Posts Tagged ‘Gadaffi’
Hassan Nasrallah Backs Murders in Syria.
One time radical and firebrand, Hassan Nasrallah, has gone with the money.
He is backing the murderous President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad. Not too surprising, because if he didn’t, he would lose the support of the Iranian regime and their money.
Since the uprising against the Syrian dictators some 1100 people have been killed by the regime and their thugs, according to Sawasiah, ABC News reports:
“Human rights activists in Syria say the two-month crackdown by security forces on anti-government protesters has cost the lives of at least 1,100 people.
The Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah says it has the names of 1,100 people reportedly killed during the unrest that broke out in mid-March.
Most were from southern areas in Hauran Plain – including the city of Deraa where the protests first began two months ago.
The human rights group says it in fact has heard reports of another 200 civilian deaths but has no names to base the figures on.
The death toll in Syria rose sharply after the protests spread from Deraa to other parts of the country.”
Yahoo News has more on Nasrallah’s speech:
” “We call on all Syrians to preserve their country as well as the ruling regime, a regime of resistance, and to give their leaders a chance to cooperate with all Syria’s communities in order to implement the necessary reforms,” he said in the speech broadcast by his party’s Al-Manar television.
The speech, marking the 11th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon after a 22-year occupation, was broadcast on a giant screen to thousands of Hezbollah supporters in the village of Nabi Sheet, a Shiite stronghold in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
It was the first time the reclusive Hezbollah chief commented on the protests in Syria, which along with Iran is a major backer of his Shiite militant party.
“The difference between the Arab uprisings and Syria… is that President Assad is convinced that reforms are necessary, unlike Bahrain and other Arab countries,” said Nasrallah, who has not appeared in public since 2008.
Break The Siege Of Misrata.
The open complacency amongst Western leaders when faced with the siege of Misrata should be shocking to us, but it isn’t.
The West and NATO have shown how useless they are at protecting Libyan civilians, how uncoordinated their actions are and why Gaddafi’s murder of Libyans must be stopped.
Some have argued that Gaddafi wouldn’t have murdered thousands had he taken Benghazi, but the actions of his forces at Misrata make that a lie.
Gaddafi has no compunction when it comes to murdering Libyans as he’s already done by the hundreds and thousands, and will kill as many as necessary to stay in power, that is the nature of this dictator and his grubby sons.
In many ways the West learnt very little from the conflict in the Balkans, invariably acting too late and with too little determination.
So if the West is truly serious about saving Libyans then concerted action needs to be taken at Misrata. Without delay.
Libya, Good To Remember.
In a few years’ time the conflict in Libya will take on its own myths, why certain things happened and how, etc etc
So now it is good to remember what Gaddafi and his sons were intent on doing should the Libyan people revolt: kill civilians.
“In The Hague on Tuesday, Mr Moreno-Ocampo said: “We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts in January, people in the regime were planning how to control demonstrations inside Libya.
“The planning at the beginning was to use tear gas and [if that failed to work]… shooting,” he told Reuters.
Doctors said last week that at least 200 people had been killed there since the uprising began on 17 February – a figure likely to have risen in recent days. “
Gaddafi Leaving?
There is a suggestion in the papers that Gaddafi might be leaving, which would be a good outcome overall for Libyans.
Where would he go? Maybe Latin America? Italy? Not sure he’ll want to remain in Africa as the Guardian suggests, lest his days are numbered.
The problem isn’t really him, and although we know that dictators cling on to the last vestiges of power to the end, the issue is, his sons.
One of his sons was destined to take over the family business of running Libya, much like the monarchies of old and that is something they won’t want to give up, so whilst it might be possible to pension off Colonel Gadaffi, his sons are a different matter.
Will they fight to the end? I don’t know, I hope not, but avarice and power are terrible masters.
Over In Syria And More.
Khaled Abu Toameh has had some thoughts on Syria:
“Just as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Seif ul Islam, was once praised as the new, liberal and democratic hope of Libya, so Bashar was projected eleven years ago as representing a new generation of Arab leaders willing to break away from a dark and dictatorial past.
But the events of the last few days in Syria, which have seen unarmed demonstrators gunned down by government forces, prove conclusively that when push comes to shove, Bashar is actually not all that different from his late father. As some of his critic comment, “The apple does not fall far from the tree.”
His handling of pro-democracy protests that have erupted in several Syrian cities since March 15 is a reminder that Bashar is a dictator who, like Colonel Gaddafi and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh, will not surrender power gracefully.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal several weeks ago, Bashar boasted that the Tunisian and Egyptian models did not apply to his country and that there was no fear for the survival of his regime. He was right in the first part of his analysis: both neither the Egyptian nor Tunisian presidents chose to fight their people to the last drop of their blood.
