Libyan Revolution Week 28 part 3

[joshcryer]

[joshcryer]

1. Libyan Revolution Day 196 updates below, current time in Libya, 10:15am Thursday, September 1

A group of friends have fun with a hat found inside Colonel Qaddafi's former stronghold, Bab al-Aziziya.

Photo: Tyler Hicks / The New York Times

A picture of smiling Libyans... ;)

[joshcryer]

2. Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam vows continued resistance

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV35L20110831?sp=true">Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam vows continued resistance
Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, on Wednesday vowed continued resistance to Libyan forces which ousted his father from Tripoli and urged Libyans to wage a war of attrition against the National Transitional Council and its NATO backers.

...

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in a statement broadcast on the Syrian-owned Arrai satellite TV channel, said his father was doing well and warned NTC forces against trying to enter the family's hometown of Sirte, still under Gaddafi's control, saying 20,000 armed youths were waiting for them.

...

"We assure people that we are standing fast and the commander is in good condition," he said referring to his father, who had made two audio statements to radio and television channels since Tripoli fell earlier this month.

Saif al-Islam also urged Libyans across the country to move against the NTC forces. "We must wage a campaign of attrition day and night until these lands are cleansed from these gangs and traitors," he said.

...

[joshcryer]

3. Tripoli’s sudden fall revealed rotten heart of Gaddafi’s regime

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/tripolis-sudden-fall-revealed-rotten-heart-of-gaddafis-regime/2011/08/27/gIQABpgssJ_story.html">Tripoli’s sudden fall revealed rotten heart of Gaddafi’s regime
They were elite, professionally trained troops guarding a critical source of the regime’s power: the headquarters of Libya’s propaganda-spewing state television.

But when unarmed protesters took to the streets, the feared guards, members of brigades known as Katibas, simply took off their uniforms, lay down their weapons and ran.

“Underneath their uniforms, they had civilian clothes, jeans and T-shirts, as though they were expecting this,” said Badr Ben Jered, a 25-year-old employee in Nokia’s marketing division, patrolling his neighborhood with a Kalashnikov rifle. “Then people started screaming, ‘The Katiba are running! The Katiba are running!’ We were so shocked, and still so scared of them, no one even went after them.”

Its rapid disintegration Aug. 20 and 21 suggests that support for Moammar Gaddafi was far more shallow than the government had portrayed over the course of the six-month uprising.

Thanks to tabatha for this nice find. And of course to pinboy3niner for his continual updates, as usual. A hero to be sure.

[joshcryer]

4. As Gaddafi falls - Lessons from Libya - imperialism, anti-imperialism & democratic revolution

Note to mods, this article is anti-copyright, as the author is an anarchist. To everyone else, this article is massive, so be warned.

http://www.wsm.ie/c/gaddafi-lessons-libya-imperialism-democratic-revolution">As Gaddafi falls - Lessons from Libya - imperialism, anti-imperialism & democratic revolution
The sudden end of the Gaddafi regime some 6 months after the start of the Libyan revolt leaves some difficult questions unanswered for the left. Gaddafi’s determination to physically crush the revolt quickly transformed it into a civil war, a civil war that saw considerable imperialist intervention on the rebel side, intervention that was essential to their eventual victory. This and Gaddafi’s historic record led to some on the left taking his side in the civil war while other organisations tried to balance support for the ‘Arab spring’s’ arrival in Libya with opposition to imperialism. This question of where the balance lies between international solidarity with pro-democracy movements and opposition to imperialism could well rapidly return to the top of the agenda in a very much bigger way as the regime in Syria continues its months long military suppression of the democracy movement there.

The spread of the Arab democratic revolution to Libya and the subsequent intervention by imperialist airpower against Gaddafi led to a major and heated debate on the revolutionary left on the question of imperialism. The very complexity of the situation in Libya means that as well as the specifics of this war and revolution it provides a useful starting point for a re-examination of what has become traditional anti-imperialism. Libya like Rwanda, Srebrenica and more rhetorically Palestine has become one of those recent conflicts where many argue for rather than against intervention.

Part of this is down to a standard dogmatic polarization between pro-intervention liberals who think the bombs are being dropped to protect Libyans on the one hand and on the other the nationalists and hard core Leninist’s who think Gadaffi's past make him an enemy of imperialism today. Neither pole has much to say of relevance to those who found themselves facing Gaddafi's tanks outside Benghazi at the start of the revolt with little more than AK47's to stop them. But much more reasoned argument for and against intervention has been made by commentators with a strong record like Gilbert Achcar who argued for intervention and Noam Chomsky who argued against.

...

Those who have openly proclaimed support for Gaddafi have done so in the language of anti-imperialism. But whatever about his claim to be anti-imperialist back in the 1980's, today Gaddafi is the dictator who it was claimed had turned anti aircraft guns on democracy protesters, killing hundreds in the first days of the revolt against his rule. Footage was posted by Libyans in those early days, and the gruesome sight of bodies that had literally been ripped apart by the high calibre bullets appeared to leave no doubt of such use. As did the charred bodies of solders who had refused to follow such orders and as a result had been executed, hands cable tied behind their backs.

If you wish to have insight into how I feel about intervention in Libya, and indeed, the totality that makes up the past 6 months of my unwaivering support, please, I implore you to read this editorial. Andrew Flood and I share effectively the same opinion on this matter, completely. The only difference between he and I is that I find "imperialism" too often used as a left-wing Emmanuel Goldstein, and thus do not conjure it in my regular writings (as a poster on DU and as an anonymous poster elsewhere). That does not mean that I don't agree with its evils wholeheartedly, you must know. Imperialism is real and it must be resisted, but when it becomes a stale argument it closes doors for more nuanced views which get to the nitty gritty of things.

I am wholeheartedly anti-imperialist intervention. However, I believe a peoples can chose their own actions and I support it when they do. As Andrew Flood iterates:

An anarchist approach to these questions needs to have a number of components
1. An absolute political opposition to imperialism itself in either its military or economic forms and a rejection of the concept of humanitarian intervention from above.
2. Defense of democratic republican movements in general
3. Promotion and support for libertarian tendencies & currents within such movements
4. An acceptance that the question of how much military support it is permissible for those in struggle to accept from imperialist powers is not an absolute but rather dependent on the nature of those movements and what they are sacrificing for such support. And at the end of the day while we may advise and critique it is the movements themselves that will make these judgment calls.

The Libyan people are rejecting foreign troops on the ground, rejecting NATO bases, rejecting oil contract renegotiation, are seeking democracy. I can denounce the bad and appreciate the good.

[ellisonz]

5. AJE: Gaddafi may be in Bani Walid

57 min 52 sec ago - Libya

Ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to be in the desert town of Bani Walid, about 150km southeast of Tripoli, a top military commander of Libya's interim council said on Thursday.

Abdel Majid, the coordinator of the Tripoli military operations room, told Reuters "someone we trust" had said Gaddafi had gone there with his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi three days after Tripoli fell last week. - Reuters

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

[ellisonz]

6. Algerian Foreign Minister Says al-Qaeda Group Obtained Weapons

1 hour 10 min ago - Libya

Algeria's foreign minister says his government is certain that al-Qaeda's north African branch has obtained weapons on the black market that has flourished during the civil war in neighboring Libya.

Mourad Medelci says that countries across north Africa have seen proof "on the ground" that al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the instability in Libya to procure new weapons with which to expand its activities.

"It's not just a worry or a feeling, it's a certainty," Medelci said in an interview on French radio station Europe 1.

Medelci is in Paris to participate in an international conference seeking to map Libya's future.

The diplomat said that Libya is "vulnerable" during its transition to al-Qaeda members taking refuge within its borders. - Reuters

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

[Iterate]

7. Gaddafi and the Touareg: Love, hate and petro-dollars

GADDAFI AND THE TOUAREG: Love, hate and petro-dollars
Touareg attitudes to Gaddafi vary wildly, depending on country of origin and history (First published by Monocle Magazine - Online only, March 2011)

After his usual upbeat greeting, Ahmed, my Touareg musician friend from Kidal in northeastern Mali, changes his tone abruptly. “Things are really hard at the moment,” he says in a dejected voice. “There’s no work. There hasn’t been for ages. All I do is go to the bush to look after the animals and then come back here to town.” Then he adds, “We’re watching the news about Gaddafi on the TV. Nobody is happy about it. If Gaddafi goes, then the Touareg will be in great danger. But Gaddafi hasn’t been recruiting in Kidal. I don’t think so anyway.”

Despite Ahmed’s claims, it now seems certain that up to 800 young Touareg have been lured north from Mali and Niger to go and fight as mercenaries for Gaddafi since the start of the Libyan uprising. This is unsurprising perhaps if you consider the dire state of poverty and joblessness in the southern Sahara. Decades of drought, under-development and ethnic conflict have recently been exacerbated by the presence of Al-Qaeda In the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) whose kidnappings have put an end to tourism and foreign investment in the region. Gaddafi’s promise of arms and petrodollars represent a pill of hope, albeit a bitter tasting one. Some Touareg youth feel they have no option but to swallow it.

...

Akli Sheika, a Libyan Touareg living in exile in Britain, was imprisoned for teaching Tifinarh, the ancient Touareg alphabet, in Libyan schools. “I consider Gaddafi to be the enemy number one of the Touareg people,” he told me. “Most of the Touareg in Libya want Gaddafi to leave. Gaddafi is recruiting the Touareg by force and threatening them with violence if they don’t fight with the protestors. Many Touareg from Ghat and Ubari in the south have actually fled to Djanet in Algeria.”

When I speak to Abdallah, a Libyan Touareg who is virtually imprisoned in his family home in Tripoli by all the violence going on in the streets outside, his views are unequivocal. “Countries like Mali and Niger who have been killing the Touareg for over forty years, now want to exploit the situation by saying that the Touareg are supporting the regime here,” he says in an anxious voice. “But this is false. About 200 Touareg have been killed here because they refused to obey orders to shoot innocent protestors. And now the Touareg youth have joined the revolution against the regime…” Abdallah was only able to speak for a few more minutes before insisting he had to hang up because his mobile phone was being tapped.

more... http://www.andymorganwrites.com/gaddafi-and-the-touareg-love-hate-and-petro-dollars/

Nice piece, and some hindsight only adds to the value.

Many, many good pieces and posts here yesterday. Sorry I (unexpectedly) had to miss them.

[al bupp]

8. "I will be your eyes" and "I will be your legs"

From: https://www.facebook.com/media/albums/?id=133738650025293">Libyan Youth Movement's Facebook Photos

[pinboy3niner]

9. NTC extends deadline 1 week for Sirte loyalists to surrender

Libya's ruling National Transitional Council has given one extra week to Muammar Gaddafi loyalists to lay down weapons.

The body has extended the deadline for surrender of Gaddafi's last bastion Sirte by one week, Mohammad Zawawi, an NTC spokesman, said on Thursday.

"We are not in a rush to get in to Sirte. It has no economic importance and we're not going to lose casualties for it. We can cut supplies and wait, even more than a week," he said.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-1-2011-1650

[pinboy3niner]

10. Captive Gaddafi FM: 'I think it is over...(loyalists) should give up...to save more bloodshed'

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Sep 1, 2011


Al Jazeera has obtained an exclusive interview with Abdelati Obeidi, Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister, who is being detained in the capital, Tripoli.


He was said to have been taken into custody at his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli, on Tuesday.


Speaking under armed guard from a safehouse in the Libyan capital, Obeidi said he had given himself up to the National Transitional Council for his own safety.


Obeidi, who said he was being treated well, called on Gaddafi's forces to put an end to the bloodshed.


Al Jazeera's James Bays reports from Tripoli.

Gaddafi foreign minister speaks to Al Jazeera (3:08):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ATKIgE_kRs&feature=player_embedded

[pinboy3niner]

11. Libya's Moammar Gadhafi reportedly tells TV station loyalist tribes are armed, won't surrender

The Associated Press : Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:35 AM


TRIPOLI, Libya - A TV station is quoting Moammar Gadhafi as warning that tribes loyal to him in key strongholds are armed and won't surrender to Libyan rebels.

...


Al-Rai says Gadhafi will issue a statement and quotes him as saying "we won't surrender again; we are not women; we will keep fighting."


http://www.globalnews.ca/entertainment/world/libya39s+moammar+gadhafi+reportedly+tells+tv+station+loyalist+tribes+are+armed+won39t+surrender/6442473754/story.html

[pinboy3niner]

12. New Gaddafi message come out in dribs and drabs in tweets

Matthew Weaver, at The Guardian's Live blog, has been following Twitter for news of Gaddafi's statement as it comes from Al Arabiya. This is how it has unfolded:


3.08pm:

The Arab news channel Al-Arabiya claims Muammar Gaddafi is due to speak in the next ten minutes.

It tweeted this at 3.03pm.

BREAKING: Muammar Qaddafi to speak in 10 Minutes #AlArabiya #Libya #gaddafi

That's all we know.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-27


3.12pm:

The contents of Gaddafi messages is coming out in dribs and drabs via al-Arabiya's Twitter feed. It is unclear, at this stage whether he has an issued an audio message or simply a statement.

BRK: Qaddafi: Let this be a long fight, and let Libya be on fire. #Gaddafi #Libya #Tripoli


BRK: #Qaddafi urges tribes to continue the fight. #Gaddafi #Libya #Tripoli

Reuters says the message is based on reports from the Syria's Arrai television, the channel Saif al-Gaddafi called last night.

FLASH: Gaddafi calls on his supporters to keep fighting even if they do not hear his voice -al Arabiya reports from Arrai channel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-28


3.28pm:

Zaid Benjamin, a writer who has worked at al-Arabiya, has more on Gaddafi's statement:

Urgent: I wont surrender once again and we will continue fighting - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: I insist on my Jamaheryai state, it is the only way to rule - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: The only way to end this crisis is to free the Libyan People - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: Gaddafi is congratulates his people on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr #Libya #Tripoli

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-29

[pinboy3niner]

13. Zaid Benjamin, a writer who has worked at al-Arabiya, has more on Gaddafi's statement:

Urgent: I wont surrender once again and we will continue fighting - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: I insist on my Jamaheryai state, it is the only way to rule - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: The only way to end this crisis is to free the Libyan People - #qaddafi on Rai TV #Libya #Tripoli


Urgent: Gaddafi is congratulates his people on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr #Libya #Tripoli

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-29

[pinboy3niner]

14. Sexist to the last, Gaddafi says:

"We won't surrender again; we are not women; we will keep fighting," according to a preview of his statement by Arrai TV.

