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Libya
Apr 26, 2011 19:51:07 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Apr 26, 2011 19:51:07 GMT 4
Revelations Wikileaks "Dangerous terrorists", now driving the insurgency anti-Gaddafi
Held at Guantanamo for five years now the leader of the protest in Darah. In the files of the interrogations also plans for other attacks in the U.S. after the twin towers New York, 04.26.2011
A dangerous man, trained in Afghanistan by Osama Bin Laden, in a position to carry out terrorist attacks. His name on a card is Abu Sufian bin Qumu, detained in Guantanamo for five years from 2001 to 2006. Today Qunu is a rebel leader in the city of Darnah anti-Gheddafi.
To reveal the past of one of the most popular leader of the Libyan revolt there are the documents disclosed in recent days by Wikileaks which report the transcripts of the interrogations of detainees at Guantanamo between 2002 and 2009. Qunu, who now leads a revolt backed by the United States, was arrested in 2001 accused of being a member of the Libyan Islamic fighters. Gaddafi mentioned his name to show that Al Qaeda is operating the rebels, but the rebels assured the U.S. in Darah, saying that their purpose is to stop Gaddafi and that Islamic extremism has no connection with their protest.
The papers published by Wikileaks contain the revelations of some detainees who speak of having planned other attacks in the U.S. after the devastating twin towers. Saifullaj Paracha, a travel agent in New York who worked with the mastermind of the September 11 attack, revealed he had studied the transport of explosives by sea shipments. His papers include a plot to simultaneously blow up petrol stations in the city and a plan to sever the steel cables supporting the Brooklyn Bridge.
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Libya
May 10, 2011 21:51:10 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on May 10, 2011 21:51:10 GMT 4
[color=Red]NATO STEP UP BOMBING [/color] [/b]By Michael Birnbaum, Tuesday, May 10, 5:50 PM - NATO News
TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO increased its bombing operations against Tripoli on Tuesday, carrying out the largest attacks in weeks as rebels appeared to make advances in their efforts to break the siege of the key western city of Misurata.
The attacks on Tripoli occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Jets could be heard booming over the city. Several large explosions followed, and NATO said its warplanes hit three “command-and-control” targets in the capital. NATO said its airstrikes also hit targets in Mizdah, a town 114 miles south of Tripoli; Sirte, a stronghold of Moammar Gaddafi on the Gulf of Sidra; and Misurata, a port 131 miles east of Tripoli and the only rebel-held city in the western part of the country.
The Libyan government took journalists to a hospital in central Tripoli that was next door to a government office building apparently hit by the attacks. Residents and workers there said the building was either a communications or intelligence center, although a government minder said it was currently used by the Agriculture Ministry.
“We are diminishing Gaddafi’s capacity to issue orders, to field troops and to fly regime jets,” Italian Brig. Gen. Claudio Gabellini, the chief operations officer of the NATO campaign, said in a news conference in Naples on Tuesday.
The hospital also sustained damage, with some blown-out windows and damaged light fixtures. Government minders said one child was cut by broken glass, but they would not allow journalists to see the child, saying that he was in intensive care.
Elsewhere in Tripoli, NATO apparently hit a library and school site that workers said was the World Center for Study and Research of the Green Book, Gaddafi’s eccentric founding document for the country. The colonial-era building had apparently sustained a direct hit, and clouds of concrete dust billowed above the remains of what workers said had been the library. “This is not a military place,” said Hosin Bangarza, a worker there.
The building is about 30 yards from a large communications tower, which was not hit in the raid, and is part of the same complex as the Libyan parliament, government workers said. The same building was hit just over a week ago.
At least five bombings could be heard over the course of the night. Smoke could also be seen coming from the direction of Gaddafi’s compound, although it was not clear whether it had been hit. Government officials refused to specify other bombing sites.
“All NATO targets are military targets,” Gabellini said. He denied that the alliance was trying to kill Gaddafi. He said nearly 6,000 sorties have been flown since the NATO air campaign began at the end of March.
East of Tripoli, rebels appeared to make gains, pushing westward along the coast from Misurata, according to residents reached by Skype who asked to remain anonymous to preserve their safety.
Rebel officials in Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital in eastern Libya, said heavy fighting took place Monday between the oil terminal of Brega and the strategic city of Ajdabiya.
Special correspondent Portia Walker in Ajdabiya, Libya, contributed to this report.
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Libya
May 13, 2011 21:48:05 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on May 13, 2011 21:48:05 GMT 4
Frattini: "Gaddafi injured and out of Tripoli " May 13, 2011
Foreign Minister in line with the thinking of the bishop of Tripoli, Bishop Martinelli. The Libyan government denied
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would be "out of Tripoli if wounded." This was stated by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking on the sidelines of the conference organized by the editors of young people. By the way this is also the position defended by the bishop of Tripoli Monsignor Martinelli.
"I have no item on the fate of Gaddafi. I tend to confirm the thesis of the bishop of Tripoli, Mgr. Martinelli, Gheddo that he is outside of Tripoli and wounded, but we do not know where and how, "explained the minister.
But a spokesman for the Libyan regime, Ibrahim Moussa, immediately denied the statement by the head of the Foreign Ministry through the pan-Arab al-Arabiya television.
Is Qaddafi wounded? Has he fled Tripoli? Questions swirling bombs drop on Tripoli Friday, 13 May 2011
A Libyan government spokesman denied that Colonel Qaddafi had been wounded By MUSTAPHA AJBAILI AND ABEER TAYEL Al Arabiya with Agencies
Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi has likely abandoned the capital Tripoli, and has most likely been wounded, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Friday, as increasing NATO airstrikes mounted pressure on the Libyan leader from within his stronghold city to leave his country.
Mr. Frattini told reporters that he had been told by Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Catholic bishop in Tripoli, that “Qaddafi was most probably outside Tripoli and probably even wounded” by NATO airstrikes, according to Reuters.
“I tend to give credence to the comment of the bishop of Tripoli, Monsignor Martinelli, who has been in close contact over recent weeks, when he told us that Qaddafi is very probably outside Tripoli and is probably also wounded. We don't know,” Mr. Frattini said.
A Libyan government spokesman denied that Colonel Qaddafi had been wounded. “It’s nonsense,” Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said in Tripoli. “The leader is in high morale. He’s in good spirits. He is leading the country day by day. He hasn’t been harmed at all.”
Contacted from Rome, Bishop Martinelli’s office said he had left the Libyan capital for Tunis. As the Vatican’s top official in Tripoli, Bishop Martinelli has been in contact with Mr. Qaddafi’s entourage.
The Italian priest joined a Muslim cleric in blessing the bodies of Mr. Qaddafi’s youngest son and three grandchildren who were killed in a NATO raid on April 30. It was unclear why a Roman Catholic priest would be asked to participate in Islamic last rites.
Since the start of the NATO operation, Bishop Martinelli has been highly outspoken and critical of the military strikes, saying that many civilians had been killed.
The latest reports on Colonel Qaddafi came as NATO airstrikes and worsening shortages of fuel and goods mount pressure on him in the capital Tripoli. An activist said Friday that there has also been a wave of anti-government protests in several Tripoli neighborhoods this week.
Opposition fighters, meanwhile, received major political boosts from abroad. Britain promised to provide them with police gear, and the Obama administration invited a rebel delegation to the White House for talks on Friday, according to The Associated Press.
The sound of two NATO strikes could be heard in the capital early Friday. It was not immediately clear what they targeted. A round of NATO airstrikes on Thursday hit Colonel Qaddafi’s fortified compound in Tripoli. Just hours beforehand, the Libyan leader had appeared on state TV for the first time since his son was killed nearly two weeks ago. Before his appearance, rumors swirled that he had been killed or injured.
Reporters were shown the airstrike damage by Libyan officials, including one who said Mr. Qaddafi and his family had moved away from the Bab al-Aziziya compound some time ago. There was speculation that the colonel had moved into the Rixos hotel, where foreign journalists have been sequestered.
It was at the Rixos that Mr. Qaddafi reportedly met with tribal leaders on Wednesday. Libyan officials initially said three people were killed and 27 wounded in Thursday’s air raids, and later said that four others were killed in an earlier strike on Wednesday.
Mr. Ibrahim said a ground-penetrating “bunker-buster” bomb appeared to have been used in the attack Thursday, which he said hit a “sewage location,” according to Agence-France Presse.
NATO, which has hit the Libyan capital repeatedly this week, said Thursday’s attack successfully hit “a large command and control bunker complex in downtown Tripoli that was used to coordinate attacks against civilian populations.”
