The death of Muammar Gaddafi after months of gruesome fighting in a civil war that has left hundreds dead and many other thousands injured has marked the end of a dark era dominated by autocrats and corrupt regimes in North Africa.

The international community has the obligation… to … usher in a new era of popular sovereignty- David Casa

Liberation day, celebrated last Sunday, also marks the start of a long process that will lead Libya towards democracy. It is a delicate process and the Libyans will need all the help they can get for a peaceful transition and for reintegration into the international community.

Tunisia, the country where the Arab Spring started, also marked an important milestone on Sunday, holding the country’s first free elections. With more than 100 political parties taking part and with an electoral turnout of a staggering 90 per cent, these elections were a victory for all Tunisians, irrespective of who polls more votes.

These elections are also a sure sign that the Arab Spring was not just a fluke and that the martyrdom of Mohamed Bouazizi was not in vain. Many who thought the protests would lead nowhere were proved wrong and we have a country that, amid all its difficulties, now faces a bright future. The theory that Islam and democracy are incompatible was never more than a commonplace prejudice but these events will, hopefully, prove to be the last nails in its coffin. The desire of human beings to be free and to make their own choices cuts across all cultures and creeds.

Tunisians, Egyptians, and Libyans have learned that in order to embrace democracy one does not have to betray one’s faith. One exponent of Tunisia’s victorious moderate Islamist Party, the Ennahdha, even went as far as to claim that the party will be modelling itself on Germany’s Christian Democrats. That is a strong statement and a declaration that epitomises the strong will and the determination of Tunisians to make democracy work.

For Libya, the road may be somewhat longer and more complicated, mainly due to the various tribes present in the country and the violence that accompanied its political transition. However, the will to succeed is strong. Libyans now know that the Western world is not a malevolent power, set on undermining their country’s independence and its people’s freedom. Reciprocal sympathy has grown over these testing months.

The United States and Europe reached out to help unconditionally and the vast majority of Libyans are grateful for this. It was emotional to see Libyans waving the flags of European countries in Freedom Square as they celebrated their liberation from 42 years of tyranny and constant fear.

Now, the next big step for the citizens of Libya is the drawing up of a Constitution that unites the whole country, a Constitution that will bring the different tribes together, under one flag. There is a mountain of ill feeling, bitterness and bereavement to overcome and the healing process will be long and hard. The rifts between Benghazi and Tripoli, the Arabs and the Berbers, the secular and the religious are wide and the negotiations will be delicate and lengthy but the will to succeed is immense.

I am sure that both Europe and the US can be relied on to offer much of the assistance that Libyans need. Ultimately, the extent of the country’s future success is now, more than ever, in their hands. The political events that unfolded in the Mediterranean’s southern riparian states have not only kept our attention focused but have pushed us to act too.

We have played our part in coming to the aid of our neighbours in their hour of need and this should make us proud. If there is any objective worth sticking our neck out for, then it is a stable and democratic neighbourhood where the rule of law reigns supreme.

Yet, still, having witnessed this wave of popular uprisings and the dramatic events that took place in a relatively short period, one must not fall under the illusion that the war on tyrants and phony democrats is over or that it will simply fight itself. Perhaps the majority of people in the world do not live in freedom from their own governments; many millions are still denied their basic freedom of expression and too many are the countries that hold elections that could be called comical were they not so tragic in their consequences.

The international community has the obligation now, more than ever, to turn its attention towards these countries and usher in a new era of popular sovereignty, one that isn’t limited to a handful of countries in Europe and North America.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.