But the second part of his analysis is faulty: Syria is far from immune from the political tsunami of popular uprisings currently sweeping through the Arab world.
Syrian human rights organizations have expressed deep concern over the Syrian authorities’ ruthless and brutal crackdown. They note how in many instances children under the ages of 15 were arrested by the notorious “mukhabarat” secret service for allegedly painting anti-government graffiti on city walls.
In another incident that took place in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, Bashar unleashed his commandos against peaceful worshippers who were staging a sit-in strike in a mosque; he killed dozens and wounded many others.
Syrians are asking: Will the son go as far as his father in stamping down on all protests? The public has not forgotten the terrible events of 20 years ago in the city of Hama, when government forces using artillery and air power killed an estimated 20,000 civilians. “
Reuters’ live coverage on the Middle East is useful.
In Syria.
Murder in Yemen, the shooting of unarmed protesters in Bahrain and now Syria, BBC News reports:
“At least three protesters have been shot dead in the south Syrian city of Deraa as security forces clamped down on a protest rally.
They were killed by security forces as protesters demanded political freedom and an end to corruption, eyewitnesses and activists told foreign media.
President Bashar al-Assad, whose Baath party has dominated politics for nearly 50 years, tolerates no dissent. “
UNSC Resolution 1973, Too Little or Too Late?
The United Nations was a good idea, bring together countries and try to resolve complex problems in a peaceful fashion, through consensus and debate.
The reality even after it was created was so different and whilst the recent UN Security Council resolution 1973 is very sturdy, in UN terms and authorises a no-fly zone over Libya and “all necessary measures” there is an incredible disparity between now and two months ago.
Some two months ago Libya, under Colonel Gadaffi, held the chair to the UN’s highest human rights body, was a well-regarded participant in the UN and received weapons from various Western and other countries.
Libya, under Gadaffi, even funded a human rights prize, which would appear laughable if it wasn’t for the murderous way he and his son have conducted themselves in the last few weeks.
Gadaffi jr. doled out money left, right and centre and in the process gained a degree of respectability and the compliance of Western academics, most noticeably the LSE.
Two months back, the West, Russia and China were happy to do business with Gaddafi, even though it was obvious he was a murderer and a dictator that held power for 42 years.
So the leaders of the UN and associated countries show what a pile of sanctimonious frauds they really are, two months back patting Gaddafi on the back, welcoming his money and his oil, and what now?
Still, if the UN resolution enables the rebels to overthrow Gaddafi and bring about some peaceful, well-deserved change to Libya then it is to be welcomed.
Gaddafi, like the host of other dictators, potentates and monarch’s across the Middle East should be overthrown.
Their downfall cannot come quickly enough for me, but this whole episode has illustrated how powerful countries, Russia and China, can block any necessary action until it is almost too late.
I hope that it isn’t too late and that Gaddafi can be stopped, but when and if that happens we shouldn’t forget how compliant other nations, other rulers were to him when he was in power.
Update 1: Nor should we forget what’s happening in Bahrain either, protesters shot, arrested, a foreign country (Saudi Arabia) intervenes.
Update 2: In a slightly surreal twist Bahrain’s King might be going to the British Royal wedding in April 2011, might.
Update 3: If you ever feel like watching UN TV, which details the votes, etc this is the link.
Update 4: The WSJ on U.N. Clears Way for Attack on Libya.
Update 5: Libya Shuts Air Space Ahead Of No-Fly Action.
Update 6: Hussein Ibish on What really took so long on the Libya resolution and what are the costs of delaying the inevitable?
Update 7: Left Foot Forward on UN authorises “all necessary measures” to protect Libyans from Gaddafi.
Update 8: Libyan rebels celebrate UN no-fly zone resolution at the Beeb.
Bahrain, Libya, Saudi Arabia and The West.
In Bahrain we are witnessing Saudi Arabian imperialism as dictators join forces to shoot peaceful demonstrators, the video below is just one example.
Elsewhere, in Libya Gaddafi’s air power has proved decisive as his mercenaries and loyalists advance on Benghazi.
The West’s failure to aid the rebels or provide a counter to Gadaffi’s air power has sealed the fate of the rebels.
In all probability we will see a bloodbath in Benghazi as Gadaffi kills as many as possible to prove a point, and the West’s stupid sanctions will not stop him. Gaddafi was afraid of losing power and fought with that in mind, freezing his assets in the West was annoying but not uppermost in his thinking. He doesn’t care what the West thinks of him, rather what could have happened, his overthrow and demise.