Early on Friday, an anti-government activist in the Libyan capital said there had been protests this week in at least three neighborhoods in the capital, accompanied by exchanges of gunfire between opposition activists and Mr. Qaddafi’s forces.
He said he saw in one neighborhood, Fashloum, there were soldiers flooding the area and patrolling the streets in vehicles. He said he did not personally see a demonstration there but heard from other activists that there was a brief gun battle in that area.
The activist’s report echoed those made earlier to AP by a local journalist and resident on Thursday. All spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals.
Britain said in talks it would supply police officers in revolt-held eastern Libya with uniforms and body armor, but so far—like other governments—is declining to provide military weapons.
The rebels control most of eastern Libya, while Mr. Qaddafi controls most of the west, including Tripoli. The besieged port city of Misrata, a city of half a million people about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, is the only revolt stronghold in the west. Local doctors say more than 1,000 of its residents have been killed in the fighting and shelling during the siege by the colonel’s forces.
Meanwhile, the protesters deployed two senior leaders to London and Washington to press for recognition and aid, buoyed by the protesters’ capture of a strategic airport serving the port of Misrata.
Mahmoud Jibril, who serves as the foreign minister of the protesters’ National Transition Council, was set to meet at the White House on Friday with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon.
Asked by CNN television what he expected from the talks, Mr. Jibril replied: “We need the recognition.”
The NTC wants Washington to recognize the body as “the sole legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people,” he said.
The senior Libyan figure has also been meeting senior congressional figures and other administration officials in Washington.
Another senior opposition leader, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, met in London with Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, who invited the NTC to open an office in London, its first foreign mission, AFP reported.
France, Italy, Qatar and Gambia have extended full diplomatic recognition to the protesters, but not Britain or the United States.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates of the US said the air war in Libya has cost the United States roughly $750 million (525 million euros) to date, more than the Pentagon’s initial estimate of $604 million.
(Mustapha Ajbaili, an editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: Mustapha.ajbaili@mbc.net. Abeer Tayel, also an editor at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: abeer.tayel@mbc.net)
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Libya
Jun 13, 2011 11:05:29 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Jun 13, 2011 11:05:29 GMT 4
Preamble: One of Gheddafi's bloody generals takes cares of the repression. What about Colonel Gheddafi himself? Hee comfortably plays chess with one of his Russian friends in one of his secrets compounds (latest news).This is an exclusive report on what is happening on the ground. The video is in Italian but the image sequences speak for themselves. The report is toward the end of the video (advance about 75% of the video). The previous portions regard the Italian and foreign fiscal paradise gangs and the discovery of Mr. Tanzi (Parmalat) special pictures collection. Due to the current censorship on information, due to this recent report on Lybia, the program may be shut down forever.GHEDDAFI'S BLOODY REPRESSION OF THE INSURGENTS(Warning: violent graphic contents) www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-8f3defcc-aa30-4934-9890-2a24ad0b59f0.html#p=0
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Libya
Jun 13, 2011 11:18:01 GMT 4
Post by MMM on Jun 13, 2011 11:18:01 GMT 4
Thanks for keeping up the information
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Libya
Jun 17, 2011 11:56:15 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Jun 17, 2011 11:56:15 GMT 4
LIBYAN TRIBES TO MEET IN ROME 200-300 people, probably next week says Frattini ANSA NEWS - 16 June, 14:19 ROME - The heads of Libya's main tribes and a cross-section of Libyan society will meet in Rome shortly to look ahead to a future for the north African country after strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini announced Thursday.
The meeting will "probably" take place next week, he said. "There will be 200-300 people at this assembly, people who will really represent the whole of Libya".
Italy, Frattini recalled, proposed a national assembly at a recent Libya Contact Group meeting in Rome. He said it would be "a great political assembly for reconciliation which will include all the tribal representatives from all regions and all social milieux". Italy has been at the forefront of talks with the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council (CNT) aimed at mapping out a democratic Libya after the ongoing war with the Gaddafi regime.
Frattini added that Italy and the CNT are close to forging a deal on stemming immigration.
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Libya
Jun 27, 2011 14:41:32 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Jun 27, 2011 14:41:32 GMT 4
Italy 'expects' Gaddafi arrest warrant Hague court set to judge on crimes against humanity 27 June ANSA NEWS - June 27, 2011
Italy expects the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Monday.
"We expect it and I hope it will happen," Frattini said. "Clearly, those who died as victims of the horrible actions of the regime expect it, and international justice expects it".The court in The Hague is set to issue a warrant for crimes against humanity later Monday, according to judicial sources.
In other remarks on Libya, Frattini said "talks must go ahead and must be concluded swiftly".
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Libya
Jul 12, 2011 20:39:51 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Jul 12, 2011 20:39:51 GMT 4
Libya and the Problem with The Hague July 11, 2011 | 2327 GMT - STRATFOR By George Friedman[/b]
The war in Libya has been under way for months, without any indication of when it might end. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s faction has been stronger and more cohesive than imagined and his enemies weaker and more divided. This is not unusual. There is frequently a perception that dictators are widely hated and that their power will collapse when challenged. That is certainly true at times, but often the power of a dictator is rooted in the broad support of an ideological faction, an ethnic group or simply those who benefit from the regime. As a result, naive assumptions of rapid regime change are quite often replaced by the reality of protracted conflict.
This has been a characteristic of what we have called “humanitarian wars,” those undertaken to remove a repressive regime and replace it with one that is more representative. Defeating a tyrant is not always easy. Gadhafi did not manage to rule Libya for 42 years without some substantial support.
Nevertheless, one would not expect that, faced with opposition from a substantial anti-regime faction in Libya as well as NATO and many other countries, Gadhafi would retain control of a substantial part of both the country and the army. Yet when we look at the situation carefully, it should be expected.
The path many expected in Libya was that the support around Gadhafi would deteriorate over time when faced with overwhelming force, with substantial defections of senior leaders and the disintegration of his military as commanders either went over to the other side en masse, taking their troops with them, or simply left the country, leaving their troops leaderless. As the deterioration in power occurred, Gadhafi — or at least those immediately around Gadhafi — would enter into negotiations designed for an exit. That hasn’t happened, and certainly not to the degree that it has ended Gadhafi’s ability to resist. Indeed, while NATO airpower might be able to block an attack to the east, the airstrikes must continue because it appears that Gadhafi has retained a great deal of his power.
The International Criminal Court
One of the roots of this phenomenon is the existence of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which became operational in 2002 in The Hague, Netherlands. The ICC has jurisdiction, under U.N. mandate, to prosecute individuals who have committed war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity. Its jurisdiction is limited to those places where recognized governments are unwilling or unable to carry out their own judicial processes. The ICC can exercise jurisdiction if the case is referred to the ICC prosecutor by an ICC state party signatory or the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) or if the prosecutor initiates the investigation him or herself.
The current structure of international law, particularly the existence of the ICC and its rules, has an unintended consequence. Rather than serving as a tool for removing war criminals from power, it tends to enhance their power and remove incentives for capitulation or a negotiated exit. In Libya’s case, Gadhafi’s indictment was referred to the ICC by the UNSC, and he was formally indicted in late June. The existence of the ICC, and the clause that says that it has jurisdiction where signatory governments are unable or unwilling to carry out their own prosecutions, creates an especially interesting dilemma for Gadhafi and the intervening powers.
Consider the case of Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia. Milosevic, like Gadhafi, was indicted during a NATO intervention against his country. His indictment was handed down a month and a half into the air campaign, in May 1999, by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), a court that was to be the mold, to a large extent, for the ICC. After the intervention, Milosevic clung to power until 2001, cracking down on the opposition and dissident groups whom he painted as traitors during the NATO air campaign. Milosevic still had supporters in Serbia, and as long as he refused to cede his authority, he had enough loyalists in the government who refused to prosecute him in the interest of maintaining stability.
One of the reasons Milosevic refused to cede power was the very real fear that regime change in Serbia would result in a one-way ticket to The Hague. This is exactly what happened. A few months after Serbia’s October 2000 anti-Milosevic revolution, the new and nominally pro-Western government issued an arrest warrant for Milosevic, finally sending him to The Hague in June 2001 with a strong push from NATO. The Milosevic case illustrates the inherent risk an indicted leader will face when the government falls in the hands of the opposition.
The case of Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb political leader, is also instructive in showing the low level of trust leaders like Gadhafi may place in assurances from the West regarding non-prosecution. Serbian authorities arrested Karadzic in July 2008 after being on the run for 12 years. He claimed in court proceedings at the ICTY that he was given assurances by the United States — denied by Washington — that if he were to step down and make way for a peace process in Bosnia, he would not be prosecuted. This obviously did not happen. In other words, the likely political arrangements that were arrived at to initiate a peace process in Bosnia-Herzegovina were wholly disregarded by the ICTY.
