This blog is dedicated to the struggles of people everywhere to advance human progress and save this planet from the decline of capitalism. Its focus, since 2011 has been supporting the emerging revolutions everywhere.
Since certain people speaking for the ANSWER Coalition accused me of running a misleading headline right here in the DailyKos with my title No Libyans allowed at ANSWER Libya Forum because a few anti-Qaddafi Libyans managed to get past the Answer ticket sellers and make themselves known in the Q&A, I have been sensitive to mis-leading headlines.
So I offer the headline NATO slammed for Libya civilian deaths as a prime example of how the pro-Qaddafi side can spin a story. PressTV is very pro-Iranian BTW.
The first paragraph clarifies what they mean in the headline:
NATO has come under intense grilling over its lack of response to the killings of Libyan civilians by the regime forces amid fierce skirmishes in the western city of Misratah.
So the story is that NATO is being criticized for not doing more to prevent Qaddafi from killing civilians in Misrata. That is what you gathered from reading the headline isn't it?
It continues:
On Friday, four people, including two children, were killed and 10 others injured in Misratah, which lies 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, as the daily clashes continue to rage between opposition forces and pro-Gaddafi troops, AFP quoted a source in the revolutionaries' camp as saying on Saturday.
"Gaddafi forces continue to fire blindly on the houses of Misratah," said the source, adding that "Today, four martyrs fell, including two children under age four."
Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Wednesday pounded the besieged city of Misratah with heavy artillery, killing at least five people and injuring 25 others. The bombardment forced the temporary closure of the city's port, which is a key route for supplies to civilians.
The source went on to question NATO's role as enshrined in the UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to enforce a no-fly zone over crisis-hit Libya in order to protect civilians against attacks by Gaddafi's forces.
"Civilians are being killed in Misratah," added the source amid reports that the western allied forces, which conduct air raids on Libya, have not intervened in the western town so far.
Ahmed went missing in Tripoli near the very beginning of the uprising. His family now believes that he was arrested on February 22 and taken to the notorious Adu Salim prison with many others. At the time they assumed he had been shot dead and disappeared by soldiers, mercenaries or one of Qaddafi's security services, like so many others.
So when a member of one Qaddafi's revolutionary committees told Ahmed's father, "We have your son, he is being held at Abu Salim prison. If your family does not come out to demonstrate on Friday you will never see your son again.", they paid him no never-mind and an extended clan of around 50 adult males and family refused to attend the rally. A few hours after the rally Ahmed's still warm body was dumped outside the family home with two bullets in his head.
Many other families received similar threats. "We did not think it was possible that he (Ahmed) was still alive, we thought the guy was just making threats," said Mohammed, Ahmed's uncle who was interview by AFP.
Mummar Qaddafi held a huge support rally in Tripoli on Friday, July 1. According to his supporters more than one million Libyans rallied in Green Square to be treated to a recorded speech from the great man. Other observers more realistically put the numbers at between 15,000 - 30,000. There are also a lot of questions about how many of that number were rallied to the square.
The Internet was quickly flooded with reports like this one, Muammar Qaddafi Speech to Millions in Tripoli on 1st July 2011, and various versions of the Libya state TV video of the event like the popular HUGE PRO GADDAFI RALLY in Tripoli - Raw Footage. When I say popular, I mean popular in terms of the number of times it has been copied and promoted. Various versions of this 1:47 minute YouTube video seem to have sprung up like mushrooms in the days following the rally. It, in turn is an edit from the Libya State TV coverage of the rally and there are other longer versions to be found on the Internet. They all share a number of features. They are all edits of the Libyan State TV coverage and the video quality, by which I mean resolution, is terrible. I have not found one that isn't fuzzy and lacking in detail.
As with the Pro-Qaddafi rally in Tripoli of June 17 and the Libyan state TV video of that I debunked here, this would appear to be the only video of this event. I have only found one independent video linked here but it doesn't show anything like numbers being claimed by the Qaddafi people. What is again missing from this pro-Qaddafi rally in Tripoli is the proliferation of cell phone videos that usually result from mass rallies in MENA these days.
With regards to the one video that is being offered as proof of this million person rally, in a city of a million and a half, it raises more questions than it answers. While it is very fuzzy, and that makes detailed technical analysis very difficult, and while it is most often labeled "Raw Video," it is anything but. It is captioned and highly produced.
