Libya: unacceptable hateful provocation against the Amazighs
A video posted on social media on February 20, 2025, clearly shows police officers and individuals spreading an Amazigh flag on the roadway, inviting motorists to drive over it. This happened in the Al-Andalus neighbourhood of Tripoli, which is heavily populated by Amazighs.
This deliberate act of desecration of the Amazigh emblem and expression of hatred towards the Amazighs shocked and outraged all the Amazighs in Libya and far beyond. Several demonstrations bringing together thousands of angry Amazighs broke out in Tripoli and the Amazigh territories, particularly in Adrar Nefussa and Zwara. The Amazighs, who recalled that this is not the first time that racists have attacked the Amazigh flag, demanded an apology from the head of the Tripoli government and legal proceedings against the perpetrators of the despicable act of aggression against their flag.
The Amazigh World Congress (CMA) strongly condemns the heinous act perpetrated by pan-Arabist groups and racist police officers and expresses its full support for the Amazigh people of Libya. The CMA urges the head of the national unity government to:
- Follow up on the demands expressed by the Amazighs of Libya,
- Dismiss the Minister of the Interior from his duties,
- Criminally prosecute the perpetrators of the act of desecration of the Amazigh flag and dismiss from their duties the police officers involved in this act,
- Conduct an independent investigation to identify the officials concerned within the hierarchy of the police administration to punish them,
- Take legislative and administrative measures to ban anti-Amazigh racism in Libya definitively.
The intolerable act of offence to the Amazigh emblem does not seem to be anecdotal. It testifies to the hateful attitude of the racist Arab-nationalist component of Libyan society and public officials towards the Amazighs. The government must crack down quickly and in an exemplary manner to prevent fanatics from sowing further divisions and conflicts in an already very wounded country.
The CMA recommends that the Amazighs of Libya remain vigilant and take protective measures to protect themselves against all threats.
Paris, 10/02/2975 – 22/02/2025
The Board of Amazigh World Congress