AP has this:

A TV station is quoting Moammar Gadhafi as warning that tribes loyal to him in key strongholds are armed and won't surrender to Libyan rebels.

Thursday's report on Syrian-based Arrai TV comes as the rebels who have seized control of most of the country extended by a week a deadline for the surrender of Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte - originally set for Saturday.

Al-Rai says Gadhafi will issue a statement and quotes him as saying "we won't surrender again; we are not women; we will keep fighting."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-30

[pinboy3niner]

15. Gaddafi urges followers to prolong the bloodshed

"We will fight the collaborators. The Libyan people are not a herd of sheep they are heavily armed. As you are aware the aggression works toward muzzling my voice. They (the imperialists) know that my voice represents danger to them. It is danger to imperialism and their treacerous collaborators."


"This is living proof that imperialism and occupiers are very weak. The occupiers are weak. This is an intrigue, this is a plot. Stand up to them by the bullet."


"Their supplies will run out, but ours will never run out. We will be rewarded by victory. We enjoy the grassroots support. It is the Libyan people that are assaulted."


"We can never surrender, we will not wave our sacrifices."


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-1-2011-1756

[pinboy3niner]

16. "Let it be a long battle. We will fight from place to place...city to city...mountain to mountain."

For Arabic speakers Zaid Benjamin has uploaded Gaddafi's audio statement to SoundCloud.

Gaddafi by ZaidBenjamin

PA has translated more of what he said:

Let it be a long battle. We will fight from place to place, from city to city, from mountain to mountain.


Let it be a long battle so that we can show to them that they cannot rule the Libyan people, they cannot subjugate our tribes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-33

[tabatha]

17. Not Good Haters: Libya’s Amazigh Minority

SABRATHA, Libya, August 27th — After a cumulative two months in Libya, I’ve come to believe that the fears of an Iraq-style post-Qaddafi fragmentation are misplaced. Many Libyans express the wish to kill Qaddafi—but not his fighters. This augurs well for the future of this closely knit, small-population country. Even ethnic tensions here are at a lower key, with the Berber minority seeking cultural freedom but not separatism.

From the 14th of August to the 21st and again from the 23rd to the 26th, I was with the Zwara Brigade as they fought in Sabratha and then to free their own town. They are Amazigh, part of the Berber minority here. About 160,000 live in the Nafusa Mountains and Zwara, and a much smaller group of Tuareg in the southern desert. They bitterly resent Qaddafi’s banning of their 2,200-year-old language, much as the Irish resent the English banning of Gaelic. Even giving a child an Amazigh name was forbidden under Qaddafi, though the community still uses such names internally. As soon as their town was freed, the Zwara Brigade raised the yellow, green, and blue Amazigh flag next to the red, black, and green flag of the revolution in their town center. Nearly every Amazigh I met in Jadu, where the Zwara Brigade prepared to retake their city, and in Zwara itself, was quick to point out that they were the indigenous inhabitants of Libya, and that the whole country was once theirs before the Arab invasion. But they are not good haters.

From the 23rd onward—I left on the 26th, as the fight continued—the brigade tried to subdue Qaddafi forces based among their Arab neighbors in Jumayl, just 8 kilometers south of their seaside town. The enemy included remnants of the former Libyan national army, of Qaddafi’s separate “brigades,” commanded by his inner circle, and “volunteers” or untrained young men given weapons and cars after February 17th.

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/new/blogs/marlowe

[Iterate]

20. Another: ‘Embedding’ with Libya’s Freedom Fighters

‘Embedding’ with Libya’s Freedom Fighters
Aug 22, 2011 1:21:00 AM EDT

...

Luckily for the mainly youthful volunteers, Qaddafi’s forces are nearly as fragmented. Qaddafi starved the regular Libyan army, fearing it might turn against him. The starving was almost literal; Mr. Senussi, as he is called by the troops, made only $400 a month. He says the weaponry and even the planes of the Libyan armed forces date from the Chad war of the 1980s. Instead of maintaining the Libyan Army, Qaddafi created independent brigades, commanded by his sons or regime insiders. These brigades were much better paid and equipped and answered only to him. The 219th Brigade in Sabratha, Mr. Senussi says, is a particulary good unit. The final piece in the puzzle is the “volunteers” (mutata’ween) who appeared after the revolution broke out. Unemployed layabouts or men from neighboring Chad or Mali are well paid to fight with special brutality, wearing civilian clothes and obeying no laws of war.

...

Having done seven embeds with US troops—mainly the elite 82nd Airborne—in Afghanistan, my own expectations of professional soldiers are very high. And while the men I’ve been with from the Sabratha and Zwara brigades are smart and brave, they readily admit that they are not professionals. This in itself is a shocker for a journalist. When I was caught on foot during an attack on Sunday in Sabratha, many men jumped into their cars and drove toward the fire, while others stayed on foot. But it took a few minutes for anyone to notice that I needed some guidance. A professional soldier makes a razor sharp distinction between soldiers and civilians (and between officers and enlisted fighters). But these fighters are civilians. Then too, they lack the division of labor that is taken for granted in our army, where each fighter knows exactly what is expected of him at nearly every moment. Everyone wants the glory of being in the thick of battle and no one wants a support role. Even the professionals ignore the basics of command and control. For hours in Sabratha, commanders made only occasional efforts to use the Thuraya phone to call in information about their location and progress to anyone outside the town. I am not sure they every informed Benghazi what we were doing. As Senussi Mohamad put it, “I talk mainly to my men.”

When the fog of war descends, these forces may make fatal errors.

One very tragic error took place last week not far from here. Ten fighters from Jadu were slain by a NATO airstrike—and two are still missing—due to the group having moved forward into a red zone. They had apparently communicated their intention to block the retreat of a large group of Qaddafi fighters at dawn on the 17th, but received no answer from the Benghazi command linked to NATO. A professional commander would have waited, but they went forward. Jadu is a tiny place, just 10,000 closely related people, and until the 17th they had only lost four men in the war. Shortly thereafter, the sky above this mesa town was illuminated by weapons fire late into the night as hundreds mourned their dead.

more... http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/new/blogs/marlowe/Embedding_with_Libyas_Freedom_Fighters

Some of this was in her tweets, but it was puzzling because I didn't find it in a published article. Now we know. Thanks.

ETA, here's another report from tweets that hasn't been published or expanded on yet:

Gaddafestrophe
#Gaddafi's regime ordered the execution of 100,000 people, a document found in a #Tripoli prison shows. #Libya #Feb17 via @AlArabiya_Eng 3 hours ago

[tabatha]

18. Libya: Detainees left to suffocate in crowded metal containers

19 people suffocated to death while detained in the two metal containers
© Amnesty International

Some of the survivors described their ordeal to Amnesty International
1 September 2011

Pro al-Gaddafi forces left 19 detainees to die of suffocation while locked inside metal containers in the sweltering June heat in north-western Libya, Amnesty International has discovered.

Three survivors described how al-Gaddafi loyalists tortured them and then imprisoned them along with 26 others in two cramped cargo containers on 6 June at a construction site in al-Khums, 120 km east of Tripoli.

The detainees endured temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and drank their own sweat and urine when the limited water supply ran out. Their captors shouted “rats, shut up”, ignoring their cries for help.

This is the first report of the June incident, because al-Khums was off-limits to independent reporting until it fell under the control of the National Transitional Council (NTC) on 21 August.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/libya-detainees-left-suffocate-crowded-metal-containers-2011-09-01-1

[pinboy3niner]

30. More details on what one survivor called 'a day from hell'

Posted on The Guardian's Live Blog:

Gaddafi loyalists left 29 detainees locked inside metal containers to suffocate in the Libyan summer heat, according to Amnesty International. Nineteen of them died as a result of the ordeal.

...


Amnesty's team in Libya, who examined the two metal containers used to hold the detainees, said they had no windows and the only ventilation came from dozens of bullet holes along the metal walls.


The larger container held 19 people, ten of whom survived. Only one of the ten people held in the smaller container, which measured just 2m by 6m, emerged alive.


Guards finally opened the containers on 6 June, and the 11 survivors were transferred to other detention centres in Tripoli. They were freed by rebels on 21 August, and one later died of kidney failure. It is unknown what happened to the bodies of those who died.


One of the survivors, school teacher Mohamed Ahmed Ali, told Amnesty:

People were falling on the floor all around me. Our clothes were dripping in sweat. Many were murmuring the shehada . We were screaming: 'we will die in here, let us out'.


Eventually, I couldn't even see anymore, and I was getting increasingly weaker. Everything got so blurry. I lost consciousness.

Another survivor, Faraj Omar Al-Ganin, 27, said:

For hours we were screaming for help; the detainees in the second container were doing the same.


It then became eerily quiet. I realised that I was the only one still conscious. I screamed: 'They have all died'. The guards finally opened the doors. They then made me drag the bodies out by their feet.

Abdel Rahman Moftah Ali, 24, the only survivor from the smaller container, said:

None of us could stand up straight anymore. Foam was coming out of some people's mouths… I saw my cellmates drop to the ground and become motionless one by one… I think I fell and hit my head… Eventually I regained consciousness, and was covered in blood… It was a day from hell.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-44

[pinboy3niner]

19. Libya buys 50,000 T Russian wheat - trade

Thu Sep 1, 2011 3:42pm GMT


• Grain purchases by Libya set to pick up

• Uncertainty over security at Libyan ports


By Aleksandras Budrys and Jonathan Saul


MOSCOW/LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Libya has bought 50,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, a grain tracking firm said on Thursday, indicating commercial deals are picking up after months of war and that Moscow may not suffer from not supporting the fight to oust leader Muammar Gaddafi.


International trading house Glencore , which the grain tracker said had been involved in arranging transport, denied any knowledge of the shipments.


Trade and shipping sources told Reuters this week Libya was aiming to import 500,000 tonnes of wheat and 400,000 tonnes of flour in the next two to three months, although western sanctions on Gaddafi and worries over port security will hinder the pace of shipments.


"The Libyans need a lot of grain and Russia is providing the market with lots very cheaply. People expect Russian wheat and flour to be sold into Libya in large volumes as it is much cheaper than other origins," said a European trader.


"Grain is an anonymous product and because it is not so visible the Russians are not likely to suffer from their support of the old Gaddafi government. I think the Russians will sell more in coming days and weeks."

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K11R220110901?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

21. World powers, new Libya leaders map out rebuilding

Thu Sep 1, 2011 3:53pm GMT

• World powers sit down with new Libyan rulers in Paris

• Focus on short-term funding needs, political stability

• Libya rebuilding throws open big investment opportunities


By Keith Weir and John Irish


PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Leaders of the Libyan uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi met with world powers in Paris on Thursday to map out the country's rebuilding, 42 years to the day after the former strongman seized power in a coup.


French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron -- who spearheaded the military campaign that helped rebels drive Gaddafi from power -- greeted Libya's interim leaders for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, European, Arab and African leaders and the heads of NATO, the U.N. and the EU.


With the West anxious to avoid mistakes made in Iraq, the tight three-hour agenda of the first "Friends of Libya" meeting focuses on political and economic reconstruction.

...


Jalil was due to open the talks with an outline of the NTC's roadmap, which targets a new constitution, elections within 18 months and ways to avoid reprisals, before addressing an evening news conference along with Sarkozy and Cameron.


"This is not being dropped out of a NATO aeroplane, this is being delivered by the Libyan people," Cameron told CNN shortly before the talks. "It is their revolution, it is their change."

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE78003I20110901?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

22. Gaddafi Vows To Engulf Libya In Flames

Source: Sky News

5:20pm UK, Thursday September 01, 2011

Defiant Muammar Gaddafi has called on his supporters to fight on and engulf Libya "in flames".


Gaddafi's message was broadcast on Syrian TV as it was reported that a deadline for loyalists to surrender peacefully had been extended by a week.

...


"Let there be a long fight and let Libya be engulfed in flames," he was heard saying.


"We will not give up. We are not women. We will continue fighting."

...


In a further development, Anti-Gaddafi soldiers have told Sky News that two unexploded car bombs have been found in Tripoli.


The bombs were discovered in at least two vehicles in the suburbs on Wednesday night.

...


More at link, including videos:
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16060460

[pinboy3niner]

24. Gadhafi vows no surrender in Libya

By BEN HUBBARD and MAGGIE MICHAEL - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 2 mins ago


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi warned from hiding Thursday that tribes loyal to him were well-armed and preparing for battle, hours after rebels hoping for a peaceful surrender extended the deadline for loyalist forces to give up in the longtime Libyan leader's hometown.


Gadhafi's audio statement, broadcast by Syrian-based Al-Rai TV, came as the rebels said they were closing in on the former dictator.


"We won't surrender again; we are not women, we will keep fighting," Gadhafi said. His voice was recognizable, and Al-Rai has previously broadcast several statements by Gadhafi and his sons.


Rebels have been hunting for the Libyan leader since he was forced into hiding after they swept into Tripoli on Aug. 20 and gained control of most of the capital after days of fierce fighting.


Opposition fighters, backed by NATO airstrikes, have been advancing toward three regime strongholds: Sirte; Bani Walid, 90 miles (140 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli; and Sabha, in the southern desert. All three places had been given a deadline of Saturday to surrender. While the deadline extension was officially only for Sirte, rebels said it would also include Bani Walid and Sabha.


...


http://news.yahoo.com/gadhafi-vows-no-surrender-libya-153844885.html

[pinboy3niner]

23. Latest developments in the Libyan conflict--Reuters

Thu Sep 1, 2011 4:42pm GMT


Sept 1 (Reuters) - Following are the latest political and military developments in the Libyan crisis.


...


• Muammar Gaddafi called on his supporters to set Libya alight, vowed that his backers would not give up and said those against him were divided, Arabic news channels reported on Thursday.


• Gaddafi is in a desert town outside Tripoli planning a fightback, a Libyan military chief said on Thursday.


• The massed crowds that filled a central Tripoli square each Sept. 1 to celebrate Gaddafi's 1969 coup have vanished, replaced this year by tramps and men collecting spent bullet casings for scrap.

...