That is unlikely to happen now, as any opposition will be brutally dealt with, after 42 years as a dictator he’s learnt a trick or two, to murder or exile his opponents and ignore what people say.
In Saudi Arabia, there are protests according to Bloomberg:
“About 1,000 people in Saudi Arabia’s eastern city of al-Qatif defied a ban on demonstrations yesterday and protested peacefully to demand the country’s troops end their incursion into Bahrain.
Protesters chanted and held signs that called on the government to stay out of Bahrain, according to Ali Hassan, 26, who took part in the march. He said the march veered away from security forces to avoid a confrontation. A separate protest was held in the city of Awwamiya, according to Jasim al-Awwami, 27, who participated in it.”
Libya, Egypt And Mauritania.
News is coming out on Twitter that three private planes belonging to the Gaddafi family have set off from Tripoli.
“Karl Stagno-Navarra, a journalist in Malta, told al-Jazeera taht three out of five of the Gaddafi family jets are in the air, headed to Vienna, Athens and Cairo respectively. His sources were air traffic control in Malta and Cyprus. “
The Guardian has good on-going coverage of events in Libya.
International women’s day didn’t go well in Cairo, as the Washington Post reports:
“CAIRO – Women hoping to extend their rights in post-revolutionary Egypt were faced with a harsh reality Tuesday when a mob of angry men beat and sexually assaulted marchers calling for political and social equality, witnesses said.
“Everyone was chased. Some were beaten. They were touching us everywhere,” said Dina Abou Elsoud, 35, a hostel owner and organizer of the ambitiously named Million Woman March.
She was among a half-dozen women who said they were repeatedly groped by men – a common form of intimidation and harassment here that was, in fact, a target of the protesters. None of the women reported serious injuries.
The demonstration on International Women’s Day drew a crowd only in the hundreds to Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the popular revolt that drove President Hosni Mubarak from power. Gone, organizers said, was the spirit of equality and cooperation between the sexes that marked most of the historic mass gatherings in the square.
As upwards of 300 marchers assembled late Tuesday afternoon, men began taunting them, insisting that a woman could never be president and objecting to women’s demands to have a role in drafting a new constitution, witnesses said.
“People were saying that women were dividing the revolution and should be happy with the rights they have,” said Ebony Coletu, 36, an American who teaches at American University in Cairo and attended the march, as she put it, “in solidarity.”
The men – their number estimated to be at least double that of the women’s – broke through a human chain that other men had formed to protect the marchers. Women said they attempted to stand their ground – until the physical aggression began. “
Meanwhile over in Mauritania:
“Young leaders have been severely beaten by dozens of policemen. Some 200 demonstrators have been dispersed by force and 30 were arrested fort further investigation. One leader was beaten so severely he remains in coma. Protesters collectively chanted their slogans, calling for justice, freedom and urgent social reforms. “
Stable Door And The London School of Economics
Weeks after the horse bolted, those connected to the Libyan regime are slowly trying to sever their connections:
“A Nobel prize-winning British scientist has resigned from the charity run by Muammar Gaddafi’s son that gave a £1.5m donation to the London School of Economics, and disclosed that the funding was awarded without the approval of board members.
The elite British university has been in turmoil over the donation, which last week led to the resignation of its director, Sir Howard Davies, and the launch of an independent inquiry into its links with Libya. Sir Richard Roberts, who was on the board of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, said the funding was given to the LSE without “any form of transparency or approval”.
The revelation underlines concerns that the Gaddafi foundation did not operate as a normal charity but was a vehicle for the Libyan dictator’s son Saif al-Islam.
The LSE council, its governing body, is facing scrutiny over its decision to approve the donation, granted in 2009. One of the LSE’s academics stood down from the board of the Gaddafi foundation in 2009 after a council meeting raised concern over a conflict of interests.
Roberts, an internationally renowned biochemist who won the Nobel prize for medicine in 1993, told the Guardian: “I never knew anything about that money before it appeared in the press. That was not done with any sort of clarity or transparency to the board.” “
Or does it all suggest that some of these supposedly smart people are not that smart at all, when it comes to rich dictators?
Over at the Beeb, they cover the Libyan Investment Authority with a choice quote:
“Like the rest of Gaddafi’s children, Saif lived a life of privilege and ease, although like his father he claimed to have no official position and denied having access large funds.
But now new evidence has emerged that despite his denials, Saif in fact controlled the multi-billion-pound Libyan sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA).
“I’ve seen the Godfather. This is the closest thing in real life,” commented a Libyan investment banker familiar with how the LIA was run.
