Libya's tribes rise up against Gadhafi

Moni Basu, CNN

Soon after the Libyan rebellion escalated, a senior member of the nation's powerful Warfallah tribe announced it would no longer support Moammar Gadhafi, saying that "he is no longer a brother."

The Zawiya tribe, based in a petroleum-rich region in the east, threatened to cut off oil flow. The Bani Walid tribe decided to withdraw its men from the regime's security brigades. And the influential Zintan tribe, allied in the past to Gadhafi's own tribe, broadcast a statement of support for the opposition. One after another, Libya's myriad tribes are falling in line against Gadhafi, and the implications are enormous, said longtime observers of Libya, because for centuries, tribes have formed the backbone of the North African nation.

Many Americans pride themselves on God and country. In Libya, it's God, tribe, then country.

Libya's 140 or so tribes and the clan and family structure that fall under them, remain the most important aspect of a society that lags behind many others in the region in development, said Ronald Bruce St. John, a scholar who has visited Libya numerous times and published several books about the country.

With the exception of the Red Crescent Society and the Boys Scouts, few civil society institutions exist anymore in Libya, crushed by four decades of Gadhafi's authoritarian rule. There are no trade unions, PTAs or Lions Clubs.

The tribes have filled those gaps and because of that, they have perhaps taken on a stronger role in Libya than in other Arab nations.

"Libyans have a strong loyalty to tribe," said Philip Carl Salzman, a McGill University professor of anthropology and author of "Culture and Conflict in the Middle East."

"A tribe provides welfare in times of need," he said. "They have a collective responsibility."

If one member of a tribe is attacked, the reaction is to help or exact vengeance, Salzman said. Tribes are especially involved in resolving family disputes.

Gadhafi recognized the power of his nation's tribes when he seized control in 1969. He saw tribal leaders as traditional forces opposed to his radical socialist agenda, St. John said, and, at first, he tried to suppress them.

But later he tried to co-opt them, establishing a People's Social Leadership Committee, which essentially was a collection of tribal leaders.

St. John said it was Gadhafi's way of telling the tribes: You are now responsible for your people. If any member steps out of line, we expect you to discipline him or her.