• Gaddafi called Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to negotiate a passage into his country but the latter refused to take his call, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE77U0QI20110901?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

25. Analysis: Battle for Libya not quite over

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Security in Tripoli has improved but the humanitarian situation remains precarious

• National Transitional Council yet to establish itself as a government-in-waiting

• There is little command and control over the disparate groups of rebel fighters

• Growing dispute within NTC over who administers Libya's sovereign wealth fund

By Nic Robertson and Tim Lister, CNN

September 1, 2011 9:58 a.m. EDT


(CNN) -- Ten days ago the vanguard of rebel forces streamed into the Libyan capital. Moammar Gadhafi's forces put up virtually no resistance and it seemed that the end of Libya's six-month conflict was imminent.


The people of Tripoli could smell freedom; there was an anarchic euphoria about the city despite continuing gun battles.


Ten days on, the picture is less clear and the future holds many questions. The joy at being liberated from Gadhafi's brutal and capricious rule is still unconfined, especially as residents celebrate the end of Ramadan.


Security in Tripoli has improved, but the humanitarian situation remains precarious, with water shortages especially a problem. The National Transitional Council's political leadership has not installed itself in any organized fashion as a government-in-waiting and there appears little command and control over the disparate groups of fighters consolidating their hold on Tripoli.

...


Some of the NTC's Executive Committee and other senior officials are now in Tripoli; others are still in Benghazi or Doha in Qatar. There are clearly disagreements and competition among them for influence. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that there was a tussle for control of Libya's $65 billion sovereign wealth fund, with two different officials named to take control of it. Tarhouni, who holds the Oil and Finance brief for the NTC, has promised more clarity in coming days.

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/01/libya.battle.lister.robertson/

[pinboy3niner]

26. Give victorious rebels Libya's U.N. seat-Clinton

Thu Sep 1, 2011 5:25pm GMT


• Clinton hails new Libya leaders, promises help

• Says work does not end with fall of oppressive regime

• Allies watching for new leaders to deliver on promises



By Andrew Quinn


PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that Libya's interim leaders should be given the country's United Nations seat but they should also work with their former foes.

...


Clinton said foreign governments would watch closely to make sure the National Transition Council (NTC) holds to its promises to establish a fair democracy.

...

"Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows. What happens in the coming days will be critical."

...


In a nod to the lessons of Iraq, where the dissolution of Saddam Hussein's military following his overthrow was seen as a central factor behind the country's ensuing violence, Clinton said Libya's new leaders should work together even with those who once opposed them.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7800RA20110901?sp=true

[tabatha]

27. More prisoners found

#TRIPOLI:
About 1000 of prisoners were found on a farm close to Ein Zara prison in a deplorable state, including 6 Martyrs, as well as about 9000 others being held under the petroleum engineering building.

[tabatha]

28. Road trip! American student joins rebels in fight for Qaddafi stronghold

Chris Jeon, a 21-year-old university student from Los Angeles, California,shrugging cooly, declared: “It is the end of my summer vacation, so I thought it would be cool to join the rebels. This is one of the only real revolutions” in the world.

In a daring, one might even say foolhardy, decision two weeks ago, Mr Jeon flew on a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to Cairo. He then travelled by train to Alexandria and by a series of buses to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. From there, he hitched a ride with rebels heading west towards the Libyan capital of Tripoli. After a 400km (248-mile) trek across the desolate North African landscape, he was now in the town of An Nawfaliyah, the toast of his comrades and a newly anointed road warrior.

“How do you fire this thing?” he asked on Wednesday as a bearded rebel handed him an AK-47. Locating the trigger of the assault rifle and switching off the safety, Mr Jeon fired it in the air in two short bursts.

“I want to fight in Sirte!” he proclaimed, using hand gestures and pointing west towards Sirte. Whether the rebels understood him was far from clear. “It’s hard to communicate. I don’t really speak any Arabic,” he said.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/road-trip-american-student-joins-rebels-in-fight-for-qaddafi-stronghold

[tabatha]

29. Tweets

Saja Ramadan
SajaR26 Saja Ramadan
by FreeBenghazi
#Zintan brigade captured Othman Imligitah who was leading looting under FF name in #Tripoli, now he is in custody #Libya via @Qahtani
2 hours ago

Libya.elHurra
FreeBenghazi Libya.elHurra
Tribes in Sabha decided2 join Feb17. Formed committee to issue formal statement & inform Fezzan reps in #NTC #Libya v Sabha17feb
4 hours ago

[Iterate]

31. Who really beat Qaddafi?

Who really beat Qaddafi?
by Clay Claiborne
Sat Aug 27, 2011 at 08:30 AM PDT

Now that it is clear that the 42 year reign of Mummar Qaddafi has come to an end and there is little left to do on the military side beyond putting down a few pockets of pro-Qaddafi resistance, the question of bragging rights to this victory seems to be coming to the fore in certain western circles.

...

In spite of all the commentary that says different. It was the Libyan freedom fighters, not NATO that beat Qadaffi. Sun Tzu said "Every battle is won before it is even fought," and this revolutionary war was won before it was ever fought because the people were sick to death of Qaddafi's rule. If Qaddafi was going to beat the uprising militarily, he would have already done so in the first month before the UN and NATO got involved. In that first month the freedom fighters were completely unskilled and practically unarmed whereas Qaddafi's forces were at their peak.

...

NATO did not win this war and this war was not the first war won by air power. This war was won by the revolutionary Libyan fighters on the ground. What NATO did with their intervention was to shorten the war and that is really why they entered the war. Those that say it wasn't about humanitarian concerns are right. So are those that say it was about oil. They were already getting the oil but given the economic crisis, the NATO countries couldn't afford to have the flow of Libyan oil stopped for years by a protracted war. They also didn't like the prospect of the relatively tamed revolutions in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt being radicalized by a protracted revolutionary war in Libya. After a month of seeing that Qaddafi's massive violence wasn't working, they acted to settle the matter quickly by throwing their air power behind the revolution. They acted to shorten the war, and in that they did serve a humanitarian purpose.

more... http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/27/1010769/-Who-really-beat-Qaddafi

There is much in the article that's worthwhile. I admit I cherry-picked paragraphs as a set up for the point that I wanted to make, but in hindsight it might be best to just let those ideas simmer for now.

[tabatha]

33. Just watching the international press meeting on Al Jazeera

both commentators said that the Western powers took great pains to NOT claim that it was won by NATO, and that going forward it was the Libyans to decide how to proceed.

In fact, they noted, that the only country to mention NATO in terms of its assistance was Qatar - but it was couched in the terms that had the Arab League helped more, NATO's assistance would not have been necessary.

[pinboy3niner]

32. The Guardian live blogs the Paris meeting, Part 1

(Latest entry on top)

8.10pm: UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon told the summit that the UN security council will deploy a civilian mission to Libya as soon as possible.

He added: "We can look forward with optimism to Libya entering into a new era of prosperity and peace for all its people."

8.09pm: Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of the NTC, has thanks the international community for its support.

He said: "This is something we will never forget. The world staked its reputation in standing up for Libya."

Interim council prime minister Mahmoud Jibril added: "The world bet on the Libyans and the Libyans showed their courage and made their dream real."

7.50pm: David Cameron has told the summit that the Nato operation in Libya would continue for "as long we are needed to protect civilian life".

The British prime minister also pledged that the Gaddafi regime would be brought to justice for "inexplicable" crimes.

Freedom in Tripoli is bringing to evidence unspeakable crimes... These crimes must be investigated and the guilty brought to justice.

He also said the conference has backed the National Transitional Council's moves to establish an inclusive and democratic Libya.

I don't think anybody should be complacent about what's happening in Libya, but what I've seen every time the NTC has been challenged, it's come up to the mark.

You are seeing the Libyan people coming together because they want to rebuild their countries. There is a huge list we have been asked for, but I think we can have confidence they have achieved a huge amount.

"It is the Libyan people who have liberated Libya," he said.

He added: "We cannot afford a failed pariah state on Europe's borders."

Some people warned, as Gaddafi himself did, that the Libyan people could not be trusted with freedom, that without Gaddafi there would be chaos.


Some people thought that chaos would start the moment the regime fell so what we are seeing emerging now in Libya, despite the years of repression and the trauma of recent days and months, is immensely impressive.


Enormous difficulties lie ahead of course but the Libyans are showing the world their courage, their spirit and their resilience.

7.48pm: In his address to the Paris summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says thousands of lives in Libya have been saved thanks to Nato's intervention.

"Dozens of thousands of lives were spared thanks to the intervention," he said..

He also said there was unanimous agreement to totally unfreeze Libya assets.

"We have committed to unblock funds from the Libya of the past to finance the development of the Libya of the future."

[pinboy3niner]

34. The Guardian live blogs the Paris meeting, Part 2

(Latest entry on top)

8.56pm: Here's an audio recording of David Cameron's speech at the end of the Paris summit courtesy of BBC World Affairs producer Stuart Hughes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-54


8.37pm: Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was "for the Libyan people to shape the future of their own country".

But he added:

The war is not over yet. There is still some fighting. This is the reason why I have stressed tonight that NATO stands ready to continue our operations as long as necessary. On the other hand, we will not stay one day longer than necessary. We want to terminate the operation when the situation allows.

8.31pm: Sarkozy said the success of the uprising in Libya gave hope to the Syrian opposition.

He added: "We have aligned with the Arab people in their aspiration for freedom."

The French president also said would speak to President Zuma of South Africa to try to bring him round to supporting the NTC. He said it was important for the interim regime to get the full support of the international community.

8.29pm: The Emir of Qatar said Gaddafi could not have been removed without Nato and added that the Arab League could have done more.

8.29pm: Ban Ki-moon said 860,000 people have left Libya since the start of the upraising.

8.14pm: Sarkozy says the NTC has asked 63 countries to unfreeze Libyan assets. He said France was unfreezing 1.5bn euros.

The representatives of Libya asked us, the 63 countries present, to unfreeze assets. And after going around the table, its about $15 billion of Libyan assets in our countries that are immediately unfrozen. France ... released 1.5 billion euros today. We want to give back to the Libyans the money that was frozen and that was stolen.

We have committed to unblock funds from the Libya of the past to finance the development of the Libya of the future.

The French president said Gaddafi was still a threat. If the fugitive dictator is arrested, it would be up to Libyans to decide where he stands trial under rule of law.

Gaddafi must be arrested and the Libyans will freely decide whether he is judged in Libya or before international jurisdictions. That's not our decision that is the decision for the Libyans.

[pinboy3niner]

35. Isn't there anyone out there in the world willing to offer Gaddafi a yacht and some boat drinks?

Posted in GD by eleny:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1858070


:)

[tabatha]

36. ‘Thank You, America!’ By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

Published: August 31, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya

Americans are not often heroes in the Arab world, but as nonstop celebrations unfold here in the Libyan capital I keep running into ordinary people who learn where I’m from and then fervently repeat variants of the same phrase: “Thank you, America!”

As I was walking back from Green Square (now renamed “Martyrs’ Square”) to my hotel on Wednesday morning, a car draped in the victorious Libyan flag pulled up and offered me a lift. “I just want you to feel welcome here,” explained the driver, Sufian al-Gariani, a 21-year-old salesman. He beamed when he heard where I was from and declared: “Thank you, Americans. Thank you, President Obama.”

The hard work in Libya is only just beginning, and it’ll be a Herculean challenge to knit together tribal divisions and nurture democracy in a nation where all civil society has been squelched. The Libyan experiment could yet fail. Yet let’s also savor a historic moment: This was a rare military intervention for humanitarian reasons, and it has succeeded. So far.

President Obama took a huge political risk, averted a massacre and helped topple an odious regime. To me, the lesson is not that we should barge into Syria or Yemen — I don’t think we should — but that on rare occasions military force can advance human rights. Libya has so far been a model of such an intervention.
....

The question of humanitarian intervention is one of the knottiest in foreign policy, and it will arise again. The next time it does, let’s remember a lesson of Libya: It is better to inconsistently save some lives than to consistently save none.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/opinion/kristof-from-libyans-thank-you-america.html?_r=1

-----------------------

Thank you, Nick Kristof, for another balanced article on Libya.

[pinboy3niner]

37. Libya Transformation Laid Out at Paris Meeting

Source: New York Times

By STEVEN ERLANGER

Published: September 1, 2011


PARIS — With Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi effectively overthrown, representatives of some 60 nations gathered here Thursday at a Friends of Libya conference, aimed at helping the new Libyan authorities restore stability and a functioning economy to a country ravaged by rebellion and 42 years of dictatorship.


Many were intent on doing so while avoiding any repeats of the mistakes of post-war Iraq. It was clear that there was no rush to bring in foreign military personnel on the ground, nor was there any such request from the new authorities.


“The work does not end with the end of an oppressive regime,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the gathering. “Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows. What happens in the coming days will be critical.”

...


The Transitional National Council may seek short-term loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, American officials said. But as a nation with a small population and a great deal of oil to sell, the expectation is that Libya will be able to finance its own reconstruction.


The Libyans have been pressing for the release of Qaddafi government assets that were frozen at the beginning of the conflict, to pay salaries and restore services and oil production. Western countries have been pushing the United Nations Security Council to release such assets, particularly cash, and several billion dollars of assets frozen by Washington, London and Paris have already been released — $1.5 billion from the United States — of which $700 million has been already delivered — $1.6 billion from Britain and on Thursday, France was authorized to release $2.2 billion. But figures for the global total — which includes property that might be difficult to sell — vary from $50 billion to $150 billion.

...


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/world/europe/02paris.html

[pinboy3niner]

38. Libya: Hague refuses to set timescale for Yvonne Fletcher investigation

Foreign Secretary William Hague has refused to set a timescale for the new Libyan Government to start co-operating with Scotland Yard over the WPc Yvonne Fletcher murder investigation.


By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor

9:41PM BST 01 Sep 2011



The news came as Foreign Office sources warned that Libya would have to set up a judicial service before inquiries by a team of Metropolitan Police officers could continue.


They are keen to question 66 Libyans who were in or around the embassy in London at the time that WPc Fletcher was gunned down in April 1984.


However, Mr Hague on Thursday refused to set a timetable on when he wanted the National Transitional Council (NTC) to start assisting the police.


He said: "They're just establishing themselves… so we do have to give them a bit of time to do that. I'm not going to set a timescale… it's an ongoing police investigation – it is up to the Metropolitan Police how to pursue."


