TAMAZGHA

Statement by the High Council of Libyan Amazigh

Masin — 2013-07-13T14:16:28Z

On the grounds of the final statement issued by the forum of Libyan Amazigh constitutional election on Saturday 12/01/2013, in which the Local Councils which organized the forum have concluded - Without prevarication but with great impartiality - That the only constitution that we will accept is the one that we and all Libyans recognize globally on an equal footing. It is a constitution which will protect us and that we are going to protect and which will enable us to defend our lives.

Any constitution that does not respond to these aspirations will be illegitimate, will not be recognized by us and we refuse to be represented by its institutions.

On the grounds decisions of the paragraph 2 of article 3 of the Constitutional Declaration stipulates that a constituent body will be elected by a free referendum and direct - which excludes members of the General National Congress (GNC) - to develop a permanent constitution for the country in a manner similar to the committee 60 which has been formed to draft the constitution of independence in 1951 ;
Taking into account the fact that the GNC will fix the criteria to elect the committee, while taking account of the need for representing all the layers of the Libyan company with the cultural and linguistic identities ;
The High Council of Libyan Amazigh put forward proposals to the GNC regarding the mechanisms to activate the aforementioned paragraph on the representation of the sections of society with cultural and language specificities in a clear way which will enable them to realize their objectives. This can be done by associating these components of society in taking decisions concerning these specificities, as an exception to the majority decision-making rule. Otherwise, such representation will be meaningless.

The committee which has been formed in accordance with the GNC ruling number 30 in 2013, in order to prepare a draft to elect a constituent body, has recommended in its report that these components of the Libyan society should benefit from adequate representation and that the mechanism of the work of the constituent body should be based on consensus. The committee stipulated in its draft law that consensus should be the mechanism in decision making regarding the constitutional rights of the components of the Libyan society.

While we oppose the committee's recommendations for failing to activate the aforementioned Constitutional Declaration ruling and for the insignificant representation of the Amazigh people, the worst came from the GNC which objected to the committee's proposal and insisted on its deep-hatred for Libya's identity and authenticity through its racist and tribal spirit which betray the principles of 17 Febr We have repeatedly made it clear that we aspire to a constitution which will protect the basic rights of all citizens and remind them of their duties. This can only be achieved by embracing the concepts of citizenship, safeguarding human rights principles, protecting freedoms, guaranteeing free expression and the rights of minorities, respecting ideological differences and political pluralism.

We have repeatedly made it clear that we aspire to a constitution which will protect the basic rights of all citizens and remind them of their duties. This can only be achieved by embracing the concepts of citizenship, safeguarding human rights principles, protecting freedoms, guaranteeing free expression and the rights of minorities, respecting ideological differences and political pluralism. As the GNC had already insisted on the formal nature of the representation of minorities, and as we have never broke our promise, we swear to God that we will not violate our oath to our homeland and we will not go back on our promise to our martyrs. Therefore, participation in the 60-member committee and its outcome do not concern the Aamzigh people. Accordingly, the High Council of Libyan Amazigh announces the following :
First : The Amazigh people will boycott the election of the Constituent body.

Second : The Amazigh people will withdraw their members in the GNC.

The High Council of Libyan Amazigh,
Issued in Tripoli on 10 July, 2013.

French version of a statement
Version française de la déclaration

Translation from arabic by Mohand Salah TAHI.

MNLA's Political Platform

Masin — 2012-10-03T10:43:32Z

I. Preamble

In this platform, the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) puts forward the reasons which compelled the Azawad people to resort to the use of force so that their voice will be heard. They are convinced that only the independence of the Azawad will present an objective, a realistic and a lasting solution which will bring an end to the conflict with the Malian state.

After presenting its historical, political, geographical, human, cultural and security arguments, the MNLA presents its vision in order to bring about a lasting political solution to the conflict.

* The MNLA hopes to convince Mali to acknowledge that the independence of the Azawad represents a great opportunity for peace, development and peaceful co-existence which will benefit Mali in its endeavour to establish a modern state.
* The movement hopes to convince the international community to understand and support the legitimate struggle of the Azawad people and to spare no effort so that justice will be rendered to the suffering Azawad people.

It urges the international community to spare no effort to put a stop to the blatant and malicious interference by some states, and to help in solving the conflict.

The MNLA also urges the international community to direct its efforts to eradicate the threats presented by Islamist terrorists and drug-traffickers not only against the Azawad but also against the whole Sahel region.

II. Introduction

Since Mali's independence in 1960, the Azawad people - the Tuareg and Moors in particular - have been subjected to humiliation, harassment, massacres and genocides which only received timid disapproval by the international community. Being stigmatized and the unfortunate victims of illiteracy and injustice, the Azawad people had no choice but to revolt, leading to their mass exodus to neighbouring countries.

Constantly, the Malian media and the country's political statements abound in cliches and stereotypes when dealing with the issue of the Azawad population.

Any attempt by the Azawad people to air their grievances would provoke angry reactions by the Malian media, political parties and intellectuals to justify their marginalization. This would be followed by massacres and flagrant violations of their human rights perpetrated by the Malian state and its army.

While encouraging conflicts among the components of the Azawad population - setting Moors against Tuaregs, Tuaregs against Songhays or Fulas - the Malian authorities then categorize them into "good" and "bad" citizens. Such reoccurring discourse ended up in convincing ordinary Malians that the Azawad people can only be bad citizens.
Since the country's independence, everything has been done to persuade the Malians that they form two groups : Those of the south who dominate and to whom the state owes everything, and those of the north who must be assimilated, subdued or disappear.

