Pitt Grad, former Libyan prime minister reflects on Arab Spring

Mahmoud Jibril, Pitt graduate and former Libyan prime minister, spoke regarding the role of youth in shaping global politics during a University Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday in Alumni Hall’s J.W. Connolly Ballroom.

As youth throughout the world continue to become tech-savvy and connect to the outside world, they also become more acutely aware of the abuses perpetrated by their own governments. This culminated in the Arab Spring, which began in December 2010.

“When that young man in Tunisia burned himself, that was the tipping point, but it was not the cause,” Jibril said, referring to one youth who went to extremes to draw attention to the oppressive regime in his country.

Jibril, who was the chairman of executive board of the National Transitional Council, discussed the role of the youth and of social media, as well as the outlook for a newly democratic Libya. He also spoke on the dramatic changes that have taken place across the Middle East over the last two years along with the challenges the region will face heading into the future.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg introduced Jibril at the invitation-only luncheon, stating that he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate — both in political science — from Pitt in 1980 and 1985, respectively. He outlined Jibril’s career, explaining that the former prime minister has also been involved in development projects throughout the world.

Jibril resigned from the position of interim prime minister after Moammar Gadhafi’s death a year ago. Jibril currently heads the National Forces Alliance, composed of more than 60 different political and miscellaneous organizations.

Jibril began the presentation by recalling a 2005 interview with the Al-Jazeera program “Frontiers,” during which he discussed the future of the Middle East.

“My argument was that the future of the Arab world was going to be made by the dot-com generation,” Jibril said.

The younger generation, Jibril said, enjoys a level of connectivity to the rest of world that previous generations have not reached. In earlier years, the public in Libya and in other authoritarian nations relied on state-controlled media.

The discontent among the youth culminated in the Arab Spring.

However, Jibril said that once many of the oppressive regimes were toppled, political elites — rather than the youth who initiated the uprisings through their demonstrations — seized power. He said he believes that youth need to take a more active role in politics in emerging democracies and that many are starting to hold positions in the National Forces Alliance.

Ibrahim Fares, a law student from the West Bank city of Ramallah, said he thought that Jibril demonstrated his belief in freedom and democracy during Wednesday’s remarks. Fares said that although he has followed Jibril through the media, he was still excited to see the politician in person for the first time.

Fares drew a contrast between Jibril and the ruling party in another nascent Arab democracy to illustrate his alignment with Jibril’s statements regarding youth in politics.

“In Egypt, when the revolution succeeded, the Muslim Brotherhood said, ‘We are the rulers,’” Fares said, “but Jibril is still thinking about the young generation.”

During his talk, Jibril also explained a plan he called Libya Vision 2025, pointing out that Libya could serve as a bridge between Europe and Africa. While western Europe will suffer from a deficit in skilled labor, the population of Africa will continue to grow. Libya’s role in this shifting world could be that of a hub in which many potential workers from the rest of Africa could be trained to work in western Europe. Jibril added that Libya’s oil wealth, long Mediterranean coastline and professional workforce provide it with advantages for economic development.

But Libya’s path forward might be rocky, he was quick to add.

Jibril gave credit to the number of armed factions who fought against Gadhafi; however, many continue to retain weapons and operate outside the control of the central government.

In order to illustrate his point that the Libyan government needs to gain legitimacy throughout the country before it can function, Jibril said that the minister of defense Osama al-Juwali was stopped by militia forces and barred from entering the Libyan city of Bani Walid.

Jibril said the sees no alternative to the various factions of Libya working together.

“Either we have to have this dialogue, or we have to have this dialogue,” he said. “There is no other choice.”

Following the conclusion of Jibril’s remarks, Nordenberg presented him with a metal engraving that depicted the Cathedral of Learning as well as a medallion that displayed the Cathedral on one side and the faces of William Pitt and Hugh Henry Brackenridge on the other.

Speaking after the event, Jibril reiterated that his alliance prioritizes cooperation over drawing a party line.

“Development is a knowledge-oriented issue,” he said. “It is not an ideology-oriented issue.”

Abir El Shaban, a Benghazi, Libya, native who currently studies in the school of education at Washington State University, visited Pittsburgh to attend the annual American Middle Eastern Institute conference, held Tuesday at both the Fairmont Hotel Downtown and the Carnegie Music Hall.

El Shaban said she saw Jibril as an ideal Libyan leader. But she also admitted that many groups within Libya vie against Jibril and the National Forces Alliance for power, deeming them secularists to discourage the Libyan people from supporting them.

However, El Shaban, who intends to return home after the completion of her studies, believes that in a nearly homogeneous Muslim country like Libya, development, not ideology, is the main priority.

“We do not need somebody to to remind us we are Muslim,” she said. “We need somebody to take our hand and lead us to the rest of the world, and Jibril is the man to do it.”