Mr Hague added:

"It's not for me as a minister to set a timescale on that. We will give strong diplomatic support to facilitate the police inquiries of course, and we will expect the new government of Libya to cooperate fully."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8735695/Libya-Hague-refuses-to-set-timescale-for-Yvonne-Fletcher-investigation.html

[pinboy3niner]

39. Libya fighters look for desert showdown with Gaddafi

Thu Sep 1, 2011 8:48pm GMT


• NTC fighters near Gaddafi stronghold

• Preparing for showdown in the desert


By Maria Golovnina


EAST OF BANI WALID, Libya, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Their guns trained on the barren desert and eyes fixed on the hazy horizon, anti-Gaddafi fighters patrolling the edge of the ousted leader's last stronghold in Libya say they are ready for their final battle.

...


At the last dusty outpost east of Bani Walid, NTC fighters said they engaged in almost daily skirmishes with Gaddafi loyalists scouting the area but had yet to receive orders from their commanders to advance.

...


Kicking up columns on dust, NTC convoys make daily incursions into the area but avoid open hostilities unless provoked, they said.

...


The NTC fighters said they had 168 units -- or about 16,000 men -- deployed in the area around their regional stronghold of Misrata, but conceded that any fight for Bani Walid or Sirte would be tough.


"It's not about the numbers. Bani Walid is surrounded by hills, and Gaddafi's men have tanks and Grads (rocket launchers) deployed on hilltops. Sirte will be equally difficult," said Ismail Sabhi, an NTC unit commander.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7800UC20110901?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

40. Sec. Clinton tells NTC leaders: Megrahi "should be behind bars"

Hillary Clinton told leaders of the National Transitional Council at the Paris summit that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, "should be behind bars".

She said:

The United States categorically disagrees with the decision that was made two years ago by the Scottish executive to release al-Megrahi and return him to Libya. We have never wavered from our disagreement and condemnation of that decision. He should be behind bars.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/01/libya-saif-gaddafi-defiant-live-updates#block-55

[pinboy3niner]

49. Clinton: Libyans Will Take Up Lockerbie Case

September 01, 2011


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Libya’s transitional leaders assured her Thursday they will take up the case of the former Libyan intelligence agent convicted in the 1988 bombing of a U.S. PanAm jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Libyan, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, is said to be near death from cancer at his home in Tripoli.


Clinton says she shares the anger of the families of the more than 200 Americans killed in the Libyan backed terrorist attack.


But she is resisting calls from the U.S. Congress that the administration withhold the return of frozen Libyan assets to Libya’s transitional authority unless Megrahi is jailed.

...


“We recognize the magnitude of all of the issues that the TNC is facing. And we know that they have to establish security, the rule of law, good governance. But at the same time, they’ve assured us that they understand the sensitivities surrounding this case, and they will give the matter the consideration it richly deserves, at the earliest opportunity,” she said.

...


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Clinton-Libyans-Will-Take-Up-Lockerbie-Case-128912503.html

[pinboy3niner]

41. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 197: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:15 AM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, UTC +1 hour, GMT +2 hours










Inside one of Gaddafi's torture cells
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030931/Libya-Inside-Gaddafis-torture-chamber-The-bloodstained-cells-inside-primary-school-used-brutalise-enemies.html

[pinboy3niner]

42. Muammar Gaddafi urges followers to turn Libya 'into a hell'

Posted in LBN by alp227:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4981802

[pinboy3niner]

43. African Union reassured by Libyan council promises

Thu Sep 1, 2011 9:52pm GMT


PARIS, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The African Union is encouraged by promises made by Libya's transitional council at a conference in Paris on Thursday and will now discuss with its member states the possibility of recognising the interim leadership, a senior official said.


National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil told delegations from about 60 countries and international bodies that Libya would not let them down and he called on the Libyan people to remain peaceful and respect the state of law.


"We were reassured today by the commitments made by Mr. Jibril on the protection of African workers, reconciliation and creation of a national unity government," Noureddine Mezni, the spokesman for the AU Commission's chairman, told Reuters.


"There were concerns among member states for the African workers in Libya and the creation of a unity government ... We will now take what was said today to our members," he said after the meeting on Libya's future.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFP6E7GQ00X20110901

[pinboy3niner]

44. Gaddafi sons face last stand in Libya

Saif, Saadi and Mutassim Gaddafi 'holed up in Bani Walid' while rebels track underground escape route to find dictator

Martin Chulov in Tripoli and Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 September 2011 21.46 BST




Gaddafi depicted on Arabic news stations on 1 September as he
gave a statement vowing to fight on despite being in hiding.
Photograph: Reuters Tv/REUTERS



Three of Colonel Gaddafi's sons are believed to be holed up in military camps around 100 miles south-east of Tripoli, where at least two of them are thought to be preparing for a last stand against rebels who plan to overrun them on Saturday.


The three sons, Saadi, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, have been in the town of Bani Walid for one week and were joined at one point by their fugitive father. Rebel leaders are divided on whether Muammar Gaddafi has remained with his sons, or headed south to the regime stronghold of Sabha in southern Libya.


Commanders in the town of Tahouna say they have received a stream of information from residents of Bani Walid over the past three days confirming that Mutassim and Saif al-Islam are in town. Saif al-Islam has vowed to fight to the end.

...


Separately, the commander of the Tripoli Military Council, Abdulhakim Belhaj, told the Guardian on Thursday that Saadi Gaddafi, who had been trying to negotiate his surrender and a transition of power to the rebel leadership, was "definitely in Bani Walid".

...


The Gaddafi clan set off from the Salahedin military base in south Tripoli last Friday, with Gaddafi's 25-car convoy leaving first and Khamis leaving soon after. The guard, Abdul Salam Tahrar, told the Guardian that Gaddafi's guards told him they were travelling to Sabha.

...


More interesting detail on possible escape routes at link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/01/gaddafi-sons-libya-last-stand

[pinboy3niner]

45. CBS News crew's brush with death in Libya

September 1, 2011 7:00 PM

By Barry Petersen


(CBS News) There was word Thursday that Libyan fugitive dictator Muammar Qaddafi might be in a town southeast of Tripoli. CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen set off in that direction -- and ran right into Qaddafi's men.

...


Then we saw green flags flown by Qaddafi loyalists in what was supposed to be a rebel area. We stopped at a deserted checkpoint to do some filming.


A passing Qaddafi loyalist armed with a 9-mm pistol took our tape at gunpoint. Then as we ran for our van, he aimed and fired.


Riding in the van, we were in a hurry trying to get away from an area where a Qaddafi loyalist spotted and shot at us. We didn't know if he was still following us and we weren't going to hang around to find out. We were getting the hell out of there.


He pursued us, but in a mile or two, he gave up. We discovered later that one of his three shots hit the car's taillight while the others missed.

...


Story and video (3:14):
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/01/eveningnews/main20100682.shtml

[pinboy3niner]

46. Libya crisis: Inside the notorious Abu Salim jail

Source: BBC

1 September 2011 Last updated at 13:52 ET

Colonel Gaddafi has called for Libya to be "engulfed in flames" in an audio message carried by a loyalist TV channel.

In Tripoli, human rights workers are trying to salvage records from inside Libya's most notorious prison, Abu Salim.

Over the course of several decades, thousands of Libyans are said to have been jailed and tortured in the prison by members of the Gaddafi regime.

Jeremy Bowen reports from Tripoli (3:32):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14755667

Alternate link:
http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=90108&sitesection=ct-nor&VID=23525573

[tabatha]

47. Latest Developments in Libya August 31, 2011

1. Today Aug 31 is Eidul Fitr in Libya. Eid Mubarak! First Eid prayer in Shuhada Plaza without Gaddafi.
2. The Khatib complimented the Libyan people and revolution as well as Qatar and UAE.
3. Abudl-Jalil ordered banks open and 250 Libyan Dinars to each person in Tripoli for basic necessities.
4. People in Tripoli were out and shops open under tight and alert security from the revolutionary fighters.
5. NATO planes carried out 38 sorties on Tue against Gaddafi forces in Sirte and Bani Walid.
6. NATO strikes destroyed 12 armored cars, 3 tanks, radar unit, ammunition storage, and 3 surface to surface missiles launchers.
7. In a recorded audio speech, Saif said that he is in Tripoli and that they have 20,000 Gaddafi soldiers in Sirte.
8. NTC said that Elsaidy Al-Gaddafi offered to turn himself over in exchange for his safety.
9. NTC officials confirmed that the weapons in the hands of the individual revolutionary fighters in Tripoli will be collected.
10. The weapons in the streets of Tripoli will be collected.
11. The armed fighters who want to keep their weapons must choose between the national army and the security forces.
12. Abdul-Jalil, head of NTC, gave cities loyal to Gaddafi till Sat to surrender or face military actions.
13. Italian foreign minister Frattini said that when Sirte falls it will be the end of Gaddafi regime.
14. Frattini added that mission of NATO will end when Libya is free.
15. Italy lifted the freeze on $720 million of the Libyan assets in Italy.
16. Italy will reopen its embassy in Tripoli as of next week.
17. France requested UN to lift freeze on $2.16 billion in France. There is around $10.9 billion of Libyan assets in France.
18. Britain said it got approval to lift the freeze on $1.6 billion of Libyan assets in Britain.
19. Gaddafi foreign minister Abdul-Atti Al-Obeidi has been arrested by the revolutionary fighters.

http://shabablibya.org/news/latest-developments-in-libya-august-31-2011

[pinboy3niner]

48. Water shortage in Tripoli and what's being done about it

CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the water shortage in Tripoli, Libya, and what's being done to solve the problem. Sep 1, 2011 | 01:54

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/09/01/robertson-tripoli-water.cnn

[tabatha]

50. more tragedy

FreeBenghazi Libya.elHurra
by carolv27
2 containers w 200 prisoners found yesterday in AlFateh University. In one, 5 dead found, in second all were dead #Libya v @almanaramedia
5 hours ago

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Reports Muttasim #Gaddafi has had 11 people executed in #Sirte this evening who attempted to negotiate a surrender w/ #NTC. #Libya #Feb17
4 hours ago

[tabatha]

52. Libya: pro-Gaddafi forces left 29 detainees in hot metal containers - 19 died

Posted: 01 September 2011

* 29 left to die in two shipping containers in 40-degree heat, only 10 survived

Pro al-Gaddafi left 29 detainees to suffocate while locked inside metal containers in the sweltering June heat in north-western Libya, Amnesty International has discovered. Nineteen of the detainees died as a result of the ordeal.
Three survivors have described how al-Gaddafi loyalists tortured them and then imprisoned them along with 26 others in two cramped
cargo containers on 6 June at a construction site in al-Khums, 120 km east of Tripoli.

The detainees endured temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and drank their own sweat and urine when the limited water supply ran out. Their captors shouted “rats, shut up," ignoring their cries for help. This is the first report of the June incident, because al-Khums was off-limits to independent reporting until it fell under the control of the National Transitional Council on 21 August.

It is a war crime for any party to a conflict to kill or torture prisoners.

Amnesty International North Africa Researcher Diana Eltahawy, who is currently in Libya, said:

“This is obviously appalling and inhumane treatment of a group of people who were mostly civilians.”

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19664

[tabatha]

51. Muna Khan / The curious case of Aisha Qaddafi’s birthing powers

Thanks to a link posted on Twitter by the Guardian’s Middle East correspondent Brian Whitaker, I came across the blog “Egyptian Chronicles,” and one post raised some interesting questions about Muammar Qaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, and the birth of her baby girl in Algeria last week.

The blogger, Zeinobia, noted that Aisha had filed a complaint in a Belgian court of war crimes against NATO for an airstrike in Tripoli that killed her brother and 4-month-old daughter Mastoora on April 30. The complaint was thrown out by the court on July 28.

After doing the math, Zeinobia comes to the conclusion that something is very fishy here.

If Mastoora was four months old in April when she died, Aisha would have had to become pregnant fairly quickly after Mastoora's birth in January for her to give birth to another daughter last week.

It is safe to assume – even if rotten to imagine – that one of Aisha’s births is a lie. She just can’t be that superfertile. Also, as Zeinobia pointed out, in many of the recent images of Aisha she studied, the woman did not appear pregnant, though the blogger concedes that because the former leader’s daughter is tall and slim, it’s not easy to identify a baby bump.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/09/01/164978.html

[tabatha]

53. Hana Gaddafi, the person who was supposed to have been killed by Reagan's attack

@dovenews Hana Gadafi ordered physicians not to treat FF or mercs. Criminal violation of Hypocratic Oath AND manslaughter.charges..
4 hours ago

[tabatha]

54. Now Revealed: The Rebels' Secret Collaborators in Gaddafi's Tripoli

In June, when Walid Tarsin heard that rebels in the city of Zintan (150 km southwest of Tripoli) were short on medicine and hospital supplies, the pharmacist decided to act. He canvassed the hospitals in Tripoli, stealthily gathering all the provisions he could without arousing too much suspicion. He filled up his Mercedes with the contraband and set forth from the capital to make the two-and-a-half-hour journey between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the afternoon. "That is when it is the hottest part of the day," the 45-year-old pharmacist says. "The men guarding the checkpoints were often too fatigued by the heat to make diligent checks." A number of Tripoli residents shared stories similar to Tarsin's. They risked imprisonment and even death to help the rebels who were fighting to end the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi.

When the revolution began in February, Gaddafi's security forces stepped up their presence in the capital. They put more agents on the streets and monitored everything from phone calls to sidewalk conversations. Residents feared discussing even the most innocuous subjects with people outside their families. Though he knew the potential danger of betraying Gaddafi, Colonel Salim Sharif was equally aware of the cost of remaining aloof from the conflict. "I knew working with the rebels could get me in a lot of trouble," the air-defense officer says as he welcomes his fighters who have just returned from patrolling the neighborhoods of Tajura. "But I had to do it for my country. was killing us."

Sharif decided soon after the Feb. 17 revolution to throw his lot in with the rebels. He made contact with like-minded soldiers who were in touch with anti-Gaddafi forces in the east. Through their efforts, an intricate network of secretly rebellious officers emerged, which relayed sensitive information about Gaddafi troop movements to officials in the eastern city of Benghazi, which had become the capital of what was called Free Libya. Sharif was particularly vigilant about flights from Algeria carrying mercenaries. "I gave the information to my superior and they sent it on to Benghazi," the colonel boasts. "We helped the revolution. We did many things like this that no one knew about."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2091254,00.html#ixzz1WldXBcIa

[Iterate]

55. Rebels Yank Open Gates of Infamous Libyan Prison, Seeking Clues to a Massacre

Rebels Yank Open Gates of Infamous Libyan Prison, Seeking Clues to a Massacre
KAREEM FAHIM
Published: Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 2, 2011 at 12:05 a.m.