Gadhafi is obviously aware of the Balkans precedents. He has no motivation to capitulate, since that could result in him being sent to The Hague, nor is there anyone that he can deal with who can hold the ICC in abeyance. In most criminal proceedings, a plea bargain is possible, but this is not simply a matter of a plea bargain.
Regardless of what a country’s leader has done, he or she holds political power, and the transfer of that power is inherently a political process. What the ICC has done since 2002 — and the ICTY to an extent before that — is to make the political process moot by making amnesty impossible. It is not clear if any authority exists to offer and honor an amnesty. However, the ICC is a product of the United Nations, and the authority of the United Nations lies in the UNSC.
Though there is no clear precedent, there is an implicit assumption that the UNSC would be the entity to offer a negotiated amnesty with a unanimous vote. In other words, the political process is transferred from Libya to the UNSC, where any number of countries might choose to abort the process for their own political ends. So the domestic political process is trumped by The Hague’s legal process, which can only be trumped by the UNSC’s political process. A potentially simple end to a civil war escalates to global politics.
And this is not simply a matter of a leader’s unwillingness to capitulate or negotiate. It aborts the process that undermines men like Gadhafi. Without a doubt, most of the men who have surrounded him for years are guilty of serious war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is difficult to imagine anyone around Gadhafi whose hands are clean, or who would have been selected by Gadhafi if their hands weren’t capable of being soiled. Each of them is liable for prosecution by the ICC, particularly the senior leadership of the military; the ICC has bound their fate to that of Gadhafi, actually increasing their loyalty to him. Just as Gadhafi has nothing to lose by continued resistance, neither do they. The ICC has forged the foundation of Gadhafi’s survival and bitter resistance.
It is not a question only of the ICC. Recall the case of Augusto Pinochet, who staged a coup in Chile against Salvador Allende and presided over a brutal dictatorship. His support was not insubstantial in Chile, and he left power in a carefully negotiated political process. A Spanish magistrate, a minor figure in the Spanish legal system, claimed jurisdiction over Pinochet’s crimes in Chile and demanded that he be extradited from Britain, where Pinochet was visiting, and the extradition was granted. Today the ICC is not the only authority that can claim jurisdiction in such cases, but under current international law, nations have lost the authority to negotiate solutions to the problem of transferring power from dictators to representative democracies. Moreover, they have ceded that authority not only to the ICC but also to any court that wants to claim jurisdiction.
Apply this to South Africa. An extended struggle took place between two communities. The apartheid regime committed crimes under international law. In due course, a negotiated political process arranged a transfer of power. Part of the agreement was that a non-judicial truth commission would review events but that prosecutions would be severely limited. If that transfer of power were occurring today, with the ICC in place and “Spanish magistrates” loose, how likely would it be that the white government would be willing to make the political concessions needed to transfer power? Would an agreement among the South Africans have trumped the jurisdiction of the ICC or another forum? Without the absolute certainty of amnesty, would the white leadership have capitulated?
The desire for justice is understandable, as is the need for an independent judiciary. But a judiciary that is impervious to political realities can create catastrophes in the name of justice. In both the Serbia and Libya cases, ICC indictments were used by Western countries in the midst of bombing campaigns to legitimize their humanitarian intervention. The problem is that the indictments left little room for negotiated settlements. The desire to punish the wicked is natural. But as in all things political — though not judicial — the price of justice must also be considered. If it means that thousands must die because the need to punish the guilty is an absolute, is that justice? Just as important, does it serve to alleviate or exacerbate human suffering?
Judicial Absolutism
Consider a hypothetical. Assume that in the summer of 1944, Adolph Hitler had offered to capitulate to the allies if they would grant him amnesty. Giving Hitler amnesty would have been monstrous, but at the same time, it would have saved a year of war and a year of the holocaust. From a personal point of view, the summer of 1944 was when deportation of Hungarian Jews was at its height. Most of my family died that fall and winter. Would leaving Hitler alive been worth it to my family and millions of others on all sides?
The Nuremberg precedent makes the case for punishment. But applied rigorously, it undermines the case for political solutions. In the case of tyrannies, it means negotiating the safety of tyrants in return for their abdication. The abdication brings an end to war and allows people who would have died to continue to live their lives.
The theory behind Nuremberg and the ICC is that the threat of punishment will deter tyrants. Men like Gadhafi, Milosevic, Karadzic and Hitler grow accustomed to living with death long before they take power. And the very act of seizing that power involves two things: an indifference to common opinion about them, particularly outside their countries, and a willingness to take risks and then crush those who might take risks against them. Such leaders constitute an odd, paradoxical category of men who will risk everything for power, and then guard their lives and power with everything. It is hard to frighten them, and harder still to have them abandon power without guarantees.
The result is that wars against them take a long time and kill a lot of people, and they are singularly indifferent to the suffering they cause. Threatening them with a trial simply closes off political options to end the war. It also strips countries of their sovereign right to craft non-judicial, political solutions to their national problems. The dictator and his followers have no reason to negotiate and no reason to capitulate. They are forced to continue a war that could have ended earlier and allowed those who would have died the opportunity to live.
There is something I call judicial absolutism in the way the ICC works. It begins with the idea that the law demands absolute respect and that there are crimes that are so extraordinary that no forgiveness is possible. This concept is wrapped in an ineluctable judicial process that, by design, cannot be restrained and is independent of any moderating principles.
It is not the criminals the ICC is trying who are the issue. It is the next criminal on the docket. Having seen an older dictator at The Hague earlier negotiate his own exit, and see that negotiation fall through, why would a new dictator negotiate a deal? How can Gadhafi contemplate a negotiation that would leave him without power in Libya, when the Milosevic case clearly illuminates his potential fate at the hands of a rebel-led Libya? Judicial absolutism assumes that the moral absolute is the due process of law. A more humane moral absolute is to remove the tyrant and give power to the nation with the fewest deaths possible in the process.
The problem in Libya is that no one knows how to go from judicial absolutism to a more subtle and humane understanding of the problem. Oddly, it is the judicial absolutists who regard themselves as committed to humanitarianism. In a world filled with tyrants, this is not a minor misconception.
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Libya
Jul 15, 2011 16:04:18 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Jul 15, 2011 16:04:18 GMT 4
Libya suspends cooperation with Italy's ENI 'Everything is finished with ENI', says PM ANSA NEWS - 14 July, 16:10
TRIPOLI- The government of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has stopped all cooperation with the Italian energy giant, ENI, the Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi said on Thursday "Everything is finished with ENI," the prime minister told a news conference in Tripoli.
Al-Mahmoudi said he deplored the way in which Rome had "violated" the friendship accord with Italy endorsed three years ago and its participation in NATO raids against the Gaddafi regime.
ENI is one of the largest foreign oil companies in Libya and has been active in the North African country since the 1950s, but the company angered the regime when it suspended operations and built ties with the rebels seeking to replace Gaddafi. The prime minister said the Gaddafi government was prepared to let US firms invest because Washington was not playing a direct role in the NATO bomb attacks.
