“We reject the rule of militias in our capital, Tripoli,” Sharksi says. “And we are also opposing the attempt
by Haftar to impose a military state. We are a third voice.” They include lawyers, labourers, students, and
engineers. They hold quiet meetings with each other and try to spread the word, occasionally appearing on
one of Libya’s satellite television channels.
Anti-war movements are something of a rarity in an Arab world still enamoured with glorifications of armed
forces and fighting men. Organising protests in eastern Libya’s tightly controlled streets is considered too
risky.
Much of the group’s work remains underground, organising discreet meetings and launching hashtag
campaigns, including one called “war is not a solution”. The group lacks even a Facebook page, worried that
Haftar’s henchmen in the east would use it to track down and detain activists.
“There is without question some people who are not agreeing with this military intervention in Tripoli,”
says Hassan Tatanaki, a Libyan businessman and philanthropist. “In Cyrenaica, it’s not so easy for them to
say what they believe. It’s a very controlled environment. There are some people who have been
imprisoned.” Dissent is easier in western Libya because of the competition between rival groups. “There
are too many powers running it, so it feels looser,” he says.
Sharksi was forced to flee Tunisia after he posted a video criticising Haftar’s Tripoli offensive that went viral
and struck a chord with Libyans. “Why do you destroy our dreams and aspirations for a stable country?” he
said in the 5-minute clip, which he posted to Facebook on 19 April, 15 days after Haftar launched his battle
to take Tripoli. “Haven’t we had enough bloodshed, enough killing? We don’t want another war.”
He chastised eastern Libyans for supporting Haftar’s grab for the capital, now nearing four months with
over 1,100 dead and tens of thousands displaced. He also criticised western Libyans for believing the worst
about their eastern compatriots. “Everyone in the western region heard that there were calls for massive
demonstrations [in Benghazi] to support the war in Tripoli,” he said. “In these demonstrations, not even 5
or 10 people turned up. The silent majority did not participate and rejects this war.”
Ordinary Libyans are increasingly uneasy about the situation of their country, but unable to speak out, with
both camps tightly controlling media
The threats came quickly and became increasingly violent. He was blasted as a liar and a traitor. “I swear
that you are a liar,” said one commentator. “May god damn you!”
“We will kill you,” another warned. Some were from random yahoos. But others came from Facebook
accounts with postings and religious sentiments suggesting they were tied to the Saudi-influenced armed
extremist militias partnered with Haftar.
Less than a week after he made the video, he wound up in neighbouring Tunisia, where many Libyans have
fled to escape their country’s continuous armed conflicts. He was right to be intimidated.
On 17 July, Haftar’s henchmen allegedly abducted Libyan activist and former lawmaker Seham Sergiwa,
shooting her husband and 14-year-old son during an attack on her home a day after she criticised the war in
a television appearance.
Haftar, backed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia and France, launched his operation to
seize control of the capital from the United Nations-brokered government on 4 April, promising his
benefactors a quick victory. But militias in the west united against him, garnering the support of Turkey.
The conflict has now become bogged down in a stalemate on the capital’s outskirts.