...

They cells were littered with water bottles filled with sand that some prisoners used as weights. Blankets were shredded and fashioned into ladders, to reach a barred window for sunlight. Men left behind English computer books, poetry they wrote on food cartons and many Korans.

“It’s changed,” said Mr. Othman, who returned after the liberation to walk through the cells where he had spent 11 years with little sunlight, reading the Koran and learning English from a man who knew a little. He was arrested in 1989, when he was 19, he said, because he used to attend a mosque. The guards hung him by his armpits, then put him in cell 13. All this he recalled as if in a trance, as he walked down the hallways where blindfolded prisoners had been led. Like the other Abu Salim prisoners and families, he was searching for answers and understanding.

On Saturday, Mr. Bensoud, who now helps organize the families, was in Tripoli, hoping to make his first visit to Abu Salim prison. He was chasing leads about former security guards at the prison, who might have the answers about the massacre. And he was surprised to learn that important security files were left behind at the prison.

“I am hoping to do something for the families,” he said. “There are a lot of stories. This is my brother’s blood. This is the reason why I am here.”

more... http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20110901/ZNYT03/109013023/1042/NEWS?p=1&tc=pg

[Iterate]

56. Tripoli Resident Recalls Gadhafi's Early Days

Tripoli Resident Recalls Gadhafi's Early Days
Elizabeth Arrott | Tripoli, Libya September 01, 2011

Many in Tripoli are still stunned by the events of the past ten days, which saw their long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi swept from power. On the edge of Tripoli's main square, where Gadhafi had planned to hold his 42 anniversary in power Thursday, one resident of the Libyan capital shared his views with VOA's Elizabeth Arrott and Japhet Weeks.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/Tripoli-Resident-Recalls-Gadhafis-Early-Days-128902718.html

Video report:
http://youtu.be/g71smDaMss0

[Iterate]

57. Gaddafi’s Malta spies provided lists of expats who met Goma Gomati – embassy

Gaddafi’s Malta spies provided lists of expats who met Goma Gomati – embassy
NATIONAL Friday, September 02, 2011

Double agents and foreign spies worked the highest levels of the rebel movement, according to intelligence documents found by Al Jazeera.

The news agency is claiming a document provided by the embassy in Malta, suggests that a number of Libyans who allegedly met with Goma Gomati (now the ambassador to London) should be kidnapped.

Details of the document were not disclosed.

The intelligence briefings were found by Al Jazeera in a sealed envelope on Libyan intelligence mastermind Abdullah Alsinnousi's abandoned desk in Libyan Intelligence Headquarters.

more... http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/gaddafi-malta-spies-provided-list-expat-goma-gomati-embassy

Also here: http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/09/gaddafi%e2%80%99s-malta-spies-provided-lists-of-expats-who-met-goma-gomati-%e2%80%93-embassy/

AJE report:
Secret files: Gaddafi had spies in rebel camp
Double agents worked the highest levels of the rebel movement, according to intelligence documents found by Al Jazeera.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/09/2011911884360946.html

Gaddafi spies infiltrated Libyan rebel army
Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Sep 1, 2011
http://youtu.be/7Fdvzj4gqMI

[pinboy3niner]

58. Critical drinking water, food, fuel and medicine shortages have hit Libya

Critical drinking water, food, fuel and medicine shortages have hit Libya, Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya, told the Associated Press news agency.

More than six UN agences have returned to Tripoli to address the humanitarian needs after fighting died down last week, Moumtzis said.

The UN has brought 11 million bottles of water and will bring 600 metric tons of food and 100 million euros worth of medicine, but the aid is a temporary measure, Moumtzis said, as the UN expects Libya to be able to fund its own recovery starting next year.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-2-2011-1112

[pinboy3niner]

59. Turkey Reopens Embassy in Libya

September 02, 2011


Turkey reopened its embassy in Libya on Friday, a day after world leaders agreed to unfreeze billions of dollars of Libyan assets to help the country's interim government rebuild.

The Turkish foreign ministry said its diplomatic team with new ambassador Ali Kemal Aydin left Ankara for Tunisia Thursday and was traveling to Tripoli to start work.


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Turkey-Reopens-Embassy-in-Libya--129018453.html

[pinboy3niner]

60. American joins ranks of Libya's rebels (NOT a UCLA math major :) )

By Portia Walker, Special for USA TODAY


TRIPOLI, Libya – When the war started in Libya, Jamal Abed was working in the restaurant of a hotel in San Antonio. Just over six months later, the 28-year-old Libyan American was among the victorious rebel fighters who stormed Tripoli and took over the capital.


The son of a Libyan father and a Mexican mother, Abed was born and raised in the USA. A political science major at the University of Texas, he played football in middle school and high school and hung out with a Hispanic crowd.


But as he saw the Egyptian revolution unfold on the television at the restaurant where he worked, he knew that he had to head back to the country that his father had left in 1964.


"I'd watch Anderson Cooper, and when Anderson was talking about (ousted president Hosni) Mubarak, I was saying 'Libya's next, Libya next,'" he explained as he stood in a hotel in the Libyan capital, his muscular frame dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt and camouflage fatigues.

...


"You know when you go play football and the coaches would tell you, 'We have 48 minutes to play; it's a lifetime to remember, make the best of it.'"


"That's just a game," he said. "Imagine a war where you're actually going to free people and help people."



http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-09-01/American-joins-ranks-of-Libyas-rebels/50224660/1

[Iterate]

61. Libya: Tripoli hospital helps heal the new nation

Libya: Tripoli hospital helps heal the new nation

With volunteers, capital city's hospital treats rebels and loyalists alike.
Tracey Shelton September 1, 2011 06:40

...

"We couldn’t believe the activity here," Jriwat said. "Volunteers cleaned up everything. Women brought in cooking equipment and began preparing meals. Others brought water, clothes; private clinics brought in medical supplies. The volunteers revived this hospital."

Mechanical engineer Khalifar Rashad was one of dozens of volunteers who answered the call.

“I saw the miserable situation here,” he said. “It looked like the kitchen of a busy fast food takeaway restaurant at the end of the night. I’m not a doctor but I thought, ‘Well, I can help.’”

Jriwat said volunteers like Rashad, coming from a range of non-medical fields, are still covering around 60 percent of the work at Central Hospital, from cleaning and administration to basic patient care. Medical students, Libyan nationals living abroad and doctors from neighboring countries that arrived through the French medical aid group Doctors Without Borders have also helped to stabilize the situation, he said.

...

Complete story... http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/110831/libya-tripoli-hospital-rebels-muammar-gaddafi

[pinboy3niner]

62. Libya’s NTC outlines 20-month democratic road map

Source: AFP

(2 hours ago) Today


LONDON: A council tasked with drafting a constitution for Libya should be elected within eight months ahead of presidential and legislative polls in early 2013, a rebel leadership official said Friday.


“We have outlined a clear road plan, a transition period of about 20 months,” Guma al-Gamaty, the National Transitional Council’s representative in Britain, told BBC radio.


He said the process of transition was already under way and the NTC would move properly to Tripoli within a few days.


For the first eight months, the council would lead Libya, at the end of which time a council of about 200 people should have been directly elected, Gamaty said.

...


http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/02/libyas-ntc-outlines-20-month-democratic-road-map.html

[pinboy3niner]

63. Gaddafi pledges guerilla war in second audio message

Lizzy Davies posts on The Guardian's Live Blog:

A bit more on Gaddafi's second, shorter – but equally bombastic – audio message last night, which was broadcast on the Syria-based al-Rai and al-Arabiya television stations. He says:

You will not be able to pump oil for the sake of your own people. We will not allow this to happen. We are the lions of our desert, you will not be granted our oil fields and our ports.

Get ready for a gang war, a war of gangs and urban warfare, guerilla warfare and a war of bees that sting and run away and return to sting once more.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage#block-5

[pinboy3niner]

64. Black migrants now live in fear in Libya

Rebels suspect the young men of being mercenaries for Kadafi. But the terrified sub-Saharans say they were merely laborers.

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times

September 2, 2011


Reporting from Janzour, Libya— They huddle beneath dry-docked boats at the edge of the Mediterranean, petrified that the rebel gunmen who now own the streets will confuse them with mercenaries for the despot.


"We are workers, we are not soldiers," said Godfrey Ogbor, 29, voicing a plea shared by hundreds of men from sub-Saharan Africa trapped at this makeshift coastal camp 15 miles west of Tripoli. "We don't know politics. We have no guns."


But the new masters of Tripoli suspect that many are something else: shock troops for a reviled regime, collaborators who deserve no pity.


For decades, impoverished young sub-Saharan Africans came to Libya to work in construction, hotel, car-repair and other blue-collar and service jobs. But Moammar Kadafi also avidly recruited poor black men, both Libyans and sub-Saharans, for his security forces. Government rallies inevitably featured contingents of seemingly delirious gun-toting young blacks waving the leader's signature green flag. Rebels have not forgotten.

...


With Kadafi on the run, the hunt for loyalists has made all young black men suspect, vulnerable to arrest or worse on edgy streets where snap decisions substitute for measured justice.

...


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-migrants-20110902,0,3249340.story

[pinboy3niner]

66. Libyan rebels round up black Africans

Posted in GD by EFerrari:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1861390

[pinboy3niner]

65. Gaddafi's Philippine maids appeal for help

Source: South African Press Association

2011-09-02 12:44


Manila - The Philippine government said on Friday four Filipina maids who had been working for deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s family were missing and had made a tearful call home for help.


The four had been working for one of Gaddafi’s nieces in Tripoli before the rebel advance sent the strongman and his relatives fleeing the Libyan capital. Over recent days one of the four made a mobile phone call to her sister in the Philippines appealing for help, although little information about their location was given, said Vice President Jejomar Binay's spokesperson.


"We don't know where they are. All they said is they are always crying," the spokesperson, Joey Salgado, told AFP.

...


In March, the Philippines said it received reports that four Filipina maids working for a relative of Gaddafi were asking to be allowed to go home but their employer had refused.


The four were initially employed at a Gaddafi family house in Tripoli, but were later transferred to Sirte, the deposed dictator's hometown in mid-March, the foreign department said at the time.


...


http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Gaddafis-Philippine-maids-appeal-for-help-20110902

[pinboy3niner]

67. Libyan Islamist says he won’t be enemy of U.S.

Source: Washington Post

By Simon Denyer, Published: September 1


TRIPOLI, Libya — He says he was tortured by the CIA and accused of links with al-Qaeda, but Tripoli’s new military commander, Abdulhakim Belhadj, insists that he is no extremist or enemy of the United States.

...


Belhadj has emerged as a powerful military figure in the new Libya, an Islamist fighter whose past dalliance with global jihad has raised concerns that the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime could allow radical Islam to gain a foothold on these North African Mediterranean shores.


He fought with the mujaheddin in Afghanistan against Soviet rule in the 1980s but asserts that he also set up schools and provided humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people. He says he twice refused invitations to find common cause with al-Qaeda.


“When al-Qaeda was formed in 1989, I was there in Afghanistan, but I didn’t join or agree to participate in their acts,” he said, dressed in military fatigues with a pistol on his belt, his black beard neatly trimmed. “We were never interested in global jihad; our concern is Libya and the Libyan people.”

...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/libyan-islamist-says-he-wont-be-enemy-of-us/2011/09/01/gIQA0kXFvJ_story.html#

[Iterate]

68. Claims of Mass Libyan Looting Rejected by Archaeologists

Claims of Mass Libyan Looting Rejected by Archaeologists
by Andrew Lawler on 1 September 2011, 5:12 PM

Archaeologists in contact with colleagues in Libya say that their nation's antiquities appear safe despite the chaos in the country. That news is contrary to reports earlier this week, which claimed that Libya's museums were being plundered and sites destroyed in NATO bombing raids. Libya boasts a host of ancient Phoenician and Roman sites, as well as major collections of ancient artifacts in Tripoli's Jamahiriya Museum and other smaller museums around the country. So the claims of damage prompted fears of a replay of Baghdad in 2003, when the famous Iraq Museum was looted. But Western archaeologists and Libyan sources say that there is no evidence that such destruction is taking place.

"The antiquities in the major sites are unscathed," says Hafed Walda, an archaeologist at King's College London, who has been in frequent contact with his Libyan colleagues during the recent arrival of rebels in the capital city last week. "But a few sites in the interior sustained minor damage and are in need of assessments." As for Tripoli's museum, located in the city's Red Castle, "it has been protected very well." He adds that curators stored the building's artifacts prior to the rebels' arrival but that some ancient objects belonging to former President Muammar Gaddafi were stolen. Ramadan Geddedan, a retired director of Libya's Department of Antiquities, confirms that assessment based on his contacts in Libya. "As far as I know, nothing has happened since the fall of Tripoli," said Geddedan, who now lives in Riverside, California.

Those reassurances counter reports by Nikolai Sologubovsky, a journalist and deputy head of a Russian committee of solidarity with the people of Libya and Syria, who told Russian television earlier this week that "the al-Jamahiriya National Museum in Tripoli has been looted and antiquities are being shipped out by sea to Europe." He added that "NATO aircraft have bombed Leptis Magna and Sabratha under the pretext that Gaddafi forces were hiding weapons there." The former is a major ancient Roman city, while the latter was built by the Phoenicians more than 1500 years ago. "Plunder of Libya's cultural heritage has been going on since February," Sologubovsky asserted, without naming his sources. "I'm afraid it faces the same tragic fate as Iraq's antiquities, which were plundered by the victorious U.S. military." He could not be reached for comment.

There have been reports that NATO bombed an area near Leptis Magna, which lies just outside Tripoli, but not within the precincts of the site. "Leptis Magna and Sabratha sustained no damage whatsoever," says Walda. He adds that there is no evidence to back up the rumors that Qaddafi's forces stored arms in Leptis Magna as a way of protecting those weapons.

more... http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/09/claims-of-mass-libyan-looting.html

One defamation at a time. Considering the sources for most of it, I wonder if they see it as a way of inoculating themselves from their own potential democratic uprisings.