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Libya
Aug 10, 2011 12:21:05 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 10, 2011 12:21:05 GMT 4
33 CHILDREN GONE IN ONE BLOW BY N.A.T.O. The price of oil is increasing day by day...but last night the price was not in Euros or Dollars... instead it was 85 people (fathers, mothers and children) 85 people wiped in one single blow by N.A.T.O. while they were still fasting in their homes during their holy month of Ramadan. www.youtube.com/user/DrMoussaIbrahim(note: Allow a few seconds of traditional Arabic salutations before Dr Muossa Ibrahim speaks in English)
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Libya
Aug 21, 2011 18:13:33 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 21, 2011 18:13:33 GMT 4
EXCLUSIVE:LYBIAN TV ANCHOR WOMAN HOLDING GUN THREATENS REBELS NOT TO APPROACH STATE TV OR THEY WILL BE KILLED!People in Tripoli are ready to die to defend their country and Colonel Ghaddafi ... ( note: original Arabic) tv.repubblica.it/dossier/libia-rivolta-gheddafi/la-presentatrice-della-tv-del-regime-in-onda-con-la-pistola/74524?video=&ref=HREA-1BBC LIVE TEXT www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14606749LYBIAN REBELS IN FINAL PUSH FOR CAPITAL Regime forces use machine guns and mortars to confront armed opposition groups in Tripoli, witnesses sayAl Jazeera - 21 Aug 2011 11:26 Security forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have used heavy machine guns and mortars to confront lightly armed opposition forces and protesters who took to the streets of Tripoli on Saturday night in anticipation of a final rebel advance on the capital.Fighting continued into Sunday morning in a few central and eastern neighbourhoods, and rebel flags were raised over some buildings, witnesses said. Much of the population took cover inside their homes. Outside of Tripoli, rebel fighters closed in. They advanced tens of kilometres from Zawiyah, to the west, seizing the town of al-Mayah and putting themselves within several kilometres of the capital's suburbs. Other rebel formations remained further way, stationed to the south, in Gharyan, and to the east, in Zlitan. Despite the greatest challenge yet to his power, Gaddafi remained pugnacious, issuing a telephoned audio address in which he exhorted his followers and congratulated them for defeating the "rats". His most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, gave a televised speech, saying the regime did not know how to raise the "white flag" of surrender.Regime uses mortars and anti-aircraft guns Rebels in the west have taken numerous towns and hundreds of kilometres of ground in the past month. Gunfire and explosions were reported near the Bab al-Aziziyah - a sprawling regime command and control compound - and in the Souq al-Jomaa and Abu Sita neighbourhoods. Rebels said some regime troops defending the Mitiga air base in the capital had abandoned their posts, though mass defections were not reported.Taher, a resident near the Bab al-Aziziyah, told Al Jazeera that men in his neighbourhood, some of whom were armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, had begun protesting last night and blocked the roads.Around 30 to 40 regime security forces responded on Sunday morning with assault rifles and anti-aircraft guns. Some took positions on the rooftops of the nearby Nigerian Embassy and an eye clinic and opened fire, forcing the men to take cover inside the walled compounds of neighbourhood homes. Youssef, another Tripoli resident who lives in the Abu Sita neighbourhood, said regime gunmen had taken positions on the top of the nearby Libyana mobile company building and were firing indiscriminately, as other forces launched mortar rounds. The streets in the area were deserted, he said, as occasional gunfire and booming explosions could be heard in the background. The rebel flag, a tricoloured emblem of the country's first post-colonial days, flew over many buildings in the neighbourhood, he said. "We are waiting for the revolutionaries to come to conquer Tripoli, because we don't have weapons to defend ourselves," he said."Gaddafi troops are using heavy artillery and heavy weapons, and we don't know what's going to happen in the next two to three hours."Government said rebels 'dealt with'Protests began at around 9pm local time on Saturday, as residents took to the streets in numerous areas of the capital, many of them emerging from mosques and chanting "God is great". Expatriate Libyans speaking to family members in the capital said men went out to protest, some with weapons, while children and women were asked to stay home. Meanwhile, NATO aircraft reportedly carried out bombing raids after nightfall.In a live audio broadcast aired on state television early on Sunday morning, GADDAFI congratulated his supporters and accused French President NICOLAS SARKOZY of trying to steal the country's oil. He said that the rebels were "bent on the destruction of the Libyan people".Gaddafi urged his supporters to "march by the millions" and end a months-long rebellion, which he termed a "masquerade". Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim earlier said rebels had tried to attack Tripoli but had been "dealt with". Ibrahim said that pro-regime volunteers had repelled attacks in several neighbourhoods. He dismissed mounting speculation that the regime was on the brink, but more gunfire was heard after he spoke on television. 'Operation Mermaid Dawn'A senior official in the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday that operations in Tripoli were co-ordinated between opponents of Gaddafi in the city and the rebels in the east."The zero hour has started. The rebels in Tripoli have risen up," said Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the NTC, in the eastern city of Benghazi. "There is co-ordination with the rebels in Tripoli. This was a pre-set plan. They've been preparing for a while. There's co-ordination with the rebels approaching from the east, west and south," he said. Colonel Fadlallah Haroun, a military commander in Benghazi, said the battles marked the beginning of Operation Mermaid Dawn. Tripoli's nickname in Libya is "Bride of the Sea," or mermaid. Haroun told the AP news agency that weapons were assembled and sent by tugboats to Tripoli on Friday night. "The fighters in Tripoli are rising up in two places at the moment - some are in the Tajoura neighbourhood and the other is near the Matiga airport," he told Al-Jazeera.Tajoura has been known since the beginning of the uprising in February as one of the Tripoli neighbourhoods most openly opposed to Gaddafi's rule. The Matiga airport is located in the city, while the international airport is located around 30km south. A rebel representative for Tripoli on the NTC told AP that rebels were surrounding almost every neighbourhood in the capital, and there was especially heavy fighting in Fashloum, Tajoura and Souq al-Jomaa. In Benghazi, thousands of Libyans celebrated in the main city square, shooting fireworks and guns into the air, and waving rebel flags. english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/201182193129278233.html
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Libya
Aug 22, 2011 5:18:04 GMT 4
Post by MMM on Aug 22, 2011 5:18:04 GMT 4
Ghadafi's reign seems to be over, looking at the news, they just caught his 2 sons, there is even talk they have him, really hope so, its time to feed him some of his own medicine
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Libya
Aug 22, 2011 19:05:21 GMT 4
Post by cml1234 on Aug 22, 2011 19:05:21 GMT 4
No more Frizz Head?
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Libya
Aug 23, 2011 12:58:52 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 23, 2011 12:58:52 GMT 4
Going Rogue: NATO War Crimes in Libya by Susan Lindauer / June 7th, 2011It’s a story CNN won’t report. Late at night there’s a pounding on the door in Misurata. Armed soldiers force young Libyan women out of their beds at gun-point. Hustling the women and teenagers into trucks, the soldiers rush the women to gang bang parties for NATO rebels or else rape them in front of their husbands or fathers. When NATO rebels finish their rape sport, the soldiers cut the women’s throats.Rapes are now ongoing acts of war in rebel-held cities, like an organized military strategy, according to refugees. Joanna Moriarty, who’s part of a global fact-finding delegation visiting Tripoli this week, also reports that NATO rebels have gone house to house through Misurata, asking families if they support NATO. If the families say no, they are killed on the spot. If families say they want to stay out of the fighting, NATO rebels take a different approach to scare other families. The doors of “neutral homes” are welded shut, Moriarty says, trapping families inside. In Libyan homes, windows are typically barred. So when the doors to a family compound get welded shut, Libyans are entombed in their own houses, where NATO forces can be sure large families will slowly starve to death. These are daily occurrences, not isolated events. And Gaddafi’s soldiers are not responsible. In fact, pro-Gaddafi and “neutral” families are targeted as the victims of the attacks. Some of the NATO tactics may have occurred in hopes of laying blame on Gaddafi’s door. However the attacks are back firing. Flashback to Serbia The events are eerily reminiscent of Serbia’s conflict in the Balkans with its notorious rape camps — except today NATO itself is perpetrating these War Crimes — as if they have learned the worst terror tactics from their enemies. Their actions would be categorized as War Crimes, just like Serb leader, Slobadon Milosevic—except that NATO won’t allow itself to face prosecution. According to NATO, International Law is for the other guy. NATO is wrong. So long as NATO governments provide the funding, assault rifles, military training, ground advisers, support vehicles and air power, they are fully responsible for the actions of their soldiers in the war zone. Libya’s rebels are not a rag tag fighting force, either. Thanks to NATO’s largesse, financed by U.S. and British taxpayers, they’re fully decked out in military uniforms, parading through the streets with military vehicles for all the people to see. And they do see. In Washington, Congress likes to pretend that America has not become involved in the day to day actualities of military planning. However refugees have observed U.S, British, French and Israeli soldiers standing by as rebel soldiers attack civilians. “Rape parties” are the most graphic examples of NATO’s loss of moral control. One weeping father told the fact-finding delegation how a couple of weeks ago NATO rebels targeted seven separate households, kidnapping a virgin daughter from each pro-Gaddafi family. The rebels were paid for each kidnapped girl, just as they are paid for each Libyan soldier they kill — like mercenary soldiers. They hustled the girls into trucks, and took them to a building where the girls were locked in separate rooms. NATO soldiers proceeded to drink alcohol, until they got very drunk. Then the leader told them to rape the