[Libya Herald] The Tuareg Social Council, along civil society activists, has told the Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA) that the Tuareg want to be given equal rights as Libyan citizens and see their language become an official Libyan language. Called Tarigia by the Tuareg themselves, it is related to Tamazight, the language of the Amazigh, and in Libya uses the same script.In a meeting with the CDA in Beida this week, various Tuareg speakers voiced their support of the assembly, saying that they were closely following the drafting process and eagerly awaiting the constitution's completion.
Representatives from the Tuareg cautioned the assembly against challenging the nationality of those who were given citizenship post-1969, as a number of the Tuareg were, warning that such action could further threaten the peace in southwestern Libya.
Furthermore, they requested that the country not forget their region and rather make plans for investment and development in the area.
"The South has long suffered the ravages of scarcity and marginalisation," they charged.
For its part, the CDA has welcomed the requests and proposals made by the Tuareg and said that they will be taken into serious consideration, along with the rights of all Libyans.
The Tuareg are a nomadic people spread over the countries of the Western Sahara: Algeria, Mali, Niger and Burkino Faso, as well as Libya.