[pinboy3niner]

69. EU lifts Libya sanctions, discusses future help

Fri Sep 2, 2011 5:39am EDT


SOPOT, Poland (Reuters) - The European Union lifted sanctions on Libyan ports, oil firms and banks on Friday as foreign ministers met to discuss how to help the country's transition from four decades of Muammar Gaddafi's rule.


The EU's Official Journal listed 28 Libyan entities freed from restrictions, including the ports of Tripoli, Al Khoms, Brega, Ras Lanuf, Zawiyah and Zuara.


Also listed were Libyan Arab Airlines and energy firms including the Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Co. and the Sirte and Waha oil companies.


Banks listed were the National Commercial Bank, Gumhouria Bank, Sahara Bank and First Gulf Libyan Bank.

...


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/02/us-libya-eu-sanctions-idUSTRE7811OJ20110902

[pinboy3niner]

70. Libyan schools set to reopen despite war, ruin

Fri Sep 2, 2011 10:41am GMT


• Schools to reopen on Sept 17

• Transitional rulers under pressure to reinstate normality

• Gaddafi's cultish creed being purged from textbooks


By Alexander Dziadosz and Emma Farge


BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Libyan schools will reopen in mid-September despite bombed-out facilities, scarce transport and a curriculum until recently laden with Muammar Gaddafi's eccentric philosophies, a rebel official said.


Libya's de facto rulers have been under increasing pressure to impose order and restore basic state services like education across the war-battered North African country after ousting forces loyal to Gaddafi from the capital Tripoli last month. "We've finished erasing all Gaddafi's items from the curriculum - the Green Book, al-Mujtama al-Jamahiri," rebel education chief Soliman el-Sahli said in an interview, listing some of the ousted leader's works.

...


Even before the revolt, underfunding was a problem for Libyan schools, Sahli said.


"All the teachers in Libya have been in a very bad financial situation, bad enough that they have to find work outside of education," he said. "It's reached the point that a lot of jokes and comedy come out about the situation of teachers."

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7K21QR20110902?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

71. NATO airstrikes conducted Thursday, September 1

Key Hits 01 SEPTEMBER:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Command and Control Node/Ammo Storage Facility, 7 Surface to Air Missile Transloaders, 2 Armed Vehicle, 1 Tank, 2 Military Trucks, 3 Surface to Air Missile Canisters.


In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Ammo Storage Facility, 1 Armed Vehicle.


In the vicinity of Waddan: 2 Anti Aircraft Guns, 2 Anti Aircraft Artillery Systems, 2 Radars.


...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements: 901** (air, ground, maritime)


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 01 SEPTEMBER: 1


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 01 SEPTEMBER: 4


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_09/20110902_110902-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

72. Gaddafi's 'hangwoman,' Huda the Executioner, arrested--NTC official

The Guardian's Live Blog:

Guma el-Gamaty, the UK coordinator of the NTC, has posted this on Twitter:

Breaking Gadhafi's lynch woman Huda Benamer who hanged opponents with her hands in 1984 & G made her minister was arrested in Tripoli today.

While this remains unconfirmed, it might be worth re-reading this piece from the Telegraph on the woman described as "Huda the Executioner – Libya's Devil in Female Form".


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage#block-23

[Iterate]

73. Libya: How They Did It

Libya: How They Did It
The New York Review of Books
Nicolas Pelham —Tripoli, August 29, 2011

Only when I reached Suq al-Juma, Tripoli’s sprawling eastern suburb of 400,000, three days after the rebels entered the city on August 21, did I feel I was somewhere free of Muammar Qaddafi’s yoke. In contrast to the deserted, shuttered streets elsewhere in the capital, the alleyways behind its manned barricades were a hive of activity. Children played outside until after midnight. Women drove cars. The mosques broadcast takbir, the celebratory chants reserved for Eid, the end of Ramadan, that God is Great, greater even than the colonel. Replacing absent Egyptian laborers, volunteers harvested tomatoes and figs in the garden allotments. The grocer proudly told me that he was really an oil exploration technician, charged with running a store his neighborhood had opened the day of the uprising—August 20—to keep their community fed. Others had dug wells to ensure that water flowed, and used their connections with the local refinery to maintain supplies of gasoline. While its price elsewhere in Tripoli had risen a hundredfold to $7.50 a liter, in Suq al-Juma it was distributed for free.

While the barricades kept out Qaddafi’s regime, they offered its enemies a safe haven from the snipers and other remnants of Qaddafi’s rule; the residents fed rebels homemade Ramadan sweets and washed their clothes. A rebel brigade from Misrata pitched camp in a whitewashed branch of Mohammed Qaddafi’s Internet company, LTT, due to open this summer. A mosque sheltered dozens of pale and dazed inmates, rebels liberated from Tripoli’s complex of political prisons in Abu Salim. The people there helped them bridge their missing years by projecting Arabic satellite television on its wall. (When Qaddafi’s image appeared, a few flung stones at the mosque.) In a school turned makeshift prison, police officers back at work interrogated a motley assembly of suspected mercenaries, saboteurs, and regime militiamen.

Suq al-Juma claims to have been Tripoli’s first neighborhood to rally to Qaddafi’s revolution in 1969, and the first to turn against it thirty-nine years ago. (It is still punished with unpaved streets.) It prides itself on its cohesiveness. Unlike Tripoli’s other suburbs, which are magnets for urban migration, its residents claim descent from families who founded the neighborhood centuries ago. Several suburbs responded to the alarm the mosques sounded as the faithful broke their fast after sundown on August 20, but the organization and scale of Suq al-Juma’s uprising was unmatched. Within minutes, the entire district had cobbled together barricades out of old fridges, burned-out cars, and other war detritus, and stationed armed men at its gates. Trucks drove through the streets distributing homemade Molotov cocktails and grenades called gelatine, and, later that night, guns they had bought over the previous six months at 3,000 dinars apiece. Based on a precompiled blacklist, vigilantes broke into the homes of a thousand regime henchmen, or farment, Tripoli’s bastardized vernacular for “informant,” and disarmed them and hauled them away.

Across town, the suburb of Dareibi showed a different face. Its uniform concrete apartment blocks are full of rural migrants drawn from all over Libya. Shops remain shuttered despite a week of rebel rule. The residents’ prime means of livelihood and even security have vanished with the regime, and they are struggling to establish a local order in its place. Few trust their neighbors, or have much good to say of them. They lack the bonds born of collective suffering that the colonel inflicted on the eastern part of the country. Some are from tribes that opposed the rebel advance in Misrata, Zliten, and other cities and, when they lost, fled to Qaddafi’s capital in an effort to retain their patronage. Others are more obviously protégés of the regime. In nearby Abu Salim, “revolutionary committees” who acted as Qaddafi’s shadow executive erected their own barricades, waging urban battles with the rebels. Fresh graffiti along the main street declares, “We are all Qaddafi.”

more... http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/sep/29/libya-how-they-did-it/?pagination=false

[pinboy3niner]

74. Gadhafi regime's long-held secrets opening to view

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Files in the military intelligence headquarters are open

• It's not clear what "erasing" people means

• A group of lawyers is sifting through the documents at Abu Salim Prison

From Dan Rivers and Arwa Damon, CNN

September 2, 2011 6:58 a.m. EDT


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The hurried exit from power by Moammar Gadhafi and his supporters has left a vast trove of documents that, after decades of being hidden from public view, are now open to the bereaved, the angry and the curious.


Until last week, only a privileged few could enter the complex of buildings in Tripoli where military intelligence was based. One building was turned into rubble by a NATO airstrike, but others remain intact. In one, shredded papers covered the floor on Wednesday, but file cabinets still held plenty of legible files limning the practices of Gadhafi's police state.


Even the language is opaque. Some files allude to "erasing" people from the intelligence database, but it is not clear whether that means simply removing their names from the computer or something more sinister.


The richly appointed offices belonging to Abdullah al-Senussi represent the inner sanctum. He is the brother-in-law of Gadhafi and head of intelligence whose arrest has been sought by the International Criminal Court at The Hague for crimes against humanity.


Here, files describe in detail the lives of hundreds of people, including how much money they have, who are their friends.

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/01/libya.intelligence/index.html?hpt=wo_c1

[tabatha]

75. Libya says 5 foreign oil firms working to restore ops

PARIS, Sept 2 | Fri Sep 2, 2011 8:56am EDT

(Reuters) - Five international oil companies have returned to Libya and are working on getting operations running again, the head of the ruling interim council's stabilisation team, Aref Ali Nayed, said on Friday.

The five companies include Italy's ENI , Nayed told told reporters at a meeting in Paris with donor groups and foreign experts, adding: "These are companies that have assets in the country." (Reporting by John Irish; editing by James Jukwey)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/02/libya-conference-oil-idUSP6E7JM02H20110902

[tabatha]

76. SA team rescue Gaddafis

Thirty-five Special Forces-trained South Africans were responsible for this week’s audacious operation that spirited Muammar Gaddafi’s wife and three children from Libya to safety in Algeria.

The “battle hardened Iraq veterans”, who were apparently paid $15000 (R105000) each, were recruited three weeks ago, after being interviewed at a Sandton hotel.

Details of the operation were revealed to The New Age this week by a source close to the group, who said he was invited to take part but declined.

And while Libya’s Transitional National Council was this week seeking the return of Gaddafi’s family from Algeria, the group of mercenaries is believed to be on standby to conduct further similar operations.

“We’d like those persons to come back,” rebels’ spokesperson Mahmud Shammam said of the Gaddafi family after Algiers on Monday announced that Gaddafi’s wife, Safiya, two sons, a daughter and their children, had crossed the border into that country.

The New Age has learnt reliably that interviews for the extraction operation were conducted on August 17 at the Balalaika hotel in Sandton by Sarah Penhold, who operates from Kenya.

The New Age has seen copies of an email sent to a former SA Special Forces operative, inviting him for an interview.

http://thenewage.co.za/27726-22-53-SA_team_rescue_Gaddafis

[pinboy3niner]

77. The future of women in the post-Gaddafi era

Lizzy Davies posts at The Guardian's Live Blog:


A powerful piece on the future for Libyan women in the post-Gaddafi era has been posted on the website of the Libyan youth movement.


Its author argues that the female contribution to the revolution must not be ignored and that women "must be openly and transparently included in discussions and supported to participate at all levels":

At this week's conference on Libya in Paris, the Libyan National Transitional Council and the international community talk about "inclusiveness" in the new country's future.


It seems strange, then, that half of the population – women – seem to be excluded from the discussions on the future of their country ... Libyan women at home and abroad have protested, smuggled arms beneath their clothing, founded countless civil society groups, tweeted, blogged, fed, nursed, mourned, mothered, raised funds and awareness, and sent in humanitarian aid and medical staff for the cause.


Women have taken a central role alongside men, and it has united us.

...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage

[pinboy3niner]

78. EU agrees on Syria oil embargo, other sanctions

Fri Sep 2, 2011 1:36pm GMT


• Western powers want more economic pressure on Assad

• Syrian oil exports to EU to end by Nov. 15


By David Brunnstrom and Justyna Pawlak


SOPOT, Poland, Sept 2 (Reuters) - European Union governments agreed on Friday to ban imports of Syrian oil and extended sanctions to seven new Syrian individuals and entities to intensify pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's government.


The United States, the EU and other Western powers want Assad to end a violent five-month-old crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that the United Nations says has killed 2,000 civilians. But Assad shows no sign of heeding their calls for him to step down.


The EU has already banned Europeans from doing business with dozens of Syrian officials, government institutions and military-linked firms tied to the violence, but those measures seem to have had little influence on Assad's policy.


Friday's steps are the first time the EU has targeted Syrian industry and the key oil sector, but analysts say the sanctions, which do not go as far as the investment ban imposed by the United States last month, may have only a limited impact on Assad's access to funds.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7810H120110902?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

79. Libya looks to oil as rebuilding begins

Fri Sep 2, 2011 2:12pm GMT


• Five international oil firms back on ground in Libya

• Libya sees oil industry key to reviving economy


By John Irish


PARIS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Libya is counting on quickly restoring oil production to revive its economy and five international oil firms are already back and working to resume operations, senior officials in the interim council's reconstruction team said on Friday.


The interim government's reconstruction minister Ahmed Jehani told Reuters during a meeting with donor groups and post-conflict rebuilding experts that the technical expertise of foreign contractors would be key to getting oil flowing again.


"The issue of damage is not much and you can get procurement very fast. This is helped by the fact the producing wells are under contract to international firms, if they feel they can deploy their people," said Jehani, also chairman of Libya's stabilisation team.


The head of operations for the interim council's stabilisation team, Aref Ali Nayed, said the five companies back in Libya included Italy's ENI . "These are companies that have assets in the country," he said.


Jehani and Nayed met experts from groups such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and USAID to discuss Libya's needs for the weeks and months ahead as the North African state starts rebuilding after months of conflict.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7810I220110902?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

80. Expelled Libyan envoy leaves Zimbabwe by road

Source: Africa Review

By KITSEPILE NYATHI in HararePosted Friday, September 2 2011 at 16:58


Expelled Libyan ambassador to Zimbabwe Taher El Megrahi has left the southern African country by road to Botswana to avoid an embarrassing deportation.


Megrahi and his staff were on Tuesday given 72 hours to leave Zimbabwe after they defected to Libya’s rebel-controlled National Transitional Council (NTC).


Zimbabwe had threatened to forcibly remove the diplomats if they did not leave by lunch time on Friday.


“We gave him a 72-hour ultimatum and it expires tomorrow (today). If he does not leave then we will have to use force but I do not think it will come to that,” permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Herald newspaper.


But a Foreign Affairs official told journalists that the Libyans left on Thursday evening headed for Botswana, a trip of about 480 kilometres.

...


http://www.africareview.com/News/Expelled+Libyan+envoy+leaves+Zimbabwe+by+road/-/979180/1229366/-/5l9ytt/-/

[Iterate]

83. They may have pulled the story, or ?, but link is off.

I don't know.