virgin daughters in gang bang style. When they’d finished raping the girls, the NATO leader told them to cut the breasts off the living girls and bring the breasts to him. They did this while the girls were alive and screaming. All the girls died hideous deaths. Then their severed breasts were taken to a local square and arranged to spell the word “sleeper.” The grieving father spoke to a convention of workers, attended by the global fact-finding delegation. He was openly weeping, as all of us should. NATO’s offenses in Libya are as terrible and unforgivable as Syria’s castration and mutilation of the 13 year old boy that shocked the world. Yet so long as NATO’s the guilty party, the western media has looked the other way in distaste. Some of us are paying attention. We can see that NATO has gone rogue in Libya. And the Libyan people themselves consider it unforgivable. Last week, 2000 Tribal Leaders gathered in Tripoli to draft a Constitution for the country, as demanded by the British government. Notoriously, British warships and U.S. drones pounded the streets of Tripoli with bunker bombs and missiles for days and nights close to where the Tribal Leaders were meeting. From Tripoli, it felt awfully like the British were trying to stop the Libyan people from bringing this Constitution to life. Tribal Leaders Condemn British Aggression Here’s what those 2,000 Tribal Leaders had to say about British aggression, in a statement approved unanimously on June 3. Sheikh Ali, head of the Tribal Leaders, delivered it to Joanna Moriarty and other members of the global fact finding mission: "The Libyan people have the right to govern themselves. Constant attacks from the skies, at all hours of the day have completely disrupted the lives of the families of Libya. There has never been any fighting in Tripoli, yet we are bombed every day. We are civilians and we are being killed by the British and NATO. Civilians are people without guns, yet the British and NATO protect only the armed crusaders from the East by acting as their attack army. We have read the UN resolutions and there is no mention of bombing innocent civilians. There is no mention of assassinating the legitimate authorities in all of Libya. The Libyan People have the right to select their own leaders. We have suffered occupation by foreign countries for thousands of years. Only in the last 41 years have we Libyans enjoyed property ownership. Only in the last 41 years have we seen our country develop. Only in the last 41 years have we seen all of the Libyans enjoy a better life, and know that our children will have a better life then we have had. But now with the British and NATO bombings of our country, we see the destruction of our new and developed infrastructure. We leaders see the destruction of our culture. We leaders see tears in the eyes of our children because of the constant fear from the “rain of terror” in the skies of Libya from the British and NATO bombings. Our old people suffer from heart problems, increased diabetes and loss of vigor. Our young mothers are losing their babies every day because of the stress of the British and NATO bombings. These lost babies are the future of Libya. They can never be replaced. Our armies have been destroyed by the British and NATO bombings. We cannot defend ourselves from attacks from anyone. As Tribal Leaders of Libya, we must ask why have the British and NATO decided to wage this war against the Libyan people? There are a small percentage of dissidents in the east of Libya that started an armed insurrection against our legitimate authority. Every country has the right to defend itself against armed insurrection. So why cannot Libya defend itself? The Tribal Leaders of Libya demand that all acts of aggression, by the British and NATO, against the Libyan People stop immediately." June 3, 2011 Does that sound like NATO’s got a winning strategy? If so, they should think again. Even if Gaddafi falls, NATO has no hope of eliminating the entire tribal structure of the Libya, which embraces all families and clans. Instead NATO is losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the people with every missile that smashes into another building.Tribal Backlash The Libyan people are fighting back. This report arrived from Tripoli today. It is not edited, and describes a backlash in tribal warfare from the City of Darna in the East, where the rebellion is supposed to be strongest: People found the body of Martyr Hamdi Jumaa Al-Shalwi in Darna city eastern Libya. His head was cut off and then placed in front of the headquarters of the Internal Security Dernah. That was after being kidnapped from a checkpoint complex Herich. In response to this Al-Shalwi family erected a funeral tent to receive condolences in which the green flag [of Libya] was raised. After the funeral the whole city of Darna rose up with all its tribes which include:- the Abu Jazia family, Al-Shalwi family, The Quba families, Ain Marra families. After that, Al-Shalwi family and Bojazia tribe attacked the headquarters of the Transitional Council and shot all the rats (rebels) and green flags were raised. Furthermore, the son of Sofian Qamom was killed, also two members of Al- Qaeda got killed by residents of the city of Darna. The flag of the Libyan Jamahiriya was raised above Darna after the clashes. CNN has reported none of this. The corporate media continues to lull Americans into false confidence in the progress of the Libyan War. Americans are way out of the loop as to the failures of the War effort. As a result, Libyans are losing trust in the potential for friendships with the West. An unlikely champion might restore that faith. Right now a team of international attorneys is preparing an emergency grievance on behalf of the Tribal Leaders and the Libyan people. The International Peace Community could contribute substantially to restoring Libya’s faith in the West by supporting this human rights action. Indeed, the Libyan people and Tribal Leaders deserve our support. Together we must demand that NATO face prosecution for War Crimes, citing these examples and others. NATO governments must be required to pay financial damages to Libyan families, on par with what the U.S. and Britain would demand for their own citizens under identical circumstances. The world cannot tolerate double standards, whereby powerful nations abuse helpless citizens. The International Geneva Conventions of War must be enforced, and equal force of the law must be applied. The Fight for Misurata Though attacks are widespread, some of the worst abuses are occurring in Misurata. The City has the only mega port in Libya, and handles transportation for the country, including the largest oil and gas depots. NATO will stop at nothing to take the City. Refugees report that the Israeli Star of David flag was draped over the largest Mosque in Misurata on the second day of fighting, actions guaranteed to humiliate and antagonize the local population. NATO forces have cut off food and medical supplies throughout Libya. But the seas are plentiful with fish in Mediterranean waters. Brave fishermen have taken their boats out of port, trying to harvest fish for the hungry population. To break their perseverance, American drones and British war planes steadily fire missiles on the fishing boats, deliberately targeting non-military vessels to chase them out of the waters. Yet for all of its superior fire power and tactical advantages, NATO still appears to be losing. According to the fact-finding delegation, reporting today, many rebels have left Misurata and have taken boats back to Benghazi. The big central part of Misurata is now free and under central military control. The Libyan people shot down two helicopter gunships near the town of Zlitan. And although Al Jazeera played a grand story about a major uprising against Gaddafi in Tripoli, one of the Tribal leaders’ wives lives on the street that claims to be the center of the demonstration, and declared that she saw no crowds out of her window. Buses pictured in Al Jazeera video do not run in Tripoli. One has to ask: What kind of society does NATO think it’s creating, if in fact Gaddafi can be deposed — which looks very unlikely? Have Washington and London learned nothing from their failure in Iraq? The cruelty and debasement of NATO’s forces is already fueling profound hatreds that will continue for the next generation. Who could be proud of such “allies?” Not the Libyan people, surely. NATO soldiers are no better than thugs. Anyone else would be labeled terrorists. Most worrisome, NATO’s actions are guaranteed to have serious consequences for long term political stability in Libya. Vendettas are forming between tribes and family clans that will carry over for decades. It is extremely short-sighted and self destructive. NATO should take this warning to heart: Its soldiers are not legal-proof. The International Peace Community is already taking action to uphold Libya’s natural rights at the United Nations. Many of us in the International Peace Community shall defend Libya’s women. And we shall demand War Crimes prosecution and major financial damages against NATO governments, on behalf of the people.Nobody’s fooled by NATO’s story that Gaddafi’s the guilty party. We know that Washington, Britain, France, Italy — and Israel are the real culprits. The murdered women of Misurata shall have justice. NATO can count on it. UPDATE from Joanna Moriarty in Tripoli today (9 June): We have so much documentation that it make your head spin. We spoke with 250 rebels who were released by the Tribal Leaders with the blessings of Ghadafi, the stories they tell of the atrocities that they did are horrifying we have them on tape. We also have many rebels that are documented admitting all the atrocities that they themselves committed. But, here is one truth that is irrefutable – the 2000 tribes of Libya are the actual government here, if anyone does not know this then they do not know Libya. These tribal leaders released 150 rebel prisoners 3 weeks ago, 10 days later another 250 were released. There were about 20 foreigners that witnessed this magnificent show of forgiveness, we have this on tape. There is another release of 200 prisoners in these coming days. Go to Benghazi and you will not find one single prisoner because they have all been killed. This is a hard fact. Anyone that says they interviewed prisoners in Misurata is a liar. The Misurata prisoners that were released said that they were paid 2500 dinar for every soldier they killed and another 1000 dinar for burning the bodies. This is why there are no prisoners, so who is believable 250 prisoners on tape or someone who will not even give his name and makes statements that are unbelievable and unverifiable. Here in Tripoli, the people say, please tell them to come to Tripoli and speak to us but they will not come because they don’t want the truth. They would like to ask these liars to PROVE what they say, they say none of their lies can be proved. Yesterday was Ghadafi’s birthday, they bombed the H*** out of this place yesterday, many many people crying and big damage, but they are not breaking the