This was how the Azawad people were forced in 1960 - against their will - to become Malians. Since then they have been treated by the state as second-class citizens and became the subject of extortion and massacres.

According to the French colonial administration sources, in 1960 the Tuareg population was estimated at 500,000 people. The 1998 census in Mali referred to less than 400.000 Tuaregs.

How can anyone explain scientifically such demographic decline of the Tuareg population despite the fact that Mali records one of the highest population growth in Africa ? The country's population increased from 3,000,000 in 1960 to 15.000.000 in 2010.

After more than 50 years of the obvious failure of governance in Mali during which the Azawad people have been denied justice, the latter had no option other than claiming the universal right of legitimate defence, including taking up arms against the illegitimate state of Mali.
Opposition to a regime which flouts basic freedoms and threatens human life is one of the main principles of the international conventions since the 18th century. Accordingly, the Azawad people assert the right to refer to the provisions of Article 2 of the 26 August 1789 Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Citizens, which was inspired by the 4 July 1776 Declaration of the American independence.

Of the four natural rights, the declaration included the right of "resistance to oppression". This was repeated in the 24 July 1793 Declaration of Human Rights and the Rights of Citizens. Its Article 33 states that "resistance to oppression is the consequence of other human rights".

Meanwhile, the provisions of Article 35 of the latter declaration state that "when a government violates the rights of people, rebellion is - for the people and for every faction of the people - the most sacred of rights and the most indispensable of duties". This can only legitimize the struggle of the Azawad people.

Given the nightmare they have been living for more than 50 years, the Azawad people have no option other than to recover their territory in its entirety and to decide their own destiny.

III. Azawad National Liberation Movement

The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) is a political and military organization without tribal, ethnic, cultural or religious affiliation. Formed in November 2011, the movement was born out of the merger of the Azawad National Movement (MNA), founded on 1 November 2010 in Timbuktu, the Northern Mali Tuareg Alliance (ATNM) and a faction of the Democratic Alliance for Change (ADC) formed on 23 May 2006.

The former fighters of the earlier uprisings of 1963 and 1990 - including those of the diaspora and fighters who joined the Malian armed forces within the framework of the peace agreements of 1990 and 2006 - also joined the coalition which would found the present movement.

Embraced by various components of the Azawad people (Tuaregs, Songhays, Moors and Fulas), the MNLA was soon joined by intellectuals, tribal leaders and elected officials of the Azawad.
The MNLA continues the struggle pursued by the Azawad people since the end of the 1940s when our people realized that the colonial France had chosen to shape their destiny in the hands of the former colony of French Sudan, which became the Republic of Mali in 1960.
In 1957 and 1958, tribal leaders, notables and scholars of all the components of the Azawad people, sent messages to French President General de Gaulle to openly express their desire to proclaim their own independence away from future Mali.

As soon as it was formed, the MNLA opted for dialogue and a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Living up to its principles, the movement approached the Malian state and other players of the international community in order to propose solutions that would avoid war and to engage in negotiations to restore peace to the Azawad territory. However, all our calls for a political dialogue were rejected by the Malian regime.

IV. Our land the Azawad

We will fight to liberate the whole of our territory to which the authorities in Mali refer by numbers of administrative regions (Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu) or simply "northern Mali".

The name Azawad (which means basin in the Tuareg dialect of Tamazight - Tamashagh) is an ancient name. The name was well known in the first sketches of maps of the central Sahara drawn by Arab and European explorers well before colonial penetration.
At the end of the 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Niger's Tuareg leaders politically established the name in their correspondence with General de Gaulle in order to demand the independence of their territory like other French colonies in Africa.

Since then, all Tuareg uprisings (1963, 1990, 2006, 2010), including that of 2012 led by the MNLA, have used the name Azawad. The 11 April 1992 peace agreement between the Unified Movements and Fronts of the Azawad (MFUA) and the Malian government established this name.

The Azawad territory covers an area of 932,490 square kilometres. Our country's geography, climate, economy and social and cultural life are different from those of Mali. It shares its eastern and northern borders with Algeria, northwestern borders with Mauritania, western borders with Mali and southern borders with Niger and Burkina Faso.
The population of Azawad is estimated at 3 million, of whom 50 per cent live in exile. As a result of repression, the Tuareg and Moor populations, which represent some 60 per cent of the population, were forced to leave the territory towards the neighbouring countries.
Their marginalization and lack of development forced hundreds of thousands of the Azawad people to leave their territory and immigrate to the country's south or to neighbouring countries.

The Tuareg and Moor components of the population seem to dominate the majority of the Azawad territory, while other ethnic groups are found mainly in urban centres.

The Tuaregs, Moors, Songhays and Fulas - who constitute the Azawad population - have historically lived in harmony. The shared cultural, historical, economic and social links among these four ethnic groups have for long profoundly cemented the sense of their belonging to the Azawad territory. Their shared attachment to the land and water had reinforced their will to live together well before the arrival of the first colonists.

Economically, stock breeding, rain water and river-based agriculture, but also trade, are the main economic activities of the Azawad, while the territory's subsoil is abound with important mines and energy resources. The subsoil oil layers of the Taoudni basin (north of Timbuktu) and Tamasna are among the most important in the Sahara.

