The Commencement of Negotiations

Abstract

At the end of 1949, the UN promised Libyan independence by 1952. Libya was composed of three territories: Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan. There had existed geographical and cultural differences among the territories which were to constitute Libya, ¹ and this fact provoked lively reactions in French North Africa. Tunisia and Morocco had long held territorial unities, and it was natural that the prospect of Libyan independence raised the two populations’ expectations for independence, or at least self-government. It was also natural, therefore, that the French became aware of necessity for reform to ensure the access of the residents to political institutions. In the era of self-determination, it was essential to arrange a political system to guarantee and broaden people’s participation in order to maintain political cohesiveness of a community. The question was how.