I found the camera sweep used in the beginning of the above "Raw Footage" video very intriguing, so I posted a request to the Doculink documentary flimmaker list for a second opinion:
[DOCULINK] How was this scene shot?
I am looking at some footage of the big rally in Tripoli, July 1st. The camera work in the first 34 sec. of this video looks very interesting but I can't figure out how it was done. Can anybody help me?
Here are some of the responses I got back:
Looks like either a long jib or a crane. Probably the former. It's a bit funny that they're using what's basically music video gear it to cover a protest rally.
Since it's pro-Gaddafi, looks like the government spared no expense and probably used a crane. It's like a well-produced rock concert shot. Maybe some CGI at the end?
Yeah, especially as it goes very wide and overhead... I'd say crane rather than jib... do you think someone is cueing the crowd wave?
So the Libyan government "spared no expense" in producing this video. Somebody is obviously working overtime to make sure it it posted everywhere and Qaddafi's people aren't making sure a clean, convincing, high resolution version is easily available? Curious!
The reference to "some CGI at the end" is a suggestion that some of the large crowd scenes at the end were the result of computer-generated imagery, which is the way we "create" large crowds in the movies these days. I had the same question myself. Many of the scenes have the look and feel of the kind of thing generated for computer games these days and the large crowd scenes definitely have a CGI quality to them but without a clear copy it is hard to draw any conclusions and much is based on what you think you are seeing.
In an earlier diary I had criticized the Libyan State TV video of the June 21 rally for not having any crowd noise mixed in with Qaddafi's recorded speech. This one was an improvement it that regard. Then there is also this odd bit: HUGE PRO GADDAFI RALLY in Tripoli - Why is there the flag of France in the green square in Tripoli? This 11 secs of the Libyan State TV coverage highlights a French flag flying at the pro-Qaddafi rally. That certainly is odd given that France has been first among the NATO counties in fighting Qaddafi.
That is about all I have been able to find out about this one video that seems to be all the Qaddafi supporters have to backup their claim of a million people in the rally in Tripoli on July 1, 2001.
Initially there were numerous reports that there was various video editing involved in order to create the illusion of a larger crowd. Members of the Free Generation Movement were present at the event and can clarify that there was no video editing involved and that the crowd was indeed large.
Similarly, international media was present and felt there was no conflict between their images and that of State TV.
Cameras were placed at an angle that would present the crowd in a favourable light, but no comprehensive editing was involved.
There are verified reports from Free Generation members of multiple buses bringing people in from outside of Tripoli. Whilst this is a verified report, other rumours regarding the source of the crowd cannot be verified by us.
The crowd was estimated to be around 10,000 strong.
Whilst admittedly this was a large, pre-planned, and well orchestrated event, it still represents less than one percent of the Tripoli population, if indeed the participants were from Tripoli.
Similarly, Gaddafi’s continued reluctance to address “his people” in public and resort to audio from hidden locations is further indication that he is feeling the ever increasing pressure upon his already defunct regime.
First of all, first the people that demonstrated are around 30,000. When we got out [at the beginning of the events] our number was far larger, then he was shooting at us. The people that demonstrated for him couldn’t fill the river stadium.
...
This crowd wasn’t manipulated, this crowd gathered because he bought his mob from all over Libya and put them in one place. It shows that he is a state of desperation. He did this for the foreigners, he knows Libyans will not be fooled. He did this to give the impression that his people love him. If he thinks his people love him, why doesn’t he let us demonstrate and he will see who loves him and who us against him.
...
I hope our families ignore the divisions that G is trying to create. In his protest, there wasn’t a single sign that mentioned people of Tripoli, the signs all had people from other places like Mashaysha, Warfalla, Tarhouna, etc.
According to one tweet Qaddafi was paying 50LYD ($40) for demonstrators from Tripoli and 150LYD($120) for people who came from out of town.
Other estimates of the rallies size were read on Twitter. @Guma_el_gamaty twitted "just spoke to foreign journalist who saw friday rally in tripoli they estimate max. 15000. digital manipulat. on libyan tv image used by G!" 3 Jul I heard 13400 - 13800 headcount from satellite imagery. (Not sure if that is even possible) 3 Jul
And this is what I have been able to learn so far about the HUGE PRO QADDAFI RALLY in Tripoli on July 1 and the "Raw Footage" that purports to show a million Libyans turning out to show their support for fearless leader.
If you have anything that could add to this knowledge. I would be happy to hear about it.