back of these people. They had parties and shot off fireworks for 3 hours, we were invited to a wedding because they wanted to show us how life continues here and they celebrate life every day. NATO is not bombing the rebels in the East. NATO is working for the rebels. People don’t dare complain about the rebels. They are scared for their lives and their family lives. We have met many people who have escaped these place with their lives, but most don’t want their names out because they have family left there and if they show their face or publicly speak about the rebel atrocities then the members of their families that are left will be killed. We know this from first hand, one of our group had this exact problem and could not be filmed, his father called him and said the rebels saw him on TV and if he spoke out one more time against them they would kill his brother one by one and then begin with his other family members. Today we went to the Roxis hotel. There was a large group of women and children holding signs up that said “tell the TRUTH”, “thank you Qatar for killing our people”, “thank you NATO for destroying our country”. WE love the leader of our revolution, M. Ghadafi. I stopped and took photos and the women came up to me instantly, they thought I was a reporter as all the reporters stay in the Roxis Hotel. They were quite angry and said, TELL THE TRUTH, we want to see the TRUTH outside of Libya we are sick of the lies. One lady had a very small boy with her (maybe 3 years old) he was dressed in a military outfit, he was black, she said you see my son, even our children will fight against this terror, we will never accept NATO or the rebel RATs. [Note: the Libyan people call the rebels "rats."] This is literally everywhere in Tripoli, tonight thousands were on First of September street in support of their revolutionary leader. In all the time (5.5 years) we have come here we have never heard of oppression by Ghadafi, the people have great respect and love for him. They all wear green and wear photos of him around their necks, believe me the Western news is so far from the truth they are on another planet. We have never seen anybody beaten, harassed, in prison, in fact we have been days and never even seen a policeman unlike our trips to Cairo where armed guards are on every corner, with tanks around Mosques on Fridays. Believe us, before this mess, it was safer in Tripoli than in Houston. This is not the Libyan way, they don’t pass out Viagra, this is from the Western mind – I may explode before long, cannot suffer fools lightly and these people have mouths that are not connected to souls. The final two verifiable truths about the atrocities committed by NATO and the Rebels and the US and UK are: 1. The leader of a tribe of 1 million Libyans living in Benghazi was brutally murdered in his home by the rebels after a kangaroo court which was broadcast in the news on TV here in Libya by Dr. Shakeer. The million people tribe wanted to retaliate against all the rebels, the other tribal leaders and Ghadafi told them please do not kill all these people as there has already been too much bloodshed in Libya. Does this sound like a tyrant? 2. Two days later another pro Ghadafi person was murdered, his head was cut off and placed at the door step of the security office in Dharna (he was a tribal leader) the outrage by most of the population in Dharna was expressed in demonstrations of disgust against the rebels and at the end of the day, the green flag of the legitimate government of Libya was flying. The three major tribes in Dharna proclaimed that they had had enough of the death at the hands of these rats and the Council of Shame as they call the revolution council in Benghazi. All of these facts are true and verifiable by video and by affidavit of those present, this liar cannot prove one thing that he is saying. The word of some paid CIA mercenary is not worth ****. Susan believe us when we say, we have huge amounts of documentation, we are collecting it every day. We must file war crime charges against Obama, Sarkozy, Cameron, and NATO. Question the Libyans constantly ask is: “Who are these countries to dictate who our leader should or should not be, we will pick our own leader, we ask for a vote, let us vote and then you will see who should be our leader.” NATO will never dictate to us, if they impose their puppet leader upon us, we will have another revolution and throw him out, he will not last one week. The biggest population is Libya as you know, is in the west, the more NATO rains down destruction upon them the more they back Ghadafi. These are a strong and resilient people, they have an ancient culture and they are an endangered species. Misinformation is the tool of the West not Libya. We have nothing to gain by helping these people (except our souls). One cannot stand by and witness this type of tyranny without doing everything possible to stop it. God Bless them, I pray they will survive this siege that is upon them. Susan Lindauer covered the Iraqi Embassy at the United Nations for seven years before the invasion. She is the author of Extreme Prejudice: The Terrifying Story of the Patriot Act and the Cover Ups of 9/11 and Iraq. dissidentvoice.org/2011/06/going-rogue-nato-war-crimes-in-libya/
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Libya
Aug 23, 2011 18:24:04 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 23, 2011 18:24:04 GMT 4
UPDATE ON LYBIAReuters - 23 August, 2011Reuters reports that Germany is working with its partners in the UN Security Council to remove a freeze on Libyan assets imposed as part of sanctions on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Tuesday.Westerwelle told reporters that Germany, with the international community, did not want to see Libya descend into chaos. To that end, it was a priority to help with reconstruction and support the National Transitional Council."We are working with the UN Security Council in New York to create the conditions to unfreeze the money to help the Libyan people," he told reporters, adding a new Security Council resolution was needed to make that possible. Germany, which abstained on the UN vote in March authorising the use of military action to enforce a no-fly-zone over Libya and protect civilians, is keen to take a leading role in reconstruction efforts.Westerwelle, who said he was in close touch with the rebel leadership, also said Germany had signed a credit agreement to enable the Libyan people and the council to gain access to up to 100 million euros in the coming days.english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
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Libya
Aug 23, 2011 20:16:19 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 23, 2011 20:16:19 GMT 4
Libya rebels capture Qaddafi’s compound in Tripoli, fire in air in celebration by ABEER TAYEL Al Arabiya - Tuesday, 23 August 2011
TRIPOLI LIBYA - Rebel fighters captured Muammar Qaddafi’s heavily defended Bab al-Aziziya compound and headquarters in Tripoli on Tuesday after a day of heavy fighting, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
There was no immediate word on Qaddafi’s whereabouts after the insurgents breached the defenses as part of a massive assault that began in the morning.
Reuters reporters on the scene said that the Libyan rebels poured into Qaddafi’s compound in Tripoli and were seen firing in the air in celebration. One rebel contacted by Al Arabiya said that the rebels control about 70% of the compound. Pro-Qaddafi forces initially tried to defend the compound but their resistance later ended, the reporters said. Al Arabiya reported earlier that the Libyan rebel forces have breached the first gate of Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli.
“Our forces are surrounding Bab al-Azizya. There is a fierce battle going on there. We are now controlling one of the gates, the western entrance,” Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani told AFP.
The rebels, battling forces loyal to Qaddafi, had earlier in the day intensified their attack on the complex in the southern center of Tripoli, home to Qaddafi’s private quarters as well as a military barracks and other installations. Bab al-Azizia is a military base located south of the Libyan capital. It has been used as the main premises of Qaddafi. The compound houses Qaddafi’s home as well as a number of military and security barracks, which were used by the troops led by Qaddafi’s sons. Bab al-Azizia has been set up on an area of six kilometers at a strategic location in Tripoli, near most of the governmental departments. The complex is also near the high way leading to Tripoli International Airport. The compound is heavily guarded. It is surrounded by three cement-made anti-fire fences.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russian chess federation chief Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said Qaddafi had told him by telephone that he was still in Tripoli, alive and well, and had no plans to leave the city. Ilyumzhinov, who has visited Libya during the NATO bombing campaign and met Qaddafi, said the leader’s eldest son Mohammad had called him by telephone on Tuesday afternoon. “He gave the phone to his father, who said that he is in Tripoli, he is alive and healthy and is prepared to fight to the end,” Ilyumzhinov told Reuters by telephone.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, said Libyan rebels appeared to be in control of most of Tripoli, adding that it was sticking to its assessment that leader Qaddafi had not left the country, according to Reuters.
Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan added that although the command capabilities of Qaddafi’s forces had been diminished, they remained dangerous. He also said the United States was monitoring Libya's chemical weapons sites, amid concern in Congress that those weapons could fall into the wrong hands.
EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also said that rebel leaders say 80 percent of the Libyan capital is now controlled by forces opposed to leader Qaddafi. “I just have spoken to (TNC chairman) Abdel Jalil who tells me that 80 percent of Tripoli is controlled by the National Transitional Council (TNC), but that he anticipates it will take a while for that to move further forward,” Ashton told a news briefing.
She also said leaders of the Libyan rebel council had said they wanted international help in preparing for elections in the North African country.
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Libya
Aug 23, 2011 20:43:55 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 23, 2011 20:43:55 GMT 4
US LAWMAKER OPPOSED TO NATO'S ROLE IN LIBYA...AFP - 23 August, 2011A US lawmaker fiercely opposed to NATO's role in the Libya conflict called Tuesday for the alliance's military chiefs to be held to account under international law for the deaths of Libyan civilians.]"Otherwise we will have witnessed the triumph of a new international gangsterism," Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich, a leading opponent in the US Congress to Washington's role in the fighting, said in a statement.