“It is as if it is his own private farm. This was almost like a mafia operatiion.”
In the letters page of the Guardian there is an academic bun-fight on plagiarism, Saif Gaddafi and how to use Google:
“Lord Desai seems to be aggrieved because nobody told him as the PhD examiner of Saif Gaddafi that the candidate had committed plagiarism. But it is precisely the job of the examiner, as an expert in the field, to assess the originality of a doctoral thesis. So neither Desai, nor his co-examiner, nor Mr Gaddafi’s supervisors, did their jobs. Have none of them heard of Google? It’s not too hard these days to catch out the plagiariser.”
Fred Halliday On the LSE and Libya.
OpenDemocracy has Fred Halliday’s memorandum to the London School of Economics from October 2009 concerning Libya and it is a good read:
“While it is formally the case that the QF [Qaddafi Foundation] is not part of the Libyan state, and is registered in Switzerland as an NGO, this is, in all practical senses, a legal fiction. The monies paid into the QF come from foreign businesses wishing to do business, i.e. receive contracts, for work in Libya, most evidently in the oil and gas industries. These monies are, in effect, a form of down payment, indeed of taxation, paid to the Libyan state, in anticipation of the award of contracts. The funds of the QF are, for this reason, to all intents and purposes, part of the Libyan state budget. ‘NGO status’, and recognition of such by UN bodies, means, in real terms, absolutely nothing. Mention has been made, in verbal and written submissions to the School and in correspondence to myself, of the membership of the QF’s advisory board: a somewhat closer examination of the most prominent politicians involved, and of their reputations and business dealings, should also give cause for some concern.
(ii) That the President of the QF [Qaddafi Foundation], and its effective director, is himself the son of the ruler, and, for all the informality of the Libyan political system (even the ‘Leader’, Colonel Qaddafi, has no formal position), in effect a senior official of that regime, confirms this analysis. In Arab states many of the most important positions have no official title, and kinship, and informal links, are more important than state function – and this, above all, in Libya. “
Libya, Dumped In The Street.
The Associated Press reports on the terrible goings-on in Libya:
“Bodies of people who vanished have been dumped in the street. Gunmen in SUVs have descended on homes in the night to drag away suspected protesters, identified by video footage of protests that militiamen have pored through to spot faces. Other militiamen have searched hospitals for wounded to take away.
Residents say they are under the watchful eyes of a variety of Gadhafi militias prowling the streets. They go under numerous names – Internal Security, the Central Support Force, the People’s Force, the People’s Guards and the Brigade of Mohammed al-Magarif, the head of Gadhafi’s personal guard – and they are all searching for suspected protesters.
“While you are speaking to me now, there are spies everywhere and people watching me and you,” one man said, cutting short a conversation with an Associated Press reporter visiting the Tripoli district of Zawiyat al-Dahman on Thursday.
Residents said calls for new protests to be held Friday after weekly Muslim prayers were being passed by word of mouth in several districts of the capital.
Whether crowds turn out will depend on the depth of fear among Gadhafi opponents. Friday could prove a test of the extent of Gadhafi’s control. The capital is crucial to the Libyan leader, his strongest remaining bastion after the uprising that began on Feb. 15 broke the entire eastern half of Libya out of his control and even swept over some cities in the west near Tripoli.
The clampdown in Tripoli has left some yearning for outside help. One 21-year-old in Zawiyat al-Dahman said residents were hoping for manpower to come from the opposition-held east. A Libyan writer in his 70s said he rejects “foreign intervention” in Libya’s upheaval – but wouldn’t mind a “a powerful strike” on Gadhafi’s headquarters to stop further bloodshed. “
No Foreign Intervention In Libya.
I think anyone watching the events unfolding in Libya must wonder, whether or not foreign intervention would help.
Clearly, Governments toned down their rhetoric whilst their nationals were in Libya and potentially under danger, but what now?
Sanctions are utterly useless, as they don’t address the here and now.
But shouldn’t more be done to aid the Libyans?
I think so but any foreign intervention would, in my view, be disastrous, for a number of reasons:
1) Such action would only bolster Gadaffi, it would allow him to argue that it was really imperialists that wanted to take over his country, in the first place, and that his people loved him but they were puppets of Western imperialism.
2) It would come too late and take precedence over the Libyans’ views, which should be paramount.
3) The Libyans, above all, should oversee their own emancipation and probably have sufficient resources now to complete it.
Ultimately, I think any western intervention in Libya would be counterproductive, I think aid and support for the refugees should be expedited, but that’s a different issue.
This is what some Libyans think:
ModernityBlog 