Editing Muammar Gaddafi (section)

==="Revolution within a Revolution": 1987–1998===
The late 1980s saw a series of liberalizing economic reforms within Libya designed to cope with the decline in oil revenues. In May 1987, Gaddafi announced the start of the "Revolution within a Revolution", which began with reforms to industry and agriculture and saw the re-opening of small business.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=225|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=194}} Restrictions were placed on the activities of the Revolutionary Committees; in March 1988, their role was narrowed by the newly created Ministry for Mass Mobilization and Revolutionary Leadership to restrict their violence and judicial role, while in August 1988 Gaddafi publicly criticized them.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=29|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2p=97|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=194–195, 199–200}}
In March, hundreds of political prisoners were freed, with Gaddafi falsely claiming that there were no further political prisoners in Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=45|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=222}} In June, Libya's government issued the Great Green Charter on Human Rights in the Era of the Masses, in which 27 articles laid out goals, rights, and guarantees to improve the situation of human rights in Libya, restricting the use of the death penalty and calling for its eventual abolition. Many of the measures suggested in the charter would be implemented the following year, although others remained inactive.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1pp=45–46|2a1=St. John|2y=2008|2pp=97–98|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=197–198}} Also in 1989, the government founded the [[Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights]], to be awarded to figures from the Third World who had struggled against colonialism and imperialism; the first year's winner was South African anti-apartheid activist [[Nelson Mandela]].{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=199}} From 1994 through to 1997, the government initiated cleansing committees to root out corruption, particularly in the economic sector.{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=197–198}}

In the aftermath of the 1986 US attack, the army was purged of perceived disloyal elements,{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|p=130}} and in 1988, Gaddafi announced the creation of a popular militia to replace the army and police.{{sfnm|1a1=Vandewalle|1y=2008b|1p=38|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=200}} In 1987, [[Libya and weapons of mass destruction|Libya began production]] of [[mustard gas]] at a facility in Rabta, although publicly denied it was stockpiling chemical weapons,{{sfn|St. John|2012|pp=201–204}} and unsuccessfully attempted to develop nuclear weapons.{{sfn|Kawczynski|2011|pp=180–181}} The period also saw a growth in domestic Islamist opposition, formulated into groups like the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and the [[Libyan Islamic Fighting Group]]. Several assassination attempts against Gaddafi were foiled, and in turn, 1989 saw the security forces raid mosques believed to be centres of counter-revolutionary preaching.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1pp=166–167, 236|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=221–222}} In December 1993, former Libyan foreign minister [[Mansour Rashid El-Kikhia]], a leader of an anti-Gaddafi coalition in exile, was abducted in Cairo.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Caryle |date=14 December 1993 |title=LIBYAN DISSIDENT MISSING IN CAIRO, FEARED ABDUCTED |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/12/14/libyan-dissident-missing-in-cairo-feared-abducted/26f15e62-a27b-4c7e-bba8-f1f664818454/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> His body was not found until 2012 in a morgue that belonged to Gaddafi's intelligence chief [[Abdullah Senussi]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 December 2012 |title=Prominent Gaddafi opponent buried after 19 years |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-02/prominent-gaddafi-opponent-gets-burial-after-19-years/4403740 |access-date=5 March 2023 |archive-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305003730/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-02/prominent-gaddafi-opponent-gets-burial-after-19-years/4403740 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 1993, elements of the increasingly marginalized army, led by officers from the powerful [[Warfalla]] tribe, initiated a failed [[1993 Libyan coup d'état attempt|coup]] in [[Misrata]] and [[Bani Walid]] allegedly with help from the [[National Front for the Salvation of Libya]], [[Khalifa Haftar]], and the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blanchard |first1=Christopher M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlFdMjJwC30C&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA12 |title=Libya: Background and U. S. Relations |date=2010 |page=12 |publisher=DIANE |isbn=9781437922035 |access-date=3 February 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180305/https://books.google.com/books?id=RlFdMjJwC30C&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Helms |first1=Jesse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SI2AAAAIAAJ&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA1141 |title=Country Reports on Human Rights |date=1995 |edition=994 |access-date=3 February 2023 |archive-date=7 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307180255/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SI2AAAAIAAJ&dq=1993+libya+coup&pg=PA1141 |url-status=live }}</ref> while in September 1995, Islamists launched an insurgency in Benghazi, and in July 1996 an anti-Gaddafist football riot broke out in Tripoli.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=166|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2p=223}} In March 1996, Haftar again briefly returned to Libya to instigate an uprising against Gaddafi in the mountains of [[Cyrenaica|eastern Libya]].<ref name="bi-201404222" /> The Revolutionary Committees experienced a resurgence to combat these Islamists.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008b|p=29}}

