said that
Libya has started to cleanup and reorganize the Al-Awda Camp.
The United Nations agencies undertook to provide humanitarian aid
to the expelled Palestinians who were stuck in the middle of the
desert, as evidenced by UNRWA’s press release no. HQ/7/95 of
September 13, 1995, and the joint statement on Forced Movement
of Palestinians from Libya, which was issued by the UNHCR and
UNRWA on September 29, 1995. While it was understood that these
matters were within the jurisdiction of the sovereign states
concerned the two press releases emphasized that the humanitarian
dimension of this developing situation called for the immediate
attention. According to the first press release, and as a result of
the Libyan action, several countries in UNRWA’s area of operations
started imposing restrictions on the entry of Palestinians, even on
those who had right of residence.
What were the conditions like for the Palestinians in
Al-Awda Camp?
As the winter of 1995 approached, expelled Palestinians feared
diseases which normally spread in an area where the weather
fluctuated between heavy rainfall and a scarcity of water. By
mid-October, 1995, several children of the stranded Palestinians
were sick and two people were reported dead. As the camp was hit by
torrential rains, floods and sandstorms, conditions were
deteriorating and hygiene was poor.
From a humanitarian point of view the expelled Palestinians lived
in severe conditions compounded by the fact that the UNRWA was
unable to provide refugees with food or health services on a
regular basis since it operates neither in Libya nor in Egypt and
because Palestinians are excluded from the 1951 Convention Relating
to the Status of Refugees, meaning that they were prevented from
receiving UNHCR’s full support. The camp was in an area with a high
density of land-mines planted during the Egyptian-Libyan
hostilities of 1975-1980, in addition to a large population of
snakes and scorpions. The camp site did not have sources of water
and the residents often had to use their modest savings to buy food
from Msaed, the closest Libyan town. The camp residents lived in
tents threatened to be torn down during the winter because of heavy
rain and flooding. In sum, the living conditions of refugees in the
Al-Awda Camp were below any humanly acceptable level.
What efforts were made to pressure the Libyan authorities
and help the Palestinians?
From the start, none of the powers, parties and revolutionary and
Arab-national personalities agreed with Qadhafi’s theory or with
the resulting measures that targeted Palestinians. Palestinian
resistance-movement leaders opposing the Oslo Agreement exhausted
all reasonable efforts to convince their ally, Colonel Qadhafi, to
give-up his strict stance. The Colonel remained unmoved and instead
requested them to back up his decision and to support his ideas. A
high level delegation representing the coalition of ten Palestinian
factions opposed to Arafat arrived in Tripoli to hold talks with
Libyan officials on Qadhafi’s decision to deport thousands of
Palestinians but to no avail. The newly established Palestinian
Authority submitted a memo to the League of Arab States, requesting
that the Palestinians not pay the price for Libya’s official
position on the peace accords with Israel, and called on Libya to
respect the 1965 Protocol for Organizing the Residence of
Palestinians in Arab countries which granted refugees the same
rights to residency and employment as those granted to citizens of
hosting Arab states.
The secretary general of the Arab League, Dr. Ahmad Esmat
Abdel-Majeed, and Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, tried
their best to convince Qadhafi that his idea about returning
Palestinians to their homes was not practical and would result in
nothing but more disaster. Expectedly, the governments of Syria,
Lebanon and Jordan did not respond positively to the Colonel’s call
to expel Palestinians hosted in these countries to the Palestinian
borders. If the Colonel was attempting to utilize the Palestinian
card to lift the pressure he had been subjected to or ease the
embargo imposed upon Libya, then this card failed and did not
accomplish any of its goals. It has been indisputably proved that
30,000 Palestinians means nothing to the Western world, especially
the United States.
Perhaps the most effective resistance came from the evicted
Palestinians themselves. Under these inhuman conditions, the
expelled Palestinians stranded in the Saloum camp had to react,
especially given the apparent failure of the diplomatic efforts and
humanitarian calls. News items told about expelled Palestinians
placing their tents near the Egyptian Saloum-borders security
point, expelled Palestinians protesting on the two sides of the
highway linking Egypt with Libya and on occasions actually closing
the international highway and threatening to close it again and
again, and about them entering hunger and medicine strikes. It was
made clear by the residents of the Al-Awda camp, that death would
be better than this continuing saga of endless human suffering.
How did the crisis eventually end?
In a surprise move in January 1997, the Libyan authorities offered
to take back Palestinians refugees, and further dispatched a
Palestinian delegation to the tent camp to convince the refugees to
return; the refuges hurled sticks and stones at them and accused
the delegation of being Libyan agents "who wanted them to go back
without guarantees." The refugees sought written guarantees that
they would return to their jobs and homes. The Libyan move to
return Palestinians was issued by parliamentary committees, which
emphasized the Palestinian people's right to return to their
homeland and the fact that since such return is impossible for the
time being, the expelled Palestinians were offered to return to
Libya. Faced with the refugees’ constant refusal to return to Libya
without written guarantees, the Libyan authorities sought the
mediation of the Palestinian Authority, but it was made clear by
the refugees themselves that they were not planning to return
without receiving the said guarantees first; since they have no
other Arab state to return to. Any return to Libya without securing
houses and jobs for them would prove meaningless.
The agony and suffering of the Palestinian refugees who were
stranded on the Egyptian-Libyan border came to an end in a rather
unexpected way. After spending two years in the desert, Libyan
soldiers forcefully evacuated the Al-Awda camp, and ordered
Palestinians residing in it (250 of them) to take buses to Tubrok
while carrying all their personal belongings. A UNHCR spokesperson
in Cairo expressed his satisfaction with the latest development and
declared that "evacuating the camp was the only possible
solution."
What has happened to the Palestinians who left
Libya?
The Palestinians from Gaza who had no residence permit in the Gaza
Strip were stuck in Libya and are still there today. Those
Palestinians who had residence permits in Lebanon and Syria
suffered the least as they were able to return to these countries
and, to my knowledge, continue a fairly normal existence. A number
of professionals who I know well ended up finding well-paid jobs in
the Gulf, while a still smaller number emigrated to Europe and
Canada. But the majority simply looked for a living in Syria and
Lebanon.
Although the change in Libyan policy brought an end to the
suffering of hundreds of Palestinians, it is important to keep in
mind that thousands of Palestinians had already been expelled by
that time and were not offered the chance to return to their jobs,
especially since by then they were living in other Arab countries,
mainly Egypt, Syria and Jordan. The world media was unable to
clearly specify the number of expelled Palestinians; what may be
true, though, is that their number may be as high as 15,000 of the
30,000 Palestinians who once constituted the Palestinian community
in Libya.
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*This interview is based on an article in The Palestine Yearbook of
International Law, Vo1 IX, 1996/97 p363-374, a longer article in
Arabic in the Journal of Palestine Studies (Majallat Al-Dirasat
Al-Filastinyah, Issue 29, Winter 1997 and correspondence with the
author.
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**Bassem Sirhan is a Professor of Sociology, a Palestinian writer
and a refugee in Lebanon. Professor Sirhan earned his PhD from
American University in Washington D.C and has taught in Libya, in
the Western Mountain University - College of Education (Yefren)
from Sept. 1992 to July 1995 and has lived and worked in Lebanon,
Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. His research focuses on exiled
Palestinian communities in Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait.