11-01-13 – logements
11-01-16 - Ahram Online -- Libya protest over housing enters its third day
Libya protest over housing enters its third day
Mohamed Abdel-Baky, Sunday 16 Jan 2011
Frustrations over corruption and incompetence in government housing schemes for poor families spills over into protests across the country
Protests in several cities in Libya continued for a third day over the late completion of government subsided housing.
Last night hundreds of people broke into vacant houses and took over about 800 vacant units in Bani Walid city (180 kilometres south east from the capital, Tripoli).
Several activists on social network sites reported that over 600 units in similar projects in Benghazi were taken over yesterday by protesters that have been waiting for years to move in to their homes.
The Libyan government has run subsided housing projects for poor families in several cities for years. However local authorities in some projects postponed the delivery of hundreds of housing units to the owners who have already signed contracts and paid most of the installments.
A statement released by the National Front for Salvation of Libya, an opposition movement established in 1981, described the frustration of the protesters in Bani Walid: “Bani Walid has no basic services; thousands of people are without houses and the local authority is corrupted, it only delivers services with bribes. Nothing will make Bani Walid calm but freedom, justice and transparency.”
Witnesses said that hundreds of policemen were observing the protests but did not intervene, even when hundreds of people broke in to some buildings under construction.
Information and videos posted on Twitter and YouTube show hundreds of Libyans protesting in the east of the country in the cities of Bidaa, Darna and Sabhaa late Saturday.
Qourina, an independent news website, reported several lootings during the protests in Darana city.
Qourina also reported that two of its reporters were beaten by protesters on Saturday.
There are no reports of injuries or clashes with the police.
Al Jazeera TV network reported that police have been instructed by the government to avoid any clashes with protesters and to only protect government buildings and contain the protesters' anger
The government response came in a statement on Saturday by the Revolutionary Committee, an influential policy making body within the government, that described the protests as “demagogy” that undermine the legitimate authority.
“We have formed a committee to investigate every complaint, all the problems will be solved soon through the legitimate authorities,” the statement added.
Libyan state media did not mention the protests; however the Revolutionary Committee's statement condemning the protests was reported on television.
11-01-16 - Al-Masry Al-Youm -- Libyans protest over delayed subsidized housing units
Libyans protest over delayed subsidized housing units
Sun, 16/01/2011 - 18:30
Dozens of Libyan citizens staged demonstrations on Sunday in the Libyan port city of Darnah to protest a delay in the delivery of subsidized housing units by the government, independent Libyan daily Oya reported on Sunday.
During the protest, which took place outside the Darnah Real Estate Bank, protesters demanded their rights, repeatedly changing “Our rights, our rights."
Security forces, meanwhile, blocked the street leading to the bank in anticipation of possible rioting.
Over the past three days, hundreds of local residents have reportedly broken into vacant government-subsidized housing units in a number of cities throughout Libya.
According to previous statements made by the director of the Darnah Real Estate Bank, over 2000 housing units have been broken into since Thursday evening by residents who have waited for years for new homes. Several incidents of looting were also reported during the protests in Darnah.
Delivery of the housing units was reportedly postponed by local authorities, despite the fact that the owners had already signed contracts and paid most of the installments.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
11-01-16 - Al Bab -- Trouble in Libya
Just two days after the overthrow of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, videos are circulating of disturbances in neighbouring Libya. Needless to say, this is causing a good deal of excitement on Twitter.
Colonel Gaddafi has been in power for almost 42 years, compared with a mere 23 for Ben Ali. In his second-to-last speech as president, Ben Ali referred to Gaddafi as "my dear brother" and thanked him for support. In a speech reported by the official Libyan news agency on Saturday, Gaddafi reciprocated:
"I am very pained by what is happening in Tunisia ... Tunisia now lives in fear ... What is this for? To change Zine al-Abidine? Hasn't he told you he would step down after three years? Be patient for three years ..."
Almanara, a Libyan opposition website which appears to have Islamist leanings, has posted three videos of protesters in the city of al-Bayda. There are also a few more on YouTube and al-Jazeera has a report in Arabic.
The facts are still rather unclear, but Almanara says the demonstrators clashed with security forces, threw stones at a government building and set fire to one of its offices. The protesters were demanding "decent housing and dignified life", according to the website. Provision of housing appears to be the main issue and there are reports of people taking over apartments and squatting in them.
Will it develop into anything bigger? A month ago, I would have said the likelihood of that was zero. Post-Tunisia, though, it's difficult to be quite so sure..
We can expect to see many more incidents like this over the coming months in various Arab countries. Inspired by the Tunisian uprising, people are going to be more assertive about their grievances and start probing, to see how far they can push the authorities. In the light of Tunisia we can also expect a tendency, each time disturbances happen, to suggest (or hope) that they are the start of some new Arab revolution. The reality, though, is that almost all of them will quickly fizzle out or get crushed. But one day – who knows when? – another of them will grow wings and bring down a regime.
Contrary to what many people imagine, protests and even large-scale riots are not uncommon in the Arab countries. They occur mostly in marginalised regions or among marginalised sections of the population and, normally, they pose no great threat to the regime.
Last month – one day before the trouble started in Tunisia – there was a Sunni-versus-Shia riot in the Saudi city of Medina. Eight hundred people are said to have taken part; windows were smashed and dozens of cars damaged or destroyed. Outside the kingdom, hardly anyone noticed.
