Anjali Kamat: Post-Gaddafi, Libyans Confront Militarization, Reconciliation and Foreign Role

DemocracyNow.org - As Libya's former rebels begin to govern the country after the ouster of longtime leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, we look at those who remain. Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat has just spent 10 days crossing Libya, speaking with fighters, former political prisoners, journalists, and advisors to the new government. "Eventhough Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unknown and his sons whereabouts remain unknown, in a sense, for most people we spoke to in Libya, it seemed like he had already passed into the dust of history," says Kamat. "There's a real sense of rebirth, a feeling their lives are starting anew." Still, challenges remain. Kamat says the National Transitional Council must determine "how to bring in these weapons and what to do with the proliferation of the rebel units, the armed brigades that have formed all over the country that help defend cities and towns across the country." Another unresolved issue is national reconciliation, and the re-emergence of the country's Muslim community. One point is clear, says Kamat, "Nobody wants foreign troops on the ground, no one wants bases, and no one wants the private military contractors, either."

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