V. MNLA's objectives and political vision

Exercising the right to enjoy self-determination is the primary objective of the MNLA in order to allow the Azawad people to decide their own destiny, including their security. Even if we have every reason to resort to the use of force, the MNLA has always opted for dialogue and negotiations as a way to settle conflicts before resorting to the use of force.

Our political vision is resolutely focused on building a democratic and modern society. The rule of law, individual and collective freedoms, justice, respect of human rights, economic, social and cultural development as well as cooperation and peace with other peoples, represent, in fine, the mode of the political management of the model society for which we are struggling.

Our vision promises a better future for the Azawad population. It aims to bring to an end repression, marginalization, discrimination, contempt and the feeling of insecurity which they have been suffering under the successive regimes of Bamako since 1990.

In our political project, we have attached great importance to cooperation among peoples, to good neighbourliness among states and to a harmonious integration with free and democratic states for the sake of the development, security and peace in the sub-region as well as at the international level.

In order to strengthen the iron will of the Azawad people to emancipate, the MNLA adheres and is committed to respect all human rights conventions, particularly the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols.

The MNLA rejects all kinds of extremism and fundamentalism whether they are the acts of groups or states. Convinced that terrorist and drug-trafficking groups present a real threat to the Azawad, the sub-region and the rest of the world, the movement is firmly determined - within the framework of a global cooperation - to contribute to the eradication of this disease.

VI. MNLA's legitimacy

The MNLA's legitimacy in engaging in the combat to liberate Azawad rests on the population's passionate support for the right to self-determination enshrined in the international law and human rights conventions.

During their general assembly meeting held on 10 October 2011 in Zakak, in the Kidal region, the components of the Azawad population solemnly expressed their firm commitment to decide their own destiny as the Azawad people.

The following are excerpts from the declaration of the general assembly held in Zakak :
"No African people are being called into question. It is the anti-democratic states inherited from the outdated colonial regimes, their management which is stained by corruption, nepotism and the absence of an egalitarian vision which would serve the common good which are being called into question.

In response to the bankruptcy of the Malian regime and its failure to build a state based on fairness and equality, we are determined to decide our own future and to govern ourselves according to the democratic principles drawing inspiration from our values in order to live in harmony with all our neighbours so that :
- We no longer be forced to resort to prolonged on wars.
- Build a secure future for our people and enable them to live in peace on our land.
- No longer be subjected to genocide, and substitute for the endemic violence a legitimate authority which shows concern for the wellbeing of our people.
- Ensure that our people will no longer suffer humiliation and harassment in refugee camps.
- No longer conclude or enter into agreements with the regimes that not respect them.
- To guarantee the security and protect the properties of all the Azawad people.
- Guarantee for all the communities of the Azawad people their cultural, social and economic blossoming in conformity with the principle of human rights, particularly the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People.
- Draw up a social contact which fulfils the legitimate aspirations of the Azawad people.
For these reasons, we, the Azawad people, declare that there is no option other than that of managing our own affairs and we solemnly give a mandate to the MNLA to realize our aspirations to independence."

VII. Gao meeting of Azawad intellectuals, leaders and notables

During this meeting which was held on 25 and 26 April, the Azawad notables reiterated their demand to exercise their right to self-determination and urged the MNLA to continue to plead for the recognition of the independent Azawad state, which was declared unilaterally on 6 April 2012 following the total liberation of our territory.
The tribal leaders, once again, expressed their confidence in the MNLA and called on the international community to swiftly recognize the independence of the Azawad in order to bring to an end the suffering of the Azawad people. They also demanded terrorist groups and drug-traffickers to immediately leave the Azawad territory.

The leaders of the Azawad civil society movements (women, young people and NGOs) as well as refugee camps demanded that security be restored to the Azawad territory and urged the MNLA to find a lasting solution to the conflict.

MNLA's legitimacy in pursuing the struggle has been demonstrated on more than one occasion. During the 9 June 2012 ceremony of the nomination of the members of the Interim Council of the Azawad State (CTEA), several notables and intellectuals travelled to Gao to attend the ceremony.

The MNLA, which enjoys the firm support of the Azawad population, also relies on international human rights laws relating to the right of peoples to decide their own futures (The UN Charter, the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights (...) and the right to self-determination (the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People).

More than 50 years of catastrophic and dramatic management of the Azawad (massacres, genocide, discrimination, exclusion, corruption and flagrant collusion with terrorists and drug-traffickers) have revealed the absurdity of all the moves to reunite the Azawad territory with the former French colony of Sudan, which became independent under the name of Mali in 1960.

Mali has proved its failure to manage our territory from Bamako and to understand the reality and the needs of our populations as well as our economic, cultural and social specificities.

VIII. Our ambitions

After more than half a century of occupation, tragedies, injustice and the denial of their identity, the Azawad people aspire to live with dignity in their territory. The main ambition of our movement is to help our people to recover their full sovereignty, to be in charge of their territory's political, social and cultural life, security, economy, security and environment.

Our movement is convinced that its ambitions can only be realized by fighting for freedom, democracy, human rights, justice and good governance. We are firmly determined to build a democratic and modern society and guarantee the fundamental and individual freedoms for the common good of our people.

Our project of society aims to make the principle of equal opportunities the basic rule for all citizens of the Azawad irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex or ideology. These are all the things that the Malian state could not provide or guarantee during more than 50 years of the control of our territory.

Our movement accords total respect to the fundamental principle of human dignity and devotes full attention to the protection and promotion of human rights. The issues of human rights and fight against impunity constitute one of the priorities of our struggle. The MNLA reiterates its commitment to fight against impunity, including in its ranks, and to contribute with all available means in order to provide its help in this direction.

