UW lecturer on the move for change in Libya

Since returning to his hometown of Benghazi in early March to join the Libyan uprising, University of Washington lecturer Ali Tarhouni has had no place to call home. As the rebel government's finance and oil minister, security requires him to stay on the move.

"I usually don't sleep in the same place for more than one night," Tarhouni said Monday from Washington, D.C. "I make sure to stop in and see my mother, but even she complains that she sees me more on television than in real life."

Since arriving in Libya, Tarhouni, a popular UW senior lecturer who teaches microeconomics, has emerged as one of the most high-profile members of the rebel government.

He has the crucial role of arranging for the cash infusions required to keep the rebel movement solvent enough to purchase food, fuel and medicine and other vital supplies.

Tarhouni currently is seeking a line of credit for the rebel government, which would be backed by Libyan assets now frozen by the U.S. and other governments.

He discussed the matter last week in Rome with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and is scheduled to meet this week with members of Congress and Treasury officials.

The return trip to the U.S. also provided the opportunity for Tarhouni to reunite with his wife and four children, ages 16 to 28, who joined him over the weekend in Washington, D.C.

"It was brief. Less than 24 hours," said Tarhouni's wife, Mary Li. "We wished it could have been longer."

Tarhouni, 60, grew up in Benghazi. A vocal critic of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, he left in 1973 and by the 1980s had been put on a government hit list.

He never lost touch with the Libyan dissident movement during his years in Seattle, but by the dawn of the new century he admits to doubting whether he would see Gadhafi's overthrow.

"My family knew I would join the revolution," Tarhouni said. "But the fact of the matter is, as time accumulated, I started losing hope. I didn't think the revolution would take place."

Libyans, inspired by uprisings that unseated leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, took to the streets in February in demonstrations against Ghadafi.

As efforts to quash those protests sparked a wider rebellion, there was no more dreaming about the future for Tarhouni.

He returned to Libya, where he quickly was consumed by the urgency of the moment. In a whirlwind of weeks marked by too little sleep and too many cigarettes, Tarhouni helped transform the rebel movement into a government.

Benghazi, in eastern Libya, is now the headquarters of the rebels' National Transitional Council.

In April, Tarhouni also ventured farther west to the beleaguered city of Misrata, which has been under brutal siege by Gadhafi's forces.

Tarhouni boarded a small fishing boat, and in a risky voyage made his way to that city to show his support for the citizens. He said he kept his plan secret even from other rebel leaders, worried they would try to stop him because of the risks.

"This is a city that has suffered and is still suffering greatly, and I wanted to go there and raise morale," Tarhouni said. "The truth is they raised my morale. Just amazing courage."

Since his return to Libya, the fighting has morphed into a civil war with air support for the rebels from U.S. and NATO forces.

Asked what his message is to Americans, many of whom are wary of a new military involvement, Tarhouni says Libya is not Iraq or Afghanistan.

"We have made a clear decision," he said. "We don't want any armies from the United States or Europe to go to Libya. What we are asking for is the no-fly zone, and for the no-fly zone to intensify to protect the citizens from this dictator."

Despite rebel setbacks, he said he is certain Gadhafi will be forced from government or be killed.

"It is very hard to make the case that Gadhafi will survive," Tarhouni said. "He has lost his legitimacy both internally, in the Arab and Muslim world and other countries in the world. But how many innocent lives will he take before he goes?"

If Gadhafi is deposed, what about Tarhouni's future? Would he return to Seattle or take a long-term role in the Libyan government? "When this task is done, and it will be done, I will have time to contemplate what I'm going to do," he said.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581

or hbernton@seattletimes.com