Here's what they do have (trying to be positive here):

Libyan embassy in Zimbabwe forced to hoist Gaddafi flag
By KITSEPILE NYATHI in HararePosted Tuesday, August 30 2011 at 11:44
http://www.africareview.com/News/Libyans+in+Zimbabwe+forced+to+hoist+Gaddafi+flag/-/979180/1227686/-/3xhhjcz/-/index.html

Zimbabwe tells pro-NTC Libyan ambassador to pack up and go
By KITSEPILE NYATHI in HararePosted Tuesday, August 30 2011 at 17:38
http://www.africareview.com/News/Zimbabwe+finally+expels+Libyan+embassy+staff/-/979180/1227882/-/yehmn6z/-/index.html

Essentially the same text.

[pinboy3niner]

84. I found it by searching on the title

http://www.africareview.com/News/Expelled+Libyan+envoy+leaves+Zimbabwe+by+road/-/979180/1229366/-/5l9ytt/-/

[pinboy3niner]

81. Libyans pledge democracy as they win Gaddafi billions

Fri Sep 2, 2011 3:33pm GMT


• NTC official reaffirms timetable for democracy

• EU eases sanctions, sees Libya as energy supplier, ally

• Council says to reopen schools, clean up Tripoli

• Gaddafi still at large and defiant


By Christian Lowe and Mohammed Abbas


TRIPOLI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Libya's new leadership reaffirmed its commitment to democracy and good governance on Friday as it worked on how to spend billions of dollars released from the frozen assets of fugitive strongman Muammar Gaddafi.


A day after international powers met in Paris and agreed to hand over more than $15 billion to the rebels who overthrew Gaddafi last week, the European Union, a main trading partner, rescinded a range of sanctions and officials from the National Transitional Council told financiers about their initial rebuilding plans.


The NTC's representative in London said that work on putting right the damage of 42 years of eccentric one-man rule and of six months of civil war should not wait until Gaddafi is found and the last bastions of armed support for him are defeated.


"As long as Tripoli, the capital, is stabilised and secure and safe, which it almost is now, and the overwhelming majority of other cities and towns, then Libyans can get on with the process of transition and stabilisation and the new political process," Guma El-Gamaty told the BBC.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE78100P20110902?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

82. Libyan rebels advance on Qaddafi's hometown

A crossed out caricature of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi reading "No Entry" is seen at a checkpoint in Tripoli, Libya, Sept. 2, 2011. (AP Photo)


September 2, 2011 11:47 AM


(CBS/AP) TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel forces are advancing toward Muammar Qaddafi's hometown despite the extension of a deadline for the town's surrender, rebel officials said Friday, as a U.N. official warned that Libya faces critical but short-term shortages of drinking water, food and other supplies.


While fighting has subsided in much of Libya, including the capital, Tripoli, the six-month civil war between rebels and Qaddafi's forces disrupted supply lines and damaged infrastructure across the country, leaving many people in need of help.


In just the past few days, more than a half-dozen U.N. agencies have returned to Tripoli, said the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Libya, Panos Moumtzis. The U.N. has brought in 11 million bottles of water and will bring in 600 tons of food and $140 million worth of medicine. But he also said the U.N. help is expected to be temporary.

...


Another rebel commander said the loyalist forces inside Sirte were divided, with one camp lead by Qaddafi's son Muatassim and the other by tribal elders.


"It was the tribal leaders of Sirte who asked for an extension until they could manage to resolve the situation peacefully," said Fadl-Allah Haroun.

...


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/02/501364/main20101005.shtml

[tabatha]

85. SA firm 'helped' Gaddafi spy on the people of Libya

A Stellenbosch engineering firm has been propelled into the limelight as a supplier of spy technology to the Gaddafi dictatorship, which used it to keep tabs on its citizens.

In an exposé of international firms that were assisting the former Libyan regime, The Wall Street Journal this week fingered VASTech SA Pty Ltd, a small South African firm.

It reported that the company had provided the regime with tools to tap and log all international phone calls going in and out of the country, according to emails reviewed by the newspaper and sources familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal visited Libya's spy centre and the international phone switch where calls leave and enter the country. At the phone switch they were told by people in the know that a separate group of Muammar Gaddafi's security agents staffed a room equipped with VASTech devices. There they captured roughly 30-million to 40-million minutes of mobile and landline conversations a month and archived them for years, one of the informants said.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-sa-firm-helped-gaddafi-spy

[tabatha]

86. SA's stance on Libya furthers rogue trend

The European Union diplomat was puzzled. "I can understand," he said, "why South Africa would be against the Iraq war or why it would resist Western 'interference' in Zimbabwe, but why the outcry over Libya, a popular revolt against a despot, and why the comparative silence on Syria, especially since it is a minority regime acting brutally against its people?"

He is not the only one to ask these questions. Indeed, the South African government's obstinacy about unfreezing $1.5-billion in Libyan cash to assist with reconstruction efforts has frustrated Western supporters, notably Washington. A solution to this impasse was eventually crafted by not including the name of Libya's rebel National Transitional Council in the American draft resolution to the United Nation Security Council, though Pretoria's bloody mindedness is unlikely to be quickly forgotten or forgiven.

Such external observers are, sadly, no longer bewildered by Pretoria's double standards on human rights issues that, since the passing of the Mandela era, have become the norm in South Africa's foreign relations. Examples are its decisions regarding Burma, Iran, Zimbabwe, Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the government's ambivalence over Afghanistan. Rather, they are angered by what is increasingly viewed by some as Pretoria's destructive stance. The term "rogue democracy" is now on people's lips.

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-sas-stance-on-libya-furthers-rogue-trend

[Iterate]

87. Libya media: Gaddafi mouthpieces fall silent

Libya media: Gaddafi mouthpieces fall silent
2 September 2011 Last updated at 15:23 GMT

For Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the loss of Tripoli also meant that he lost his media outlets - a main driver of his personality cult and his authoritarian rule up until a week ago.

...

Since the fall of Tripoli, Col Gaddafi has not appeared on television in person. Instead, his audio statements have been broadcast by two TV channels, one of which is believed to be based in Syria. In other developments:

Al-Jamahiriyah TV, a domestic and satellite station that aired his speeches live, now shows the NTC's tri-colour flag over the sound of Radio Tripoli, a new rebel-affiliated station.
Former youth station Al-Shababiyah FM has been re-launched under a new name: Al-Shababiyah 17 February FM.
Plans are also afoot to re-launch Al-Shababiyah TV - another part of the Libyan state broadcasting corporation.
One of the remaining state newspapers, Al-Shams, has ceased publication as is evident from its website, which now shows only a blank page.

Faced with limited options, Col Gaddafi turned abroad for media airtime, using two new pro-Gaddafi stations.

Al-Ra'y TV is owned by Iraqi businessman Mishan al-Juburi and based in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Mr Juburi is known for broadcasting television footage of attacks against coalition troops in Iraq.
...

more... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14766907
or... http://feb17.info/news/gaddafi-mouthpieces-fall-silent/

Edit/Correction: Some Gaddafi mouthpieces are still quite active.

[Iterate]

88. Hannibal's horrors: Others tell stories similar to burned nanny's

Hannibal's horrors: Others tell stories similar to burned nanny's
From Dan Rivers, CNN
September 2, 2011 1:13 p.m. EDT

Apparently, it was not just Mullah who suffered as servants of Hannibal Gadhafi's family. A man too frightened to reveal his name led CNN reporters to another one of Hannibal Gadhafi's properties, a gated, high-walled villa-like house, where the man said more abuse was meted out to staffers.

"Shweyga is not the only one," he said, describing a Sudanese man who was also scalded with hot water after he burned an undershirt he was ironing.

He said the foreign staff bore the brunt of the abuse.

"Another foreign nanny contacted CNN and described Aline Gadhafi as a "sadist" and a "psychologically sick" woman.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/09/02/libya.abuse/index.html

[tabatha]

89. Libya rebel commander contends was tortured, rendered by CIA

The top Libyan rebel military commander in Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, dropped something of a bombshell in an interview with the New York Times yesterday: In 2004, he said, two CIA agents tortured him in Thailand and then "rendered" him to Libya. From that point on, he maintains, he was held in solitary confinement for the next six years.

....


"We focused on Libya and Libya only," Belhaj told the Times. "Our goal was to help our people. We didn't participate in or support any action outside of Libya. We never had any link with Al Qaeda, and that could never be. We had a different agenda; global fighting was not our goal."

As for his six-year confinement and Libya and the CIA rendition preceding it, Belhaj told his Times interviewers that he's not looking to exact revenge.

"Definitely it was very hard, very difficult," Belhaj told the Times about his detention, but added, "Now we are in Libya, and we want to look forward to a peaceful future. I do not want revenge."

Still, he added, he wouldn't mind seeing his interrogators face legal proceedings. "If one day there is a legal way, I would like to see my torturers brought to court," he added.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/libya-rebel-commander-contends-tortured-rendered-cia-153037850.html

[pinboy3niner]

90. NATO makes non-lethal demonstration to show loyalist positions known, can be targeted

Jo Adetunji posts at The Guardian's Live Blog:


Major General Nick Pope has been tweeting about continuing operations by the British military on Thursday. He said a precision strike had been carried out in the area around Bani Walid, south-east of Tripoli where many believe Gaddafi to be hiding out. He said it was to demonstrate that positions of forces loyal to Gaddafi were "known and capable of being targeted".


Pope said HMS Liverpool had been assisting the rebels in Sirte, the so-called "capital of resistance" who are preparing to attack in the event that talks with tribal elders collapse (see 1.19pm update for more on this).


Here are some of those tweets:

Thu am: A precision strike in the area surrounding Bani Walid destroyed a military command and control installation #Libya


Thu pm: Tornado GR4s conducted a strike on six buildings in use by former regime forces near Bani Walid. All six targets were destroyed.


Thu night: Overnight, HMS Liverpool again fired star shells over pro-Qadhafi military positions at Sirte. #Libya


This was to demonstrate to those forces which persist in prolonging the conflict that their positions are known & capable of being targeted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage#block-35

[tabatha]

92. I think NATO is trying really hard to get this over peacefully.

[pinboy3niner]

91. Misrata forces counter Gaddafi loyalist infiltration

Fri Sep 2, 2011 5:49pm GMT
By Maria Golovnina


MISRATA, Libya, Sept 2 (Reuters) - NTC forces in Libya's third biggest city of Misrata said on Friday they were reinforcing security to intercept supporters of Muammar Gaddafi trying to infiltrate the area from their haven in nearby Sirte.

...


Rebels on the ground said they were ready to advance should talks with tribal leaders in those cities collapse.


"There will be fighting here. We have pushed them out of this area. We are still trying to push them further out. ... There are Gaddafi scouts everywhere," said Ibrahim Obaid, a rebel fighter.


Regional commanders of NTC forces said they had received intelligence that Gaddafi loyalists aimed to stage attacks and destabilise Misrata, a regional rebel hub between Bani Walid and Sirte.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7810NE20110902

[pinboy3niner]

93. Thousands of women rally in Martyrs' Square in Tripoli

Thousands of women who were publically absent for much of the conflict in Libya have gathered in Martyrs' square in Tripoli to mark the end of the Gaddafi era.

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reporting from the square says they have called this the million woman march in Libya and it is a family friendly evening.

"There is an absense of rifles and guns in the air, McNaught said. "It is remarkable to see an event like this with families all together."


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-2-2011-2120

[pinboy3niner]

94. Libya Turns From Africa to the West

Source: Voice of America

September 02, 2011

James Brooke | Tripoli


Moammar Gadhafi’s Libya was known for cultivating support in Africa and tangling with Europe, the United States and moderate Arab governments. But now there appears to be a big foreign-policy shift toward the West in the air.


Two political snapshots capture the new directions for the foreign relations of Libya, holder of the largest oil reserves in Africa. Last week, South African President Jacob Zuma, speaking for the African Union, refused to recognize Libya’s rebels as the new government of Libya.


This week, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of Libya’s transitional authority, was feted in Paris at a Libya meeting by the leaders of France and Britain and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.


On the streets of Tripoli, the view is that Libya will turn away from African states south of the Sahara and cultivate relations north of the Mediterranean.

...


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Libya-Turns-From-Africa-to-the-West-129119088.html

[Iterate]

95. Bulgaria demands Libya return 2007 pay-off, offers to send medical aid

Bulgaria demands Libya return 2007 pay-off over nurses
2 September 2011 Last updated at 17:08 GMT

Bulgaria says it is seeking to recover $56.6m (£35m) of funds it donated to Libya in 2007 in a deal to secure the release of five Bulgarian nurses.

The five nurses had been sentenced to death for deliberately infecting more than 400 children with HIV.
...

But on Friday Prime Minister Boiko Borisov described the deal as "racketeering".
...

Medical experts say the HIV outbreak was probably caused by poor sanitation.

more... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14767985

Bulgaria may lend support to new power in Libya by sending medical teams, receive ill or injured Libyan citizens
01 September 2011 | 22:01 | FOCUS News Agency

...
Bulgaria may lend support by commissioning medical teams to Libya or by receiving ill or injured Libyan citizens for medical treatment in Bulgaria, as well as by organising training courses for the new Libyan police forces. Bulgaria is ready to continue rendering help and cooperation for protection of the civilian population, as the improvement of the humanitarian situation and the stabilisation of the country should be done by observing and protecting the human rights
more... http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n258428

EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva: Bulgarians will return to Libya
02 September 2011 | 03:47 / FOCUS News Agency / World

Sofia. In an interview with the Trud daily EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva stated that there was a serious humanitarian problem in Libya, but she would certainly not call it a humanitarian catastrophe. The most serious problem at present regarded the suspended water supply to Tripoli and other coastal cities. The other current issue was medical treatment, as even though most hospitals were open, they lacked staff, mainly nurses. Ms Georgieva voiced the opinion that many of the Bulgarian nationals that worked in Libya but fled the country during the turmoil would now decide to return.
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n258428

It looks like the Bulgarian nurses' story had a new, sane turn. Either that or Bulgarian nurses are imperialists just staking a claim.

[pinboy3niner]

96. 5 sons missing in chaos of Libya's war

By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press – 22 minutes ago


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — In the days since the five brothers vanished at a checkpoint manned by Gadhafi loyalists, a small army of friends and relatives have fanned out across Tripoli.


They have searched hospitals and morgues. They have traveled to nearby farming areas in case the men were taken out of the city. They have talked to rebels and to supporters of Moammar Gadhafi, the ousted ruler.


They have found no sign of the men, aged 21 to 31.