1. ] Whatever his revolutionary pretensions were in the past, in the last eight years Mummar Qaddafi has become a compliant, if somewhat unorthodox, third world ruler in the world imperialist system. The changes in the stance of his regime since 2004 are unmistakable. His privatized hundreds of key public enterprises. In spite of all the drama of the past, it should be clear to all that the Mummar Qaddafi of 2011 is one that has made his peace with the imperialists and they with him. Contrary to what the Qaddafi supporters would have you believe, there has not been a continuous momentum for imperialist regime change in Libya for the past 40 years.
2. ] The Arab uprisings of 2011 have been doing away with such rulers. Most close observers to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt knew than Ben Ali and Mubarak were all washed up before the dictators did. The people had simply lost their fear and they weren't going to get it back. But the imperialist still backed their tamed dictators until the last. Only four days before he departed, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was saying Mubarak may not be able to step down soon and France stopped another shipment of supplies to Tunisian state security only two hours before Ben Ali fled. Still, no number of arrests and amount of mass murder, and mass murder was committed by organs of state security in both Tunisia and Egypt, was going to salvage the old dictator. In the end, the imperialists were willing to throw them under the bus in the last days because they hoped, with the help of some sleight of hand, to salvage the old regime or something close to it.
The struggle to overthrow Qaddafi poses a certain threat that the overthrow of Ben Ali and Mubarak didn't. In the case of Tunisia and Egypt, the imperialists had other important connections and levers to maintain colonial power, most notably through the army. These entrenched positions represented pre-established fall-back lines, as it were. They could afford to see the dictator toppled so long as the army didn't go with him because they could still maintain their influence through the army. That is why in both cases, the army didn't open fire on the rebellion. They didn't want to risk it going down with an unpopular dictator. They thought it better to keep the army in place and yield on the people's key demand that the dictator go.
3. ] But the case of Libya in different. Because of the peculiar nature of Qaddafi's "green revolution", because military-to-military relations between Libya and the US are only a few years old, and for a host of other reasons, the imperialists have no ready-made fall-back position in Libya should Qaddafi go. That is why the contradiction has become so sharp in Libya. That is why Libya became the first country in the string of revolts in which military power was used to put down the rebellion. In the beginning there were no strong sanctions against Qaddafi for using what was an unprecedented level of violence, such as war planes, against mass protests. The imperialist were secretly happy that someone was trying to staunch the fall of dictators with massive violence. Although they had made millions selling Qaddafi precisely the weapons he was using, like the cluster munitions from Spain, they were glad that the massive violence was being tried by someone they were not generally publicly associated with.
NATO countries had little more than words to show for their 'humanitarian concerns" after Qaddafi killed 700 protesters in Tripoli on February 21, some of them bombed with jet aircraft, and maybe 2000 in Benghazi days before. When President Obama spoke of this on February 23, he condemned the Libyan government, saying "suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable", but he did not call for Qaddafi to step down nor did he announce any new sanctions the US would support to punish the leader that he said "violate international norms and every standard of common decency."
By the last week of February it was beginning to look like the Qaddafi regime would fall in days, not weeks. Once he showed that he could hang on to power by meeting the rebellion with a war, the level of violence that was applied to the uprising in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria was dramatically increased. Bahrain declared martial law and cleared out the Pearl Roudabout around about March 15. That was the same week they started shooting protesters in Yemen. On March 18, 52 protesters were shot dead in Yemen. Assad was also stepping up the level of violence used against the Arab uprising in Syria. On March 15, there were 3000 arrests and a few martyrs. On March 24, more than a hundred were killed for being in a protest march in Daraa.
4. ] Qaddafi used his army to stay in power because he could. In both Tunisia and Egypt, the dictator demanded that the army open fire on protesters as a last resort. In both cases they refused. No doubt, this was what the Pentagon advised. It's better to lose a loyal servant and still stay in the game than to risk all for a washed up has been. The generals on both sides of the military-to-military accord could agree on that.
In Libya this was not an option. Qaddafi made sure the national army was a poor stepchild. The real power and the most sophisticated weapons belonged to his personal security force. Here he had a force impervious to foreign influence and one that proved that it would open fire on the people when ordered to, even with air strikes and artillery.