Kucinich said that NATO forces had flouted UN Security Council resolutions in acting as "the air force for the rebels, who could not have succeeded but for NATO's attacks" and had "illegally pursued regime change."
"NATO's top commanders may have acted under color of international law but they are not exempt from international law," he said, as opposition fighters captured Muammar Gaddafi's fortified Tripoli compound.
"If members of the Gaddafi regime are to be held accountable, NATO's top commanders must also be held accountable through the International Criminal Court for all civilian deaths resulting from bombing," said Kucinich.
NATO has insisted that its attacks are in keeping with UN resolutions passed this year which allow military action to protect civilians in Libya. But UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm at the number of civilian casualties in the conflict, including those inflicted in NATO air strikes.
And NATO's air attacks have drawn harsh criticism from members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa, who say the action goes beyond UN resolutions on Libya. [/color] OPEN LETTER TO NATO COMMANDERS AND POLITICAL LEADERS Pravda.ru 21.08.2011
Just what exactly do you think you are doing in Libya? Did anyone elect you? Did you heed the Libyan Government's call for a democratic election? Since when is attacking civilians with US Apache helicopters in your Rules of Engagement? How do you explain the wanton strafing of civilian structures with military hardware?
Why are you taking sides in an internal conflict which as you know very well, is against international law? UNSC Resolution 2131 (XX) of 21 December 1965, containing the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States was backed up by Resolutions 31/91 of 14 December 1976, 32/153 of 19 December 1977, 33/74 of 15 December 1978, 34/101 of 14 December 1979 and 35/159 of 12 December 1980 on non-interference in the internal affairs of States. Why then is NATO actively engaged in supporting armed groups of youths, many of whom are not even Libyan? Why is NATO using armed force to aid terrorist mercenaries shipped in from Egypt and Tunis against Libyan civilians?
Why did the Libyan uprising start on the frontiers and not in the capital city, Tripoli? Why is the vast majority of the capital city firmly behind Colonel Gaddafi? Why are most Libyans in other parts of the country taking a stand with the Government and against the groups of thugs you support with your military hardware? Why do you support people who commit atrocities? Why do the people of the towns they "liberate" fight them off with guns? Why are they hated across Libya?
Why is NATO strafing civilians and civilian structures with military hardware, against Article 3 of the Statute of The Hague International Penal Court which states clearly that one criterion for indictment for war crimes is: "Attack or bombardment, by whatever means, against undefended cities, towns, villages, buildings or houses".
Another clause of the same Article 3 could also be invoked:
"Massive destruction of cities, towns or villages or destruction not justified by military necessity". The attack on Libya's water supply network on Friday July 22 and the attack on the factory making pipes for the supply system on Saturday July 23 in al-Brega were not covered under "military necessity" in which case, under Article 3, this was an act of wanton destruction of civilian structures with military hardware. This renders NATO liable for trial by its own court, the ICC at The Hague; Why is NATO aiding terrorists which by the definition of its own member states are on the list of proscribed terrorist groups?
There is evidence that armed groups fighting inside Libya include the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) which according to the British Government: "The LIFG seeks to replace the current Libyan regime with a hard-line Islamic state. The group is also part of the wider global Islamist extremist movement, as inspired by Al Qa'ida. The group has mounted several operations inside Libya, including a 1996 attempt to assassinate Mu'ammar Qadhafi" and for which reason is on the Home Office list of proscribed terrorist groups (1); Why did NATO not aid the UNSC to reach a peaceful solution to this problem, something which the Libyan Government has been trying to achieve from the beginning? Under the UN Charter, Chapter VI, Article 33, member states must "seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice". Did NATO do this in the case of Libya? No, it used a false flag event, namely the massacre of civilians by "rebel" forces (the allegations must be investigated).
Why did NATO not convene the Military Staff Committee of the UNSC? Under the UN Charter, Chapter VII, Article 46: "Plans for the application of armed force shall be made by the Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee". Such committee was never convened. This is a violation of the UN Charter rendering Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011) void, as indeed is the response by NATO;
Chapter VII, Article 51 refers to the right of States to defend themselves against armed insurgency:
"Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security" in which case NATO had no reason to attack the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Why is NATO continuing to arm the terrorist elements in Libya, why is NATO placing boots on the ground, why are NATO forces making raids on the Libyan coastline, why are French contingents in the western mountains, why is the French Foreign Legion involved in the fighting, why is NATO not inspecting vessels ferrying weapons to the terrorist elements, all of these in direct contradiction of the terms on UNSC Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011)? Why is NATO committing war crimes in its attempts to murder individuals? Without any formal declaration of war, NATO's strikes against civilian structures come outside any possible conditions imposed by rules of engagement, in which case the armed attack against a civilian residence occasioning the murder of Muammar al-Qathafi's son Saif al-Arab al-Qathafi and three of his grandchildren would occasion a case for prosecution; furthermore other strikes against structures where Muammar al-Qathafi was alleged to have been would constitute cases for prosecution for attempted murder; Why is NATO violating the terms of the Geneva Conventions in Libya? Violation of the Geneva Conventions by NATO: Under the Geneva Convention IV, Article 3 (a): "To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds:"
Armed attacks with military hardware against civilian structures occasioning murder, grievous bodily harm of actual bodily harm render NATO liable under this clause. NATO does not represent the collective will of humankind, NATO is a criminal organization which commits murder and attacks civilians arming terrorists and involving itself in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, all against international law, NATO violates the UN Charter, NATO violates the UNSC Resolutions, NATO violates the Geneva Conventions.NATO therefore does not have the right to represent anybody; it is no more than the military wing of the lobbies which control the policies of its member states. We did not vote for NATO, we do not want NATO. Either NATO listens to the collective will of humanity or else it will suffer the consequences of its actions. You can only spit in the wind for so long. No future development inside Libya will free NATO from prosecution for the crimes mentioned above and whatever development there may be, NATO will not "win" anything in this conflict. How can you "win" a game on an uneven playing field with three times as many players?
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey Pravda.Ru (1) www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/counter-terrorism/ proscribed-terror-groups/proscribed-groups?view=Binary ... Persons to be included in legal processes for indictment: [/b
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Denmark) NATO Secretary-General; Charles Bouchard (Canada), Commander of Operations; Nicolas Sarkozy, Édouard Guillaud (France); Rinaldo Veri, Commander Allied Maritime Command (Italy); David Cameron, Sir Stuart Peach (UK); Barack Obama, Carter Ham, Sam Locklear (USA); Harald Sunde (Norway); Adullah II (Jordan); Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani (Qatar); Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan (UAE); Sverker Goranson (Sweden); the Defence Ministers Pieter de Crem (Belgium); Anuy Angelov (Bulgaria); Gitte Lillelund Bech (Denmark); Panos Beglitis (Greece); Hans Hillen (Netherlands); Gabriel Oprea (Romania); Carme Chacón Piqueras (Spain); Ismet Yilmaz (Turkey).english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/21-08-2011/118809-letter_nato-0/
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Libya
Aug 23, 2011 21:39:58 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 23, 2011 21:39:58 GMT 4
Libya After Gaddafi Could Mean Good News For Obama, U.S. Economy AP - Updated: 8/23/11 11:59 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The dramatic advance of Libyan rebels over the forces of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi offers vindication, at least for now, for President Barack Obama's decision to refrain from using U.S. troops on Libyan soil and to let NATO take the lead in degrading Gaddafi's military power. But there are still hazards for the White House.
How the country moves from turmoil to stability presents a new challenge for Obama and could determine how the public views not only his foreign policy, but in some measure the economy as well.
Yet, the news for Obama on Monday could not have been better. The Libyan street was euphoric, Gaddafi was in hiding and the price of oil - a contributor to dangerous economic lethargy - was dropping.
"The Libyan intervention demonstrates what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one," Obama said at his vacation retreat in Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Obama was careful to emphasize that uncertainty remained and that Gaddafi's regime could still pose a threat. What's more, it will take several months even under a stabilized Libya before its oil fields are producing enough crude to start exporting again. But any extra shipments could lower the price of gasoline, which has already come down more than 40 cents a gallon from its peak in May.
Back in March, Obama gambled that the way to confront a potential civilian catastrophe in Libya was to build a coalition of NATO and Arab countries to use airpower ostensibly to protect Libyan citizens from a Gaddafi crackdown. But his intent was clear all along: Gaddafi had to go.