The separation of religion and state in order to guarantee religious freedom, will be a cornerstone of our political system. We are solemnly committed to guaranteeing the separation of powers, a balanced and transparent share of power at various levels of representation (local, regional and national).

The choice, the manner and the model of the functioning of our institutions will be based on the largest possible consultation of the citizens of the free Azawad.

This will particularly rely on our identity and our traditional social and political systems. These systems, which pre-existed and resisted both French colonization and Malian occupation, still have a great resonance in the collective memory and in successfully regulating relations between individuals and communities.

Such systems will serve as the basis for political and institutional organization of the Azawad state. The option for modern institutions and means to manage public services will allow our political system to adapt to the context in which our society develops and progresses.
In order to be close to the populations, the administration needs to be functioning starting from the local level, conducting close consultation with the communities which will ensure the management of their own affairs through elected institution.

Our election system will be devised in a way to allow a fair competition in conformity with a transparent process for which the state guarantees total respect of the election results.

Opposition forces will be encouraged to fulfil their role without political interference by the state. Multi-party democracy, free media and the dynamism of civil society will be guaranteed and will become the main democratic characteristics of the Azawad state.

For the sake of transparency and good governance, mechanisms which empower citizens to control the actions of the public authorities will be set up and endorsed by politicians and political forces. Under this angle, the political system makes accountability an urgent requirement.

Regarding this issue, we are committed to make use of anti-corruption mechanisms. Corruption is a phenomenon which had been alien to our people before it was injected in the body of our society by the Malian government's political and administrative actions.

The Azawad people have, for long, suffered the injustice and inequality imposed by the Malian colonial regime since 1960. We are committed to promoting an independent justice that will not be affected by the influence of other power institutions. The justice system which we advocate and devise for the Azawad will be endowed with appropriate control mechanisms at both domestic and external levels.

Respect and promotion of cultural and language specificities of the various components of society, which represent one of the bases of our struggle for the liberation of the Azawad, is absolutely essential in order to rehabilitate every historical element of the Azawad body which has been disintegrated by decades of feelings of contempt for our culture and of political uniformity imposed by the Bamako-based political elite.

Freedom of expression will flourish within the framework of democratic institutions which recognize the right of the populations through an inclusive and transparent electoral system.

Meticulous attention will be paid to the issue of equality between men and women. One of the main characteristics of the specificities of our society, of which we are proud, is the place, role and status which our society has given to women.

Our project of society does not only aim to safeguard this tradition and practice but also to fight against all alien and retrograde political and religious elements which stand in the face of progress and the march towards modernity.

Schooling of girls and boys and providing opportunities for both men and women to have access to highly rewarding jobs on the basis of meritocracy and not on the basis of their sex or ethnic origins, will be guaranteed.

Security will be central to the free Azawad political system. Through their institutions, the Azawad populations will ensure their own security and rid their territory of the threats presented by terrorists and drug-traffickers encouraged by the weakness and bankruptcy of the Malian state.

Our project is an effective and active response not only to our people's aspirations for a lasting peace, but also to the security concerns of neighbouring peoples - including the Malian people – and to the need to preserve stability in the region.

Only free and responsible Azawad people can defeat the dark forces which are threatening the Azawad, the sub-Saharan region and the rest of the world. No outside force, no matter how powerful and determined it is, can do better than our people. Our vision for the Azawad is to reiterate our commitment to work closely and to cooperate with any initiative that aims to combat the new threats to local and regional peace.

Responding to the social and economic needs of the population constitutes another key objective of our project of society. We will work to fulfil the aspirations of the populations which have been excluded, marginalized and discriminated against in all sectors of development, including basic needs such as access to education water and health.

Planning and development which will respond to the realities of our communities and to the specificities of our territory will provide the answer to a harmonious and balanced development of the Azawad. Decentralized development will be the best guarantee for a fairer redistribution of resources and for the common good.
The development of the infrastructure, including road and airport building, will be able to disenclave the free Azawad and connect it to our neighbours and the rest of the world.

Mali has constantly worked to play down the economic potential of our territory and to deny that pastoralism, the main pillar of the economy of the territory, is not productive. However, it has always been the Azawad stock breeding which supplied southern Mali and neighbouring countries with meat diet.

Our vision is to encourage the growth and exploitation of all the existing and potential natural resources of our territory, while taking into account the need to protect the environment and the interests of the future generations.
Special attention will be devoted to the mining industry, particularly energy resources. Their exploitation will be subjected to strict regulation so that the Azawad populations benefit the most, while according great respect to our biotope which allowed the Azawad people to resist and survive various shocks.

We will put particular emphasis on modern ways of exploiting clean energy resources, such as the sun and the wind, with which nature has blessed our territory.
In short, we will firmly put our own mark on our attachment to nature in so far as we are the indigenous people, and voice our concern to safeguard and value the environment for the good of our people and in solidarity with other peoples.

Our movement will spare no effort to proclaim the rights of the Azawad people who have been victims of repression by the Malian state which has been acting with impunity in managing its power for more than 50 years. We will fight against all kinds of impunity and we will provide all the help we can to eradicate it.

We will continue to fight till the end to defend the interests of our refugees and those displaced by force from their homes in the Azawad in order to improve their living conditions and alleviate their distress. Our movement is working out a strategy in order to bring their exile to an end and to prepare their return to their land.