5. ] Libya is different because it has great oil wealth. For 41 years that wealth has been under the control of one man. Libya also has a very small population. Because of these very unique circumstances, Qaddafi has been able to head a state and state security apparatus that is relatively independent from revenues drawn from the country by ordinary means like taxation. With this oil money he has a great ability to "win friends and influence people" not only within Libya but among many international forces as well. There are many AU heads of state, and other anti-imperialist leaders and organizations that owe Qaddafi, for example he gave $3 million to the Nation of Islam to build their headquarters in Chicago.
6. ] Qaddafi's use of military power to stay in power was acceptable to the NATO countries. Qaddafi started using military violence against protest rallies as early as Feb. 20, yet UN/NATO did not act militarily until March 19. They were willing to give Qaddafi almost a month to put down the rebellion with tanks, artillery and aircraft.
As Qaddafi's violent repression was taking thousands of lives in Libya, NATO was taking a wait and see attitude. On February 25, the NATO Secretary General made an official statement, "I do not consider the situation in Libya a direct threat to NATO or NATO Allies ...I would like to stress that NATO as such has no plans to intervene." The next day he elaborated NATO's plan to deal with the Libyan crisis, "priority must be given to evacuation and possibly, also, humanitarian assistance." On March 18, after the UN passed resolution 1973,
NATO is now completing its planning in order to be ready to take appropriate action in support of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, as part of the broad international effort.
and while the NATO Secretary General calls upon Qaddafi to "stop your brutal and systematic violence against the people of Libya immediately," He does not call for his removal or even ask that he step down.
On March 22, more than a month after Qaddafi has started using aircraft and artillery against protesters, NATO decides"to launch an operation to enforce the arms embargo against Libya." For more than a month he has been allowed a free hand in the application of massive violence to put down the rebellion. Two days later, and a week after the UN legalized the no-fly zone with 1973, NATO announces that they have decided to enforce it. Finally on March 27 they announce that "NATO Allies have decided to take on the whole military operation in Libya under the United Nations Security Council Resolution."
This was no rush to provide military assistance to the rebellion as soon as it was needed, or even as soon as it had been made legal by the UN resolution. This was a "wait and see" policy. A "wait and see" if Qaddafi's massive violence would work. If it did work, they would have gone on paying him for Libyan oil just like before.
7. ] They acted only after it was clear that Qaddafi could not prevail. Qaddafi's military might was the greatest at the beginning and so were his chances of crushing the rebellion by military means. In the beginning the rebels were using meat cleavers as weapons. As time went on, they got better and better weapons and they learned how to use them. Even before NATO entered the game, they managed to get some old Qaddafi MIGs back up in the air that hadn't been off the tarmac in 15 years. The rebellion always had the vast majority of the Libyan people on it's side, that's how it survived, and even without NATO's intervention, slowly but surely, the balance was shifting in it's favor. NATO came in on the side of the rebellion in order to establish a connection and influence the people and institutions likely to control the oil after Qaddafi is gone.
8. ] NATO has modulated it's support to extend the conflict and force concessions from the rebellion. Enforcement of the no-fly zone probably got delayed a week because the freedom fighters arrested rather than welcomed a British SAS team that dropped into Benghazi unannounced on March 4. Since then the anti-Qaddafi forces have often found NATO support not everything it's cracked up to be.
These criticisms of NATO from the anti-Qaddafi forces are typical:
On Tuesday, Abdel-Fattah Younis, chief of staff for the Libyan rebels' military and Qaddafi's former interior minister, said NATO didn't "do anything," even though the U.N. Security Council had given the alliance the right to act. He blamed NATO's bureaucratic procedures for eight-hour delays between the time the rebels told NATO of enemy targets and when its attack planes arrived.
"The people will die and this crime will be on the face of the international community forever. What is NATO doing?" Younis said.
"NATO is not doing their job, the aistrikes are late and never on time. NATO is not helping us. Qaddafi still gets ammunition and supplies to his forces, that's why he is pushing us back," said Pvt. Mohammed Abdullah, a 30-year-old former member of Qaddafi's army who has joined the rebel side.
There have been a number of suspicious "friendly fire" incidents where NATO has carried out air strikes on rebel forces. On April 2, 13 freedom fighters were killed by a NATO strike, and less than a week later the rebels say that they were forced to retreat in a struggle to break through government lines outside the crucial oil town of Brega by more NATO "friendly fire." This left some resistance fighters shouting "Down, down with NATO."
Whatever the cause of these incidents, they have been used by NATO to argue the need for NATO personnel on the ground and for bringing the rebel army more under NATO command and control.