Earlier this month, Maan in Jordan witnessed several days of
disturbances which were attributed to a labour dispute and/or inter-tribal violence.
In Yemen, meanwhile, the regime faces almost permanent armed rebellion from one quarter or another – though it somehow survives.
The tricky part is judging the significance of such protests when they occur. One test is whether they are outside the norm for the country concerned: ten dead in a tribal battle with the Yemeni army would be no big deal, but the same thing in Oman, next door, would be hugely significant.
Applying the "Tunisia test", the following are also useful pointers for distinguishing minor from major protests:
1. Disturbances sustained for more than a few days.
2. Disturbances steadily growing in strength and spreading to other areas, especially those areas not traditionally regarded as marginalised.
3. Focus of protests shifting strongly from the original grievances to a more generalised critique of the regime.
4. Regime starting to show signs of inability to reassert control.
11-01-16 - Archives du Jura Libertaire -- Troubles du logement en Libye
Troubles du logement en Libye
Publié le 16 janvier 2011 par la Rédaction
Après la Tunisie, la Libye ?
Des centaines de familles prennent d’assaut des appartements vides. Chaos indescriptible dans toute la Libye sous l’œil indifférent de la police.
Tout a commencé dans la nuit du jeudi 13 au vendredi 14. Des témoins nous parlent au téléphone de la prise d’assaut d’un nouveau complexe immobilier situé à Tripoli sur la route de l’aéroport. MEt évoque, tard dans la nuit, le long cortège de voitures transportant des familles pauvres vers cette zone résidentielle.
Vendredi matin, le quotidien libyen Oya, proche de Sayf al-Islam, confirme les faits et parle aussi du quartier Ghawt ashaal, à proximité de l’usine de tabac. Ce qui a perturbé le trafic sur le périphérique. Mais des témoins disent que le mouvement a gagné l’avenue an-Nasr ainsi que d’autres quartiers résidentiels.
Benghazi, Bayda…
De son côté, Libya alyoum rapportait que des projets immobiliers neufs ont été envahis à Benghazi, à Bayda et dans d’autres villes. À Benghazi, c’est le quartier al-Fateh qui était visé avec ses 800 logements, et le quartier al-Qawarisha.
À Bayda, ce sont 600 appartements qui sont occupés dans un complexe construit par une compagnie chinoise pour le compte d’une société de bienfaisance.
À Darna enfin, ce sont des centaines de Libyens qui ont pris d’assaut le projet de la société coréenne WAN à l’ouest de la ville, dans le quartier Bomsafer où se construisent environ 2000 appartements.
La police passive
Partout, on signale la passivité des forces de l’ordre. Elles observent les exactions et les pillages sans réagir.
Libya alyoum révèle ce samedi que les postes de police refusent d’enregistrer les plaintes des propriétaires lésés, sous le prétexte qu’ils n’en avaient pas reçu l’ordre du gouvernement.
Kadhafi a-t-il peur ?
Il est clair que la peur d’une contagion tunisienne a incité les dirigeants à laisser faire sans réprimer. D’ailleurs, on dit les Libyens plus violents de tempérament que les Tunisiens.
Le plus incroyable c’est que c’est Kadhafi lui-même qui a mis le feu à la poudre. Selon Oya, le dirigeant libyen a demandé, au cours de la séance matinale du Congrès populaire, jeudi 13 janvier, la remise de logements à 2400 familles démunies. Il répondait à une réclamation d’un membre du Congrès en faveur de familles déplacées de leur bidonville au profit d’un projet immobilier moderne.
Il s’agirait surtout d’expatriés libyens en Afrique noire.
Deux jours avant, Kadhafi avait supprimé les taxes sur les produits alimentaires importés…
Est-ce trop tard ? En tout cas, ce samedi, Libya alyoum parle d’une situation confuse dans toute la Libye.
Middle East Transparent, 15 janvier 2011.
11-02-21 - The Daily Telegraph -- Hundreds of Libyans storm worksite, foreigners hurt
Hundreds of Libyans storm worksite, foreigners hurt
From: AFP
February 21, 2011 6:45PM
SOME 500 Libyans stormed and looted a South Korean construction site west of Tripoli today injuring South Korean and Bangladeshi workers, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
It said about 15 Bangladeshis were hurt along with three South Koreans when the mob invaded the site about 30 kilometres west of Tripoli. Two of the Bangladeshis were seriously injured with stab wounds.
The confrontation ended around noon Seoul time and the Libyans left the site, a ministry official said in a briefing.
There are about 1,600 Bangladeshi workers at the site.
"Computers and some heavy machinery were stolen but we do not know how much the damage will cost at the moment," said the official, Baik Joo-Hyeon.
"We don't know if this is directly related to the civil unrest in the country," he said of today's attack, the latest of several on South Korean construction sites in Libya.
About 200 people in the eastern coastal town of Darnah invaded a South Korean-run construction site last Thursday and set fire to a dormitory for Korean workers near the site on Friday.
The ministry said the offices of some South Korean companies had been looted since Saturday.
South Korean companies have worked on hundreds of construction projects in Libya since 1978. The ministry said there are currently about 1,400 South Koreans in the country.
On January 14-15, hundreds of Libyans raided four South Korean-run construction sites, destroying heavy equipment and setting vehicles and other facilities on fire.
The foreign ministry said at the time the Libyan government had offered compensation. That riot was reportedly prompted by a senior Tripoli official's remarks that homes being built by foreign firms belong to the Libyan people and that they have the right to live in those homes.