Our project of society should not be seen by any people, state or nation as a threat or an attack against their security or national interests. Our deep sense of responsibility, together with our strong will to live in harmony with other peoples, constitute a firm guarantee for our neighbours.

The MNLA acts in accordance with the spirit of justice and equality and calls for human solidarity, the solidarity of the UN, of regional and international organizations (African Union, European Union ; regional and international human rights bodies (ICRC, HRW, Amnesty International ...) to end the tragedy which the Azawad people have been suffering in silence since 1960.

We urge them to act immediately in order to avoid a part of humanity being sacrificed on the altar of selfish geopolitical and strategic stakes and outdated principles.

Finally, in the last 20 years the Malian state has made efforts to ease the marginalization of the Azawad populations. The established fact, however, is distressing. The Malian government has proved its limits and inability to take into consideration our needs, interests and specificities.

For all these reasons, we demand to freely exercise our inalienable right to self-determination, in accordance with and as stipulated by international law and human rights conventions.

September 2012.

Download the MNLA's Political Platform in PDF :

MNLA's Political Platform

Azawad : letter to Hilary Clinton

Masin — 2012-04-23T08:10:54Z

The Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Madam Secretary,

I was a bit surprised by the latest press releases issued by the State Department stating "We do not recognize the statement by the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad (MNLA) announcing independence as valid, and we reiterate our support for the territorial integrity of Mali." As an American who is proud of the American Revolution, I would like to ask you what makes the people of Azawad different from us ?

The majority Berber Tuareg who inhabit the unforgiving land of Azawad is just a small portion if the larger Tuareg or more properly called Tamasheq people who inhabited the central Sahara region for thousands of years. The Tamasheq themselves are part and parcel of the Amazigh people who are the indigenous people of North Africa (extending from the Siwa Oasis in Egypt to the Canary Islands in Atlantic and from the Niger River to the Mediterranean) until various invaders and colonialism have scattered them into the harshest corners of this great land. The integrity of Mali rests on borders drawn by the French for its own interests splitting the Tamasheq people among at least five countries : Algeria, Mali, Niger, Libya, Burkina Faso. They suffered a great deal at the hands of the French and their territory has been carved and fed to puppet governments that continue to serve those same colonial masters.

The people of Azawad, much like the people of Air in Niger have fought against the policies of the states that colonialism imposed on them. The newly created states have marginalized these populations, exploited their land and treated the local people with contempt, racism and murder. To many people in Azawad the Malian army is an army of occupation for the simple reason that it is the only thing that they see from the Malian government.

The Tamasheq have been forced into a bad marriage by the French to a spouse (Mali) that has done nothing but exploit their land and murder them. I am sure you know of all their rebellions and the many times they pleaded for justice and respect (1963, 1976, 1990, 2006, 2010).

Madam Secretary, the Tamasheq are pleading for divorce. Divorce from discrimination, occupation, and murder. Don't the Tamasheq deserve their own tea party ? They want to be free. What is so bad about freedom Madam Secretary ? It wasn't bad for Kosovo, the Sudan or the USA. Let us support the freedom of Azawad. Peace will be back to the area when these people are left in peace. I am also sure that our government is well aware of how Al-Qaida operates in the Sahel region. Experts who are familiar with the Tamasheq people know quite well that Al-Qaida and Tamasheq don't mix. Al-Qaida was brought in this area by those who are using it for their own political and economical gains. If and when the Azawad gains its freedom, Al-Qaida in the Azawad will be a thing of the past.

Madam Secretary, I urge you to hold a neutral position and support the inalienable right of the people of Azawad. Please send a strong signal to both parties to stop fighting and discuss their new relationship, one that is built on mutual respect and collaboration as separate entities because marriage has not worked. I am convinced that the US can work with the Tamasheq and whatever interests the US has in the region can be safe as long as the US holds a fair position in this conflict.

Respectfully

Hsen Larbi, PHD, PE
Philadelphia, USA

April 11, 2012

Azawad : Tamazgha writes to the U.S. Ambassador in France

Masin — 2012-03-23T09:29:00Z

In early March, American planes have dropped food and weapons to Malian soldiers besieged by soldiers from the MNLA Amachach camp not far from Tessalit. The U.S. initiative came following the various unsuccessful attempts of the Malian army to supply the camp Amachach.

For Tamazgha NGO, the U.S. initiative would be similar to the interference of a conflict between the Amazigh (Berbers) to an oppressive State. And the American Gvnt have thus chosen to support the oppressive state, which scandalized Tamazgha NGO calling the U.S. to remain neutral in this conflict but also to any one related to Amazigh (Berbers) people.

It is wished that NGOs and citizens around the world feel indignation for this attitude of the U.S. Gvnt and speak out to their authorities to express their disaprovement.

We publish below the letter sent by Tamazgha NGO to the U.S. Ambassador in France.

The Editors.

Tamazgha NGO letter to the U.S. Ambassador in France

His Excellency the U.S. Ambassador in France,
Embassy of the United States of America
2, avenue Gabriel
75382 Paris Cedex 08

Your Excellency, the U.S. Ambassador to France,

In this letter, we just like to express our dismay at your country's position on the situation in the Azawad where the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) is in conflict with the State of Mali.

Indeed, U. S. aircrafts have dropped, in early March, food and weapons - and this happened twice - to the Malian army. Malian troops are in fact an occupation army in Amachach (near Tessalit) located in the territory of the Azawad. The reinforcement by the U.S. Gvnt comes when the Malian army is put in serious trouble by fighters MNLA.