And there are other ways they hamstring the rebellion, for example on June 16, the Economist, pointing out that Qaddafi was literally running out of fuel at this point, said:
If Colonel Qaddafi were to lose Zawiya and its refinery, the game would probably be up. The pipeline to Zawiya passes through rebel-held land near the Nafusa Mountains: pouring cement into a valve would shut it down. But Western governments have persuaded the rebels not to touch either that pipe or a nearby natural-gas one that helps keep Tripoli’s lights on.
They have already determined that Qaddafi is no longer viable. They are now modulating their support for the uprising to assure that the uprising is not defeated but neither is Qaddafi. They are manipulating aid to the rebellions to win concessions in an attempt to bring the rebellion under their control and reshape any future government of Libya to be one that is more to their liking.
That is their game plan.
So it is not surprising that they have come to the aid of the rebels or that that the rebels have accepted that aid. Revolutions are never simple two-sided affairs. There are always many players. Agents of the oppressor will always try to infiltrate or influence the revolution with the ultimate goal of overthrowing it. At the same time, there has probably never been a successful revolution that did not exploit contradictions among the oppressors.
Today is Independence Day in the United States and we again celebrate our successful struggle for independence from England and the French support that helped us achieve it. The Bolsheviks received some assistance from the kaiser's Germany that was crucial to the success of the Russian Revolution. Ho Chi Minh allowed himself to be treated by US OSS officers, General Giap accepted weapons from the US, fought along side OSS officers and was happy to have them training the Viet Minh in their fight against Japanese imperialism. In each case the colonialists or imperialists that "supported" the revolution did so with their own agenda and with an eye towards promoting it's interests in the region.
There has also never been a revolution that waited until there was no longer significant popular support for the old regime. As long as Qaddafi puts bread on the table for hundreds of thousands of families in his security services, as long as his money doesn't run out and as long as he can keep Tripoli in lock-down mode, we can expect he will be able to fill Green Square with thousands of loyal supporters.
Some forces in the anti-imperialist movement in the United States are like a viewer who comes into a movie in the middle. They think they know what's going on but they don't. These groups have never acknowledged the bloody nature of Qaddafi's crackdown or voiced support for the Arab uprising in Libya. They don't see the Libyan people's uprising against the Qaddafi dictatorship as being the principle driving force in this situation. They don't see that the Qaddafi regime is still the principal enemy of the Libyan people. NATO intervention doesn't change that, it just makes it more complicated.
Those that have already thrown the Libyan revolution under the bus and see in the Libyan situation only or principally, imperialist aggression against another 3rd world country are actually tailing after and serving imperialism. That is why they never supported the people's revolutionary movement in Libya even from the beginning of the Arab uprising there and even now they struggle against the free Libya movement here in the US.
It is a real genocide whether it is in the eastern cities of Libya or whether what is going now in Tripoli. The information that we are receiving from the people in Tripoli is the regime is killing whoever goes out to the streets… He has his mercenaries everywhere in the streets and whenever any demonstrator appears they just kill them. At least they shoot them, whether they kill them or not, but they are shooting them.
Ibrahim Omar Al Dabashi, Libyan Deputy Ambassador to the UN 21:47 Feb 21, 2011
As the rebellion in Libya enters it's sixth month and the UN/NATO intervention enters it's fifth month it would be good to recollect some of the key events that got us here. This narrative is especially important for those that don't know this history and want to understand what is going on with Libya now.
The Libyan youth movement had called for a "Day of Rage" against the Qaddafi regime on February 17th. The people were more than ready to throw off 41 years of Qaddafi rule and the response was amazing. Protests were already breaking out all over Libya as early as Feb. 14-15.
Things can move extremely fast in a revolutionary period and now they moved with blinding speed. From the very beginning Qaddafi met peaceful protests with live fire, and as protesters fought back, he upped the level of violence dramatically. Still by the evening of Sunday, February 20th, it was being reported that Benghazi had fallen to the rebellion.
The next day, Monday, February 21th was a very long day in Tripoli. Qaddafi was absolutely brutal. He fought back hard with cold steel and fire. And nowhere less than Tripoli. It now appears that something like 700 people were brutally murdered by Qaddafi in Tripoli that day.
In this diary I have recounted in minute-by-minute detail some of the key events surrounding that day. To do this I have relied heavy on the AJE live blog, the WST Libya blog, Twitter, and other sources. Of special interest is some of the eyewitness reporters about these event that are starting to make their way to safety and speak out like this Tripoli mortuary eyewitness or this Libyan from Tripoli that spoke to AJE in Misrata.