In 1989, Gaddafi was overjoyed by the foundation of the [[Arab Maghreb Union]], uniting Libya in an economic pact with Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, viewing it as beginnings of a new pan-Arab union.{{sfnm|1a1=Kawczynski|1y=2011|1p=188|2a1=St. John|2y=2012|2pp=216–218}} Gaddafi was able to recover some influence in Chad after [[Hissène Habré]] was overthrown by [[Idriss Déby]] in a [[1990 Chadian coup d'état|Libya-sponsored coup]] in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Noble |first1=Kenneth B. |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=6 December 1990 |title=In Chad, Talk of a Libyan Resurgence |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/world/in-chad-talk-of-a-libyan-resurgence.html |access-date=8 February 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=17 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617031150/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/06/world/in-chad-talk-of-a-libyan-resurgence.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |last=Chutel |first=Lynsey |title=Why the World Won't Criticize Chad |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-deby-terror-sahel/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416064001/https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/14/chad-election-idriss-deby-terror-sahel/ |archive-date=16 April 2021 |access-date=20 April 2021 |website=Foreign Policy |date=14 April 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Riding |first1=Alan |last2=Times |first2=Special To the New York |date=3 December 1990 |title=REBELS IN CONTROL OF CHAD'S CAPITAL |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/world/rebels-in-control-of-chad-s-capital.html |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119062528/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/world/rebels-in-control-of-chad-s-capital.html |archive-date=19 November 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Déby also gave Gaddafi detailed information about [[CIA]] operations in Chad.<ref name="Dictionary of African Biography20122">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&q=bidayat+clan+zaghawa+africa&pg=RA1-PA172 |title=Dictionary of African Biography |date=2 February 2012 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=9780195382075 |pages=172–173 |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420213744/https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ&q=bidayat+clan+zaghawa+africa&pg=RA1-PA172 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Libya stepped up its support for anti-Western militants such as the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|Provisional IRA]],{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=197}} and in 1988, [[Pan Am Flight 103]] was blown up over [[Lockerbie]] in Scotland, killing 243 passengers and 16 crew members, plus 11 people on the ground. British police investigations identified two Libyans&nbsp;– [[Abdelbaset al-Megrahi]] and [[Lamin Khalifah Fhimah]]&nbsp;– as the chief suspects, and in November 1991 issued a declaration demanding that Libya hand them over. When Gaddafi refused, citing the [[Montreal Convention]], the United Nations (UN) imposed Resolution 748 in March 1992, initiating economic sanctions against Libya which had deep repercussions for the country's economy.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=80–81|2a1=Vandewalle|2y=2008b|2p=39|3a1=Kawczynski|3y=2011|3pp=133–140|4a1=St. John|4y=2012|4pp=205–207}} The country suffered an estimated US$900&nbsp;million financial loss as a result.{{sfn|Vandewalle|2008b|p=42}} On 5 November 1995, US President Bill Clinton declared the US would continue to induce pressure on Libya, also recognizing that Libyan terrorists were responsible for the Lockerbie bombing.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 November 1995 |title=Despair As Visit Banned By Gaddafi |work=Sunday Sun}}</ref> Further problems arose with the West when in January 1989, [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)|two Libyan warplanes were shot down by the US off the Libyan coast]] and in September 1989, [[UTA Flight 772]] was blown up over the Ténéré desert in Niger, killing all 170 people on board (156 passengers and 14 crew members).{{sfn|St. John|2012|p=202}}

In 1996, Gaddafi wrote a letter to the newly elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh, [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]]'s daughter [[Sheikh Hasina]], pleading with her to spare the lives of her father's assassins [[Syed Faruque Rahman]] and [[Khandaker Abdur Rashid]]. Rahman and Rashid both had business ties to Libya.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=SAAG |date=20 September 2011 |title=Gaddafi And The Killers Of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Analysis |url=https://www.eurasiareview.com/20092011-gaddafi-and-the-killers-of-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-analysis/ |access-date=6 February 2023 |website=Eurasia Review |language=en-US |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153750/https://www.eurasiareview.com/20092011-gaddafi-and-the-killers-of-sheikh-mujibur-rahman-analysis/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Syed Badrul |date=21 September 2011 |title=Gaddafi and the assassins |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-203263 |access-date=6 February 2023 |website=The Daily Star |language=en |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206153753/https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-203263 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Many Arab and African states opposed the UN sanctions, with Mandela criticizing them on a visit to Gaddafi in October 1997, when he praised Libya for its work in fighting apartheid and awarded Gaddafi the [[Order of Good Hope]].{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=73, 83|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2p=147|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3pp=205–206}} They would only be suspended in 1998 when Libya agreed to allow the extradition of the suspects to the [[Scottish Court in the Netherlands]], in a process overseen by Mandela.{{sfnm|1a1=Boyd-Judson|1y=2005|1pp=83–88|2a1=Kawczynski|2y=2011|2pp=146–148|3a1=St. John|3y=2012|3p=206}} As a result of the trial, Fhimah was acquitted and al-Megrahi convicted.{{sfn|Boyd-Judson|2005|p=89}} Privately, Gaddafi maintained that he knew nothing about who perpetrated the bombing and that Libya had nothing to do with it.{{sfn|Boyd-Judson|2005|p=82}}