What is the point of this interference ?

Your government is usually involved in favor of human rights when they are violated by states such as the Malian. Should we interpret this interference - because it is one - as a positioning of your Gvnt regarding the conflict opposing the government of Mali to the MNLA ? If this is the case, it concerns us at the highest level since it would mean that the United States of America would put itself alongside the Malian government that fights against citizens who want nothing but their freedom and recovery of their land that was confiscated for half a century. It would also mean that the right to self-determination, alwais claimed by the United Nations, would be challenged by your country. The United States of America is committing a crime by helping logistically a state whose military attack civilians.

Your Excellency, Mr. Ambassador,

We would like to tell you how the future of Azawad concerns not only the populations of Azawad, mostly Tuareg (Southern Berbers), but all the Berbers who are now alongside those who are fighting for the liberation of their territory. By dropping weapons to the Malian military, the United States not only shocked the Tuareg fighters and MNLA but also all the Berbers' elites.

Should we understand by this that the United States of America despise so the Berber people ? And they are, in fact, beside the oppressors of the Berbers ?

Your Excellency, Mr. Ambassador,

We emanate the hope that the authorities of your country observe neutrality in the conflict between the MNLA and the State of Mali. We also hope that your authorities are sensitive to the Berbers and the desire of the Berbers to recover their freedom.

The authorities of your country would be much more coherent understanding the struggle of a people which identity is many thousands of years old : the Berber people. It is now suffering the throes of a devastating ideology that has no other goal than eradicating the Amazigh (Berber) from North Africa. It would be regrettable that the authorities of your country endorse the policy of eradication of this people.

We remain at your disposal for a possible interview on the subject.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the Ambassador of the United States, our best regards.

Tamazgha,

Paris, March 9, 2012.

Call for international solidarity with Libya's Amazigh people

Masin — 2011-12-26T19:03:13Z

The Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) leaders and the prime minister of the interim government have unveiled their real face and made their intentions clear towards the Amazigh people (Imazighen). In addition to the fact that Imazighen have been excluded from the new interim government, NTC Chairman Mustafa Abd-al-Jalil went as far as to accuse the Imazighen, who stage protests to denounce the Libyan government's discrimination policies, of being "manipulated by foreigners".

For their part, Imazighen are not impressed by such accusations and they are determined to continue their struggle to the end. As the original and the legitimate inhabitants of the land, they are determined not to negotiate the status of Tamazight (Amazigh identity, culture and language) in Libya. They are opposed to the new government and have expressed their frustration by withdrawing their NTC representatives. They continue state high and loud their demands. They have denounced the Libyan government and the NTC which they dub racist. They are not willing to halt their fight as long as their voice is being ignored and before justice prevails.

The Imazighen of Libya are providing us with an inspiring example of a dogged determination in the struggle for the future of Tamazight. They are facing up to the Arab nationalists and Islamists who have no objective other than to silence and subjugate Imazighen. Are we going to abandon them ?

Being proud of our freedom, it is up to us, Imazighen, to mobilize ourselves and show our solidarity with the Imazighen of Libya. Their struggle is ours and is that of all the Amazigh people wherever they are. I am tempted to say that time has come for all Imazighen, everywhere in the Amazigh land, to rise in order to free ourselves and to bring centuries of colonization and humiliation to an end.

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Masin FERKAL.

Translated by : Mohand Salah TAHI

In New York Imazighen express their solidarity with Imazighen of Libya

Masin — 2011-12-21T11:59:42Z

It was a cold day all three places but many people braved the December weather and showed up at the rallies. They came to lend a hand to the Amazigh Libyans who are fighting to have a say in the new political landscape that is shaping up in their country. The new National Transitional Council has already shown anti-Amazigh tendencies. This is nothing more than a political game that uses fear (fear of the Amazigh) to cement the new Arabo-Islamist groups that are trying to grab power. The Libyan nationaly unity will be built on the ashes of the Amazigh. That is the goal here. This would be nothing but a continuation of the same old policy of anihilation of the Amazigh, as a people, a culture or a language that the longest reigning dictator has practiced.

As for fighting against the tyrant, the Libyan Amazighs did plenty of. They did so in the indifference of the rest of the country. When the entire country finally united to oust the mad man, the Amazighs did no hesitate a second. The fought valliantly and if it weren't for them Gaddafi would not fall.

The Amazighs of Libya want to live in dignity. They want their identity and culture to be recognized ad they want to above all to particpate in a new democratic Libya. So they want to be fairly represented and have a say in what happens to them and to the country.

The North American Support Committee to The Amazighs of Libya, the Amazigh Cultural Association in America and the Berber American Community all joined hands to gather Saturday and Sunday to tell the world that the work in Libya is not done. Discrimination is still at work. Most of all to tell the Amazighs of Libya that we are with them and support their fight for dignity and justice.

By Hsen LARBI,

Reportage vidéo de Muhend Alili

SOLIDARITY WITH THE AMAZIGH PEOPLE OF LIBYA par baalalou

Tamazgha hails the fighting spirit of Libyan Imazighen

Masin — 2011-12-07T12:38:34Z

Statement
Tamazgha hails the fighting spirit of Libyan Imazighen

Tamazgha Takes note of the formation of the NTC's interim government announced on 22 November by Prime Minister Abd-al-Rahim al-Kib. This government formation clearly indicates the extent of exclusion and marginalization to which the Amazigh people are being subjected by the NTC. For this reason we denounce the NTC and its discriminatory and racist moves and we reject this government which represents only those who appointed it.