Collection of footage from that day, some of it extremely graphic.
Many young people went to protest in Green Square that day, and I believe almost no-one came back alive that night.
Between 600 and 700 people were killed. I know this because I carried the bodies into my hospital.
Each ambulance brought three or four dead people. And the ambulances just kept coming and going, like delivery vans dropping off goods.
Every one of Tripoli’s ambulances – and we have a lot of them – was out on the roads, carrying dead bodies.
They pulled off the patients’ oxygen masks, yanked off the wires connected to their monitors, pulled out the drips and tubes, and took them away”
When the mortuary’s refrigerators were full, we placed the bodies on tables and stretchers, or left them on the floor. It was the same at the other hospitals.
Col Gaddafi killed people who were demonstrating peacefully.
I know this because I saw it myself. I saw men in military uniform in pick-ups, their faces covered, shooting at people. It was like a scene from a horror film.
‘Down with Gaddafi’
I think Col Gaddafi’s forces were using anti-aircraft guns on people.
The people had gunshot wounds to their heads or chests. The bullets had exploded and some of the people had their heads blown open. I tried to pick up the pieces.
It was very confused at the hospital. We did not count the number of dead or register them. We just dropped the dead bodies and sent the wounded into surgery. No-one was taking down names or counting.
Residents reported gunfire in parts of Tripoli and one political activist said warplanes had bombed the city. But state TV showed government supporters rallying and Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said warplanes had hit only ammunition dumps.
Forces loyal to Gaddafi had killed dozens of people across the country, human rights groups and witnesses said, prompting widespread condemnation from world leaders.
No independent verification of the reports was available and communications with Libya from outside were difficult.
"What we are witnessing today is unimaginable. Warplanes and helicopters are indiscriminately bombing one area after another. There are many, many dead," Adel Mohamed Saleh said in a live broadcast on al Jazeera television. "Anyone who moves, even if they are in their car, they will hit you."
Libyan man shares proof of violence in Tripoli. Ali, who has returned to his hometown of Misurata, narrates a video about the horrors that he faced in Libyan capital. He took it on Feb 20, When people in Tripoli went to Green Sq to demonstrate after hearing that Qaddafi had fled to Venezuela.
THE TIMELINE
Sunday, February 20 [Tripoli time]
21:52 Opposition groups were twitting about the "capture of Benghazi." Other tweets indicate that Benghazi's al-Birka barracks had been breached with a TNT charge. A part of the army in Benghazi has come over to the rebels. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that at least 10,000 protesters had been in the streets of Benghazi earlier that day after the funerals of the 84 protesters shot dead the day before.
22:38 Al Jazeera reports that Libya’s Arab League envoy Abdel Moneim al-Honi quits saying “I have submitted my resignation in protest against the acts of repression and violence against demonstrators [in Libya] and I am joining the ranks of the revolution.” Judges are also protesting in Tripoli. Qaddafi's regime appears to be falling down around his ears. Minutes later it is being reported that Minister of Public Security, Lieutenant Abdel Fatah Younis El Obeidi, has joined opposition. It is also being reported that the “Warfala tribe is beginning to rise, they are a big tribe covering east and west”
23:21 BBC reporting “at least four separate” protests in Tripoli, citing witnesses. Security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. Gunfire in Tripoli is reportedly extremely heavy. The anti-Qaddafi forces are reported to be making a "valiant" effort in Tripoli as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the world’s “foremost Sunni Muslim scholar,” is urging all of Libya to take to the streets.
Monday, February 21
00:14 Libyan State TV says Saif Qaddai to address the nation "shortly." Twitter is all ablaze with rumors of Qaddafi leaving. Example: "Reason #12 For Gaddafi’s son to take so long: Daddy’s tent still being folded!"
00:33 AJE says reports suggest the 500,000-strong Tuareg tribe in south Libya has heeded the call from the million-strong Warfala tribe to join the uprising. Protesters in Ghat and Ubary, home to Libyan Tuareg clans are reportedly attacking government buildings and police stations. As minutes pass waiting Qaddafi's son to speak, so many are sure of his imminent departure that Tripoli has already begun to celebrate.
01:00 Saif Qaddafi is on TV. It is a rambling unprepared speech. "Citizens tried to attack the army and they were in a situation that was difficult. The army was not used to dealing with riots," he says. "Libyan citizens died and this was a tragedy."