The Libyan leader was deemed a sponsor of terrorism, and his regime in 1986 was found responsible for bombing a Berlin discotheque frequented by U.S. troops. Three people died in the explosion. Two years later, a Libyan agent planted a bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The uprising in Libya follows the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. special operations troops, a major achievement for the Obama administration and one that solidified the president's standing with the public on his handling of terrorism.
But Gaddafi's removal has additional implications. A stabilized Libya would mean the country's oil production could go back online, potentially reducing the cost of oil, which spiked globally in February as the flow of oil from Libya dried to a trickle.
Time and again, the president has cited the uprisings in the Arab world and the increased cost of oil as "headwinds" that have imperiled the economic recovery.
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. Before the uprising, it was the world's 12th largest exporter, delivering more than 1.5 million barrels per day mostly to European markets.
The news of the rebels' success was affecting Brent crude, which is used to price many international oil varieties, dropping 92 cents to $107.70 per barrel in London.
"If oil prices continue to head south, that's a real plus for the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "We can take all the plusses we can get at this point."
So could Obama. While the president's overall approval with the public is above 40 percent in most polls, the number that approve of his handling of the economy dropped to a new low of 26 percent in a Gallup poll last week. By contrast, 53 percent approved of his handling of terrorism.
Still, the joy expressed in the streets of Tripoli Monday overshadowed two lingering questions: What's next, and could a more aggressive U.S. involvement have knocked Gaddafi from power much sooner?
In a statement issued late Sunday, Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they regretted that "this success was so long in coming due to the failure of the United States to employ the full weight of our airpower."
"Ultimately, our intervention in Libya will be judged a success or failure based not on the collapse of the Gaddafi regime, but on the political order that emerges in its place," the two senators said.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, expressed a similar view.
"The lasting impact of events in Libya will depend on ensuring rebel factions form a unified, civil government that guarantees personal freedoms, and builds a new relationship with the West where we are allies instead of adversaries," he said.
Former Obama adviser Robert Gibbs, who is assisting the president's re-election campaign, said the achievement was already evident.
"The American people will see this as a success because we didn't need to send troops in, didn't lose American lives and it involved others in the world who also had big interests in Libya's stability taking a bigger role," Gibbs said.
But the administration remains aware that today's successes could turn sour. Obama called on the rebel leadership to work toward a transition that "is peaceful, inclusive and just."
"True justice will not come from reprisals and violence," Obama said. "It will come from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny."
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Libya
Aug 26, 2011 22:03:34 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 26, 2011 22:03:34 GMT 4
Gaddafi used refugees as 'human bombs' - Strongman wanted 'inferno' on Lampedusa, says Frattini ANSA NEWS - 26 August, 2011
ROME - Besieged Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi diverted massive amounts of migrants to Italy as an attempted reprisal for Italy's involvement in NATO-led air strikes in Libya, Italian Foreign Minister and the Libyan ambassador to Italy said on Friday. "I confirm that Gaddafi himself organized this flow of illegal migration," said Abdulhafed Gaddur on Italian radio. "He was the one who gave the orders".
Since the start of the year, some 50,000 migrants and refugees from North Africa, first from Tunisia and then from Libya, have arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which quickly overburdened local facilities. A deal with Gaddafi to turn migrants back before they neared Italian waters had limited the flow of migrants until the Libyan uprising earlier this year brought down strict border controls, and Italy's involvement in a NATO intervention soured a once friendly relationship between Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Gaddafi. "[Gaddafi] said he wanted to turn Lampedusa black," said Gaddur, referring to the fact that many of the exiles were migrants to Libya from Sub-Saharan Africa. Gaddafi said he wanted to use them as "human bombs," Gaddur added.Gaddur said he suspected that one thousand people died in their attempts to reach Italian shores. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that further evidence of Gaddafi's orders would soon be made public. As the Gaddafi regime nears its end, Frattini responded to suspiscions that Italy and France were more interested in Libya's resources than the best interests of the country itself, which is a former Italian colony. "There's no race to see who gets there first," said Frattini on Italian radio."We're doing what we've always done: confirming the friendship between the Italian people and the Libyan people," he added.
The foreign minister also said that Italy's military role in Libya will continue even after Gaddafi is found, "as long as the circumstances require," highlighting that the transitional government will have the final say. He also underlined Italy's "decades-long" ties with Libya, including mutual political and economic interests, which he said will continue now that the transitional council has promised to honor trade agreements with Italy.
Once Gaddafi's closest European ally, Italy has investments in Libya stretching from multibillion-euro defense and construction contracts to oilfields that supply the Italian oil giant Eni, representatives of which have been working with Libyan insurgents in Benghazi to reactivate oil installations shut down by the military conflict.
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Libya
Aug 26, 2011 22:24:15 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 26, 2011 22:24:15 GMT 4
Al Jazeera has found evidence of a possible mass execution of political activists in Libya.Al Jazeera - 26 August, 2011Visiting a hospital in Tripoli on Thursday, Al Jazeera's James Bays said he saw the bodies of 15 men suspected to have been killed a few days earlier as the rebels closed in on the Libyan capital. "The smell here is overpowering," Bays said from the hospital where a number of bodies lay. "I have counted the bodies of 15 men, we were told there were 17 here. Two bodies were taken away by relatives for burial." ([ b]added:[/b] as of the latest count more than 80 bodies were found at the hospital.)[/i] "We are told these men were political activists who have been arrested over the last few days and weeks and being held near the Gaddafi compound. When the opposition fighters started to enter the compound we are told they were killed. "Everyone I have spoken to who has looked at these injuries, all the medical staff, they say they believe that the injuries they see on the bodies of these men have the hallmark of a mass execution."Bays said there were no forensic scientists at the hospital. Doctors there had taken photos of the exit and entry wounds on the bodies, with the intention of showing it to an expert at a later stage. Fierce fightingThe grisly discovery came as fierce fighting continued across the capital on Thursday, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reported. Fighting was concentrated along the perimeters of Bab al-Aziziya, in Ghagour, and in the neighbourhoods of the Abu Salim district, where Gaddafi reportedly released, armed and paid former prisoners to fight for his regime. Rebels stormed into the Abu Salim district, which is one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi. "Rebels have managed to enter the Abu Salim neighbourhood; clashes are taking place and rebels are pushing very hard," Khodr said. Rebel reinforcements also streamed into Tripoli from other cities to join in the fight against remnants of Gaddafi's forces. A rebel spokesman told Al Jazeera that "Libyan territory is 90 to 95 per cent under the control of the rebellion". The rebels are determined to eliminate the last pockets of resistance and to find Gaddafi; they have offered amnesty and a reward to anyone who kills or captures the 69-year-old Libyan leader. In Benghazi, the National Transitional Council (NTC) told a news conference on Wednesday that Libyan business people had contributed $1.7m for the cash reward. "The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars for the capture of Muammar Gaddafi, dead or alive," Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the NTC chief, said. Audio messageMeanwhile, in an audio message broadcast on loyalist TV channels on Thursday, Gaddafi again called on his supporters to march on Tripoli and "purify" the capital of rebels, who he denounced as "rats, crusaders and unbelievers." "Libya is for the Libyan people and not for the agents, not for imperialism, not for France, not for Sarkozy, not for Italy," he said. "Tripoli is for you, not for those who rely on NATO".In an earlier audio address broadcast on Wednesday by the al-Rai television channel, he said Tripoli residents should repel the rebels' advance. Al Jazeera's Turton reported on Thursday that locals were very worried about attacks by pro-Gaddafi supporters across the city. "There are check points popping up all over the city. Locals are managing to get hold of weapons to police their streets," she said. "There is a lot of nervousness … people are very worried that Gaddafi loyalists are coming through these streets "We've been told about clashes as rebels try to regain control of Abu Salim, the pro-Gaddafi neighbourhood that took a lot of casualties yesterday when rebels took on Gaddafi loyalists there." The fight for SirteElsewhere in the country, rebel commanders said they are readying fresh attempts to advance against Gaddafi's forces in his hometown Sirte, 360km east of the capital and to break a siege of Zuwarah, a town to the west. Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ras Lanuf, 200km from Sirte, said rebels there were assembling heavy weaponry in anticipation of an assault on the Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte. However, Scott Heidler, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the eastern city of Benghazi, said there had already been a stop to rebel advancement towards the Gaddafi stronghold. "So we are facing a battle in the coming hours," he said. Rebels advancing towards Sirte were also blocked on Wednesday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept up stiff resistance. english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/2011825124849190250.html
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Libya
Aug 26, 2011 22:49:47 GMT 4
Post by lightphoenix on Aug 26, 2011 22:49:47 GMT 4
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