Tamazgha supports the Libyan Imazighen position which they made public immediately after the formation of this puppet government. We reassure the Libyan Imazighen of our unwavering support. Imazighen are not willing to forfeit their freedom for which they paid a high price, that of their sons' blood. Imazighen are determined to no longer be subjected to Al-Qadhafi-style practices and are vowing to fight to the end in order to lead a free and dignified life doggedly refusing to make any concessions which may jeopardize their hard-won freedom.

Tamazgha appeals to the international community to act urgently and to not let Libyans to sink into the dark tunnel of the NTC-concocted discriminatory and racist Arab-Islamist ideology. Rewarding racist, regionalist and abusers of human rights individuals with ministerial jobs is a strong sign sent by the NTC in the direction of the Amazigh people of Libya as well as in the direction of the international community after it had supported the popular uprising against the dictator. Are we going to accept to quickly return to an era against which we have fought with all our force only a few months ago ?

Through their struggle in order to lead a dignified life, it is the whole Amazigh people whom the Libyan Imazighen want to see regain their normal and legitimate place within the community of modern nations. For this reason we call on all Amazigh people of the world, particularly in North Africa, to express their support and solidarity with Libyan Imazighen.

Today, the Amazigh people of Libya provide us with a praiseworthy example of the struggle for freedom and for restoring the historic and legitimate rights of the Amazigh people in their homeland. It is high time for all the Amazigh people in North Africa and in the Sahel region to follow the example of the Imazighen of Libya to liberate themselves form decades of domination to which they have been subjected by the Arab-Islamist colonialism and discriminatory ideology.
Tudert i Tmazgha
Tudret i Tmazight.

Tamazgha,
Paris, 4 December 2011

– French version of the Statement

– Rassemblement de solidarité avec Imazighen de Libye à Paris

Some pictures of the manifestation of th December 4, 2011 at Tripoli

The agent of Qatar in Libya accused Imazighen of being manipulated by foreign...

Masin — 2011-12-03T09:07:34Z

In a telephone intervention (It's funny, it reminds someone !) on Libyan television Awalan, November 28, 2011, Moustapha Abdouldjalil, interim president of NTC (The National Transitional Council of Libya), accuses the Imazighen, who are still showing since Tuesday, Nov. 23 to protest the provisional government, of collaborating with foreign forces hostile to Libya.

Really, the nerve of this residue of Gaddafi's system continues to press it into stupidity. While it is not a secret that Abdouldjalil works for the interests of Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood, he just give moral lessons to those who liberated Libya when he and his CNT ware holed up in Benghazi under the protection of NATO.

The stupidity of this individual, who is painfully still struggling to understand that the days of terror is over, pushed him to threaten Imazighen marching "again" peacefully. The Libyans who took up arms to get rid of the monster Gaddafi will certainly not allow themselves be impressed by its "shadow" that is what Abdouldjalil. Unfortunately he is not able to understand what it means freedom for Imazighen. Freedom they have obtained by paying the price of their blood, no one can take it from them.

Why does he specifically doing so ? Why all these desperate attempts to stigmatize many Imazighen ? Is Imam Abdouldjalil thinking that he will succeed in dividing the Libyans and then he can control the situation in the same way as the deposed despot did ? He believes so much that he lets himself go, carried away by the momentum of his fantasies, totally unsafe to comments about the Amazigh people. Yes, the man with the zebiba [1] dare to speak, during such telephone interview, that the Imazighen have integrated into the Libyan society !!!!... What a joke is ? He is so stubborn that he does not want to understand that Imazighen are at their home and this land is THEIRS.

Ah ! Abdouljalil has learned well the lessons lavished by the Arab-Muslim regimes : instead of listening to the protesters, they should be accused of being manipulated, responding to the agendas of foreign forces harmful to the interests of the country. The conspiracy theory found as anhttp://tamazgha.fr/Les-videos-de-notre-voyage.html excuse by mafia-like regimes has often worked ! This is in fact something else that Mr. Abdouljalil does not take into account. Indeed, this card has been so served to all sauces by the regimes whenever there was talk of their interests that the Amazigh people is almost overdosed. In Libya today, it is unlikely that this "dish" still happening, despite attempts to improve the recipe...

Whoever forgot to resign after a total liberation, as he had promised, will sow discord among the Imazighen (a practice that should not be so strange to him by the way !). Thus, Mr. Abdouldjalil "analyses", in his spare time, when not working his zebiba, and distinguishes "good Amazigh" and "bad Amazigh". For he says, among the Imazighen there are good ones, those who agree with him, and bad ones as they do not agree with him and they denounce the government of the NTC. The level of analysis is very high as we can see !

After analyzing the situation, Mr. Abouldjalil intends, as a good professional, a set of action. He poured straight into the threat in terms scarcely veiled, and promises punishment to those who demonstrate in Tripoli. It is well known, when we disagree, we force the silence (Here it is another recipe that works well in North Africa !). Just that this time it is necessary for Abdouljalil to have the means of such policy. Because, unlike when he was still serving Gaddafi, this time the balance of power, especially in Tripoli, is more favorable to the Imazighen ...

This umpteenth derive of interim president of NTC helps to widen the gap between Imazighen and NTC and its provisional institutions. It is time to stop the damage before the situation will became irreparable for the Libyan society.