"It's hard ... five children," their father Abdel Salam Abu Naama said quietly, laying out their passport photos on a cushion in his living room, as friends and relatives gathered around him.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWTfIWF67Zzf8XTPg5HjUx3O3vIA?docId=96172fe695ed4f619a5b30b62b2598d5

[pinboy3niner]

97. US embassy cable from Tripoli shines light on rivalry between Gaddafi sons

The Guardian's Jo Adetunji provides a detailed look at what the cable reveals on their Live Blog:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage#block-37

[tabatha]

98. The real hypocrites

I have been reading, with some distaste I might add, the constant harping on by certain sections of the international community about the Libyan situation.

Most of the arguments regarding so-called ‘forced’ regime change, respecting a nation’s sovereignty and media lies and/or conspiracies can quite easily be turned on their heads to protect any oppressive regime, even our favourite whipping boys Malan, Botha et Al.

Consider the South African situation for a moment, an oppressive regime that lasted from 1948 to 1994 where racism was legalized.

When the ANC and then OAU protested against the west’s sanctions and isolation tactics, they used similar arguments that the AU uses today to defend Gaddafi. Let’s compare in point form some of the hallmarks of both regimes.

South Africa, under apartheid, destabilized the surrounding countries by assisting ‘friendly’ forces such as RENAMO in Mozambique and UNITA in Angola. There were South African military personnel in Southern Zimbabwe. South African operatives committed terror attacks in other countries to remove political opponents. Many bombs were planted.

Gaddafi sponsored and supported forces friendly to him, most notably sending troops to prop up Idi Amin in the Tanzania-Ugandan war.

http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/YourStory/The-real-hypocrates-20110830

[tabatha]

99. Libya: Charting a post Gaddafi path

International Crisis Group (ICG) has stated that ‘Amid today’s understandable euphoria, the magnitude of tomorrow’s challenge ought not to be underestimated.’ Libya has seen a new dawn, but what they do next is what will ensure that extends into a bright future.

Back in February, New Africa Analysis called for a smart intervention, in order for the North African country to be free of the harsh regime that Gaddafi presented. We have not had a smart, swift or precise intervention; but intervention nonetheless. Now, talk is centred on what next for the country after a six-month struggle to remove Africa’s most ruthless, deadly and megalomaniac dictator. The National Transitional Council (NTC) has got its work cut out to rebuild the country and make it a free, fair and inclusive one, in line with the aspirations of the people. Although it may be a struggle to rebuild the country, it will be a process in which many want to help and much good can come from it. The ICG have stated however, that it is the United Nations (UN) that must be heavily relied upon, international bodies that do wish to help the progression of Libya towards a better ruled country should do so through the UN. In this way the people of Libya might continue to own the transition process and not feel dictated to by any one group or state.

The involvement of the UN would echo the cry of Barrack Obama, who urged the world in his Nobel Peace Prize speech back in ‘09 to ‘intervene early and work together when responding to mass atrocities’. The US independent think tank, the Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), also said that ‘it’s imperative that the international community must respond and become responsible for the people of that country’. Although kind offerings, both of these statements should be dealt with respectfully, and sensitively as the Libyan people have been dictated to for too long. Other countries seizing control of what should be their decision could incite hatred towards the nations that try to help them, which in turn would cause more chaos. It is to that end that the most sensible suggestion would be for the Libyans to unite; by way of the NTC involving the whole of Libya, by co-operating with representatives from all corners of their communities and making decisions together. However, Libya needs to start as it means to go on, by re-forming its government into a fair and just one that can be relied upon by everyone within and without.

http://newafricaanalysis.co.uk/index.php/2011/08/libya-charting-a-post-gaddafi-path/

[tabatha]

100. Ukranian snipers captured in #AbuSleem

Zlitniya Zlitniya
Ukranian snipers captured in #AbuSleem.Approx17.Some >60yr.'dont knw y they came 2kill us.No enmity btwn us & #Ukraine' youtu.be/lVNG9EigTU8
5 minutes ago

http://youtu.be/lVNG9EigTU8

[tabatha]

101. Libya’s “revolution” babies

In a hospital in central Tripoli, some of the most vulnerable victims in the battle for the capital have been the numerous babies born during the fighting.

With the onus on treating the wounded hospital staff are stretched, so perhaps it wasn’t the best time to enter the world. However, in the midst of the troubles the infants are regarded as special.

“Yes, they are revolution babies,” said a doctor who preferred not to give her name. “They are in difficult circumstances because there is a shortage of medical staff and supplies here. But they are better in other ways: at least I hope they will have better education and they will grow up in a better environment.”

Women making it to hospital give birth and leave quickly; there is still a sense of fear in the post-Gaddafi instability. However, reflecting the new Libya, parents are naming their children “Revolution and “Freedom”.

http://www.euronews.net/2011/08/31/libya-s-revolution-babies/

[pinboy3niner]

102. Video of women's rally in Martyrs' Square (2:24)

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught is reporting from Martyrs' square where women are gathering to celebrate the end of Gaddafi's rule.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-2-2011-2339

Al Jazeera's Evan Hill sent us this picture of a traffic jam of cars heading to Martyrs' square to join the celebrations. The lights in the background are Martyrs' square.

[Iterate]

103. Posted in PVid as well.

But I had to go back and add that photo when I saw it. I have to admit there were a few moments back in April and early May when it seemed that the battle for Tripoli might look like the battle for Zawiya or Misrata.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=614000&mesg_id=614000

[tabatha]

104. NOW THAT WE HAVE TASTED HOPE

Now that we have come out of hiding,
Why would we live again in the tombs we’d made out of our souls?

And the sundered bodies that we’ve reassembled with prayers and consolations,
What would their torn parts be other than flesh?

Now that we have tasted hope
And dressed each other’s wounds with the legends of our oneness
Would we not prefer to close our mouths forever shut on the wine
That swilled inside them?

Having dreamed the same dream,
Having found the water that gushed behind a thousand mirages,
Why would we hide from the sun again
Or fear the night sky after we’ve reached the ends of darkness,
Live in death again after all the life our dead have given us?

Listen to me Zow’ya, Beida, Ajdabya, Tobruk, Nalut, Derna, Musrata, Benghazi, Zintan,
Listen to me houses, alleys, courtyards, and streets that throng my veins,
Some day soon
In your freed light and in the shade of your proud trees,
Your excavated heroes will return to their thrones in your martyrs’ squares,
Lovers will hold each other’s hands.

I need not look far to imagine the nerves dying rejecting the life that blood sends them.
I need not look deep into my past to seek a thousand hopeless vistas.
But now that I have tasted hope
I have fallen into the embrace of my own rugged innocence.

How long were my ancient days?
I no longer care to count.
How high were the mountains in my ocean’s fathoms?
I no longer care to measure.
How bitter was the bread of bitterness?
I no longer care to recall.

Now that we have tasted hope,
Now that we have lived on this hard-earned crust,
We would sooner die than seek any other taste to life,
Any other way of being human.- Khaled Mattawa

http://arablit.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/libyan-poet-khaled-mattawa-now-that-we-have-tasted-hope/

[tabatha]

106. Libya conflict: UK forces attack Gaddafi's last strongholds

Rebel forces had demanded that Sirte surrender by Saturday but have granted a week's extension for further negotiations with tribal leaders and Gaddafi loyalists.

National Transitional Council council spokesman Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga said its fighters had not stopped advancing towards Gaddafi's hometown. Their brigades have pushed to the town of Wadi Hawarah, 30 miles from Sirte.

"The rebels at the frontline are very eager to move without delay," he told the Associated Press. "They live in harsh conditions there in the middle of the desert, and in hot weather. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, the people of Sirte will raise the independence flag and we can enter peacefully without fighting."

The rebels would prefer a surrender to fighting, he added. "One week is not a big deal."

Another rebel commander said the forces inside Sirte were divided, with one camp led by Gaddafi's son Muatassim and the other by tribal elders. "It was the tribal leaders of Sirte who asked for an extension until they could manage to resolve the situation peacefully," Fadl-Allah Haroun told AP. "The Gaddafi people will have to flee in the end to Niger or anywhere else because there is no other option."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/02/libya-attack-gaddafi-strongholds

SEBHA HAS SURRENDERED
17 Feb. FFs Sebha. Beakin news via Free Libya Channel:
through direct call we were assured that the city (Sebha) is under the full control of FFs. There are G.Brig. there. The army in Sebha joined the revolution and issued a declaration.All areas in the South has liberated now and raise the Falg of independence. El-Waig passage is under FFs control, but Ghat passage is still controlled by G.Brigs. Negotiation are underway with the Gadadifa. They were given an ultimatum with 3 joices: join the Revolution, surrender, stay at home are a fight to their end!!

[pinboy3niner]

105. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 198: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 2:45 AM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, UTC +1 hour, GMT +2 hours










Inside one of Gaddafi's torture cells
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030931/Libya-Inside-Gaddafis-torture-chamber-The-bloodstained-cells-inside-primary-school-used-brutalise-enemies.html

[tabatha]

107. Libya soccer team gets new kit for Mozambique game

Libya’s national soccer team has a new kit in advance of its African Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique on Saturday. The team, which had been playing in the green color of the flag introduced in 1977 by Gadhafi, now has a new uniform bearing the pre-Gadhafi national flag as approved by the National Transitional Council in August. And though the line-up for Saturday’s game has not been announced, many are looking forward to the team playing in the new kit and to the return of the country’s old national anthem before the game.

http://storyful.com/stories/1000007357

[tabatha]

108. Americans Emerge After Months In Gadhafi's Prisons

Matthew VanDyke, a freelance journalist from Baltimore, was held in solitary confinement in Libya for five months before he was freed last week. At left, VanDyke is seen in February, before he went to Libya; at right, after his release.

September 1, 2011

Last week, Matthew VanDyke, a freelance journalist and travel writer from Baltimore, went from solitary confinement in one of Moammar Gadhafi's most notorious prisons to one of Tripoli's most luxurious hotels.

VanDyke acknowledges that in early March, shortly after the uprising against Gadhafi began, he arrived in Libya to help the rebels.

"I was here to do whatever I could to help the revolution and I'll leave it at that," said VanDyke, who is now a guest at the Corinthia Hotel in the Libyan capital.

Under Gadhafi's rule, tens of thousands of people disappeared into the regime's prisons. The state security apparatus regularly tortured detainees and held them without trial, according to human-rights groups.

When the rebels stormed into Tripoli last week and drove Gadhafi from power, many prisons were opened up and inmates were allowed to go or managed to escape. Five U.S. citizens, including VanDyke, were among them.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/01/140116105/americans-emerge-after-months-in-gadhafis-prisons

[pinboy3niner]

109. Libyans struggle to account for the missing, identify the dead

From The Guardian's Live Blog:

The AP has more on the number of missing people being reported in Tripoli and attempts to find or identify bodies.


Relatives have been putting up fliers with photos and descriptions of the missing in hospitals and volunteers have also been compiling missing person reports and belongings of those killed in an attempt to identify them.


Gassem Baruni, director at the Tripoli Central hospital, said officials had been taking photographs of bodies before burial, collecting hair for possible DNA analysis and cataloguing personal items. Mohammed Ali, a morgue volunteer at the centre, said 10 bodies had been identified through photographs.


However Baruni said of 297 bodies brought in since 20 August, about 170 had been buried without names. Morgue attendants at the Tripoli Medical Centre also said that the majority of the 200 bodies collected in the second half of August were unidentified. Haloma Cherif, an 18-year-old hospital volunteer, said she had collected about 500 missing persons reports, all male.


"Seeing the parents coming and reporting it, it is a hard feeling," she said. The most difficult thing, she said, was sending family members to the morgue.


Not all disappearances have been related to direct fighting. In March Amnesty International put together this briefing of those believed to have been "disappeared" under the Gaddafi regime.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/sep/02/libya-gaddafi-fight-end-live-coverage#block-39#block-39

[tabatha]

110. China offered Gadhafi huge stockpiles of arms: Libyan memos

China offered huge stockpiles of weapons to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi during the final months of his regime, according to papers that describe secret talks about shipments via Algeria and South Africa.

Documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show that state-controlled Chinese arms manufacturers were prepared to sell weapons and ammunition worth at least $200-million to the embattled Col. Gadhafi in late July, a violation of United Nations sanctions.

The documents suggest that Beijing and other governments may have played a double game in the Libyan war, claiming neutrality but covertly helping the dictator. The papers do not confirm whether any military assistance was delivered, but senior leaders of the new transitional government in Tripoli say the documents reinforce their suspicions about the recent actions of China, Algeria and South Africa. Those countries may now suffer a disadvantage as Libya’s new rulers divide the spoils from their vast energy resources, and select foreign firms for the country’s reconstruction.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/china-offered-gadhafi-huge-stockpiles-of-arms-libyan-memos/article2152875/

[pinboy3niner]

111. Washington Says It Knew of Ex-Diplomat's Libya Meet

Source: Wall Street Journal

SEPTEMBER 2, 2011, 8:36 P.M. ET

By JAY SOLOMON


WASHINGTON—A former senior State Department diplomat who met last month with two officials from the government of now-deposed Col. Moammar Gadhafi communicated with the Obama administration both before and after the meeting, according to U.S. officials.


Former Assistant Secretary of State David Welch met with the Libyans on Aug. 2 in Cairo and confirmed the meeting for the first time Friday. The encounter created controversy both in Washington and Libya, after the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera published minutes of the meeting as described by the two Libyan officials, Fouad Abu-Bakr Al-Zleitny and Mohammad Ismaeel Ahmad.


The minutes were obtained by Al Jazeera from the offices of the Gadhafi regime's intelligence services, which Libyan rebels overran last week. During the meeting, according to the minutes, Mr. Welch appeared advise the Libyan officials on how to withstand growing international pressure on Col. Gadhafi's regime.


The State Department initially responded to the Al Jazeera report by stressing that Mr. Welch was acting in his private capacity and wasn't "carrying any messages" for the Obama administration. But subsequently, senior U.S. officials confirmed that Mr. Welch briefed the State Department on the Libyans' request for the meeting ahead of his trip to Egypt and provided a follow-up report afterwards.


"We were aware that he was going," a senior U.S. official said. "I can't speak to exactly what he said, but he was in touch…both before and after."

...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576547101290553370.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[joshcryer]

112. Week 29 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1867831