Abdouldjalil had better to do, before finally disappearing from the landscape and to retire, to request apologize to the Libyans for taking part in the horrors they suffered during the reign of Gaddafi and his cronies.

Tamazgha.fr Redaction

– The original article, in French

– See

Translated by Rachid At-Ali Oukaci

[1] The zebiba used to be the mark of an elderly Muslim man, the fruit of a lifetime's devotion, but it is increasingly seen on the faces of young Egyptians.

Amazighs of Libya will not yield

Masin — 2011-11-28T00:47:03Z

Once again, the National Transitional Council (NTC) has displayed its shocking anti-Amazigh sentiments of which the foretaste was shown in August 2011. First by the draft constitution which highlighted the Arab identity of Libya subjected to shari'ah law. Then, during the libration of Tripoli when it had the nerve to order the Aamzigh fighters who liberated the capital to lay down their weapons in order to hand them over to the jihadist Abd-al-Hakim Bilhaj, who was hastily installed as Tripoli's military commander. It is obvious that these NTC jokers did not expect the vigilance of the Amazigh who have been hardened by past experiences and who no longer accept to compromise their future by, once again, risking to live under a domination similar to that they have been subjected to for decades under the regime of Al-Qadhafi and that of the Sanusi monarchy.

The Libyan Amazigh people have just showed us that nothing can dissuade them from continuing their fight and their determination to no longer accept to remain under Arab domination. They did not face the barbarism of Al-Qadhafi and that of his mercenaries in order to surrender to the remnants of the regime which they have toppled. If those Libyans who describe themselves as Arabs are not ready to meet their demands, the Amazigh people will have no choice but to break away from those who continue to dream to subject them to their domination and who continue to show deep-rooted hatred and contempt for others.

Today, the Libyan Amazigh people are being confronted by another battle, a battle which is harder than the one they fought against Al-Qadhafi and his mercenaries. However, they are determined to achieve their objectives and to attain the noble ideals in which they believe.

What is being achieved in Libya is a lesson for all North African Amazigh people. The Libyan Amazigh people have shown us the way to freedom, and we must follow in their foot steps. Arab domination must come to an end so that the Amazigh people will be able to establish their sovereignty. It is out of the question that a gang of backwards deprive the ancient and original people of Libya of their freedom.

Tamazgha.

Spontaneous gathering in Tripoli on November 23, 2011 (Assays Ixafuren / Place of the Martyrs)

Statement by the Libyan National Amazigh Congress

Masin — 2011-11-26T11:49:58Z

Libyan Amazigh National Congress

By virtue of the formation of the new transition government announced by interim Prime Minister Abd-al-Rahim al-Kib, which is clearly based on an intentional exclusion and complete marginalization of the Libyan Amazigh people in Adrar Nafusah, Zwara, Ghadamis, Ubari, Ghat, Awjilah and the Amazigh of the south (Tuareg) who represent the main component of Libyan identity, a delegation representing all Libyan Amazigh people had been appointed to meet with Chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abd-al-Jalil on Wednesday 23 November.

Since the meeting ended in failure as a result of the NTC chairman's failure to respond to the just and legitimate demands of the Amazigh people, the Libyan National Amazigh Conference - seen as the only legitimate representative of Libyan Amazigh people, which includes in its membership all local councils of the Libyan Amazigh - declares the following :

1 - To freeze all dealings with the NTC until it satisfies the just and legitimate Amazigh people's demands which are :
A. To re-appoint the transition government by granting two sovereign ministerial posts to the Libyan Amazigh people ; and to enable the Amazigh to assume an equal share of ministerial portfolios on an equal footing with other Libyan regions.

B. To amend Article 1 of the 3 August 2011 interim constitution by making Tamazight an official language alongside Arabic.

2. To withdraw all representatives of Amazigh local councils from the NTC.

3. Not to recognize or deal with Al-Kib's government because it is illegitimate and contradicts Al-Kib's previous statements as well as the principles of the 17th February revolution.

4. To continue staging peaceful and democratic protests until the just and legitimate Amazigh demands are met.

5. We hold the NTC and Abd-al-Rahim al-Kib responsible for any historical ramifications as a result of this exclusion.

Tripoli, November 24th 2011.

Translation by M. S. Tahi

TAMAZGHA

Statement by the High Council of Libyan Amazigh

French version of a statement Version française de la déclaration

MNLA's Political Platform

I. Preamble

II. Introduction

III. Azawad National Liberation Movement

IV. Our land the Azawad

VI. MNLA's legitimacy

VII. Gao meeting of Azawad intellectuals, leaders and notables

VIII. Our ambitions

Azawad : letter to Hilary Clinton

Azawad : Tamazgha writes to the U.S. Ambassador in France

Tamazgha NGO letter to the U.S. Ambassador in France

Call for international solidarity with Libya's Amazigh people

In New York Imazighen express their solidarity with Imazighen of Libya

Tamazgha hails the fighting spirit of Libyan Imazighen

Tamazgha hails the fighting spirit of Libyan Imazighen

Some pictures of the manifestation of th December 4, 2011 at Tripoli

The agent of Qatar in Libya accused Imazighen of being manipulated by foreign...

Amazighs of Libya will not yield

Spontaneous gathering in Tripoli on November 23, 2011 (Assays Ixafuren / Place of the Martyrs)

Statement by the Libyan National Amazigh Congress

Libyan Amazigh National Congress

French version of a statement
Version française de la déclaration