01:51 Al Arabiya is reporting that “the Egyptian news service MENA is reporting” Muammar al-Qaddafi has left Libya and is on his way to Venezuela amidst fresh reports of gunfire in Tripoli. Shortly after Saif Qaddafi's speech the rebels were tweeting that the Werfalla tribe, the largest in Libya according to some, was siding with Qaddafi and that "Tripoli is under siege." Then the tweets started saying they had reversed themselves and joined the rebellion. The situation is very fluid.
002:31 Full text of Gaddafi’s “address to the nation,” via BBC Monitoring: “I am satisfied, because I was speaking in front of the youth in the Green Square tonight, but the rain came praise to God it bears well. I want to clarify for them that I am in Tripoli not in Venezuela. Do not believe these channels they are dogs. Goodbye.”
06:49A Libyan American spoke with his brother in Tripoli, who described - over the sound of heavy gunfire - the intense combat that has broken out in the capital, where anti-government protesters were attacked after taking the main square. A caller from Libya describes the forces that have shot at protesters in Tripoli's Green Square as "the special militia that is guarding Qaddafi".
12:07 Reports from news agencies, Twitter - and witnesses speaking directly to Al Jazeera - are painting a picture of semi-chaos overnight in Tripoli. It appears that some protesters from nearby towns converged on the city, and thousands from the capital itself turned out as well. They were allowed to march to the central Green or Martyrs' Square, which they occupied briefly before being confronted by security forces and pro-Qaddafi protesters, who came out in force after a late-night speech by Saif al-Qaddafi. This video includes footage of the burning of a police station Souq Al Jummah, Tripoli. Sporadic gunshots – possibly sniper fire – can be heard during the pre-dawn hours in Tripoli.
16:17 Reuters reports the Libyan justice minister has resigned in support of the protests.
16:40 Four helicopters reported to be circling Green Square, where protesters have gathered in central Tripoli.
16:51 Qaddafi's security forces reportedly surround the home of Jumaa Al Ousta - general secretary of Libya's trade and industry chamber. They are threatening to burn it down, after he was critical of Qaddafi in an interview with Al Jazeera.
16:58 A Libyan consul secretary, a translator and a receptionist have quit their jobs at the embassy in Stockholm. In a letter, they write:
We condemn the genocide of civilians taking place in Libya following their legitimate demands of life in dignity and without the despot Gadaffi's continued mismanagement and corruption.
We find the situation unbearable: we don't want to be passive when we see that people rise up against the tyrant despite the obvious risk that their blood is spilled. Therefore we resign in protest and urge others to make their voices heard.
17:40 Two civilian helicopters, followed by two Libyan fighter jets, have landed in Malta. Only one of at least seven passengers are reported to be carrying passports. Karl Stagno-Novarra, AJ's correspondent in Malta, reports the pilots of the jet fighters that landed there are "senior colonels", who were ordered to bomb protesters. The defected pilots reportedly tell Maltese officials they were based in Tripoli and ordered to attack protesters on the ground in Benghazi. After seeing their fellow pilots begin the airstrikes, they diverted course toward Malta.
18:30 Planes of the Libyan Air Force reportedly opening fire on protesters in central Tripoli. Further reports of live ammunition being used on protesters in Tripoli, with lots of tweets saying security forces are again driving cars around the city, shooting at everyone and everything.
18:38 Venezuelan officials deny Gaddafi is on his way there.
18:46 Al Jazeera signal inside Libya is being blocked. Blockage is traced to Libyan intelligence building, south of Tripoli. The networks website is also being blocked.
19:09 All land-based and wireless communications are reported cut in Libya Within the hour Dutch ISP provider XS4ALL has set up an Internet dial-up service for Libya and login credentials are being circulated by the resistance. The Libyan ambassador to Indonesia has also resigned.
19:55 According to Al Jazeera a large march in Tripoli in the afternoon was attacked by military aircraft and security forces using live ammunition. A political activist reports
"There is death, fear - and women are crying everywhere. The strikes are concentrated against areas that sent large number of protesters to the streets and there are cars full of foreign fighters firing on people." He says at least 250 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone and is calling for international help. He tells us Tripoli is "under siege by foreign fighters" - that water and electricity have been cut and there is a shortage of food and medical supplies. "It is a genocide," he says.
20:16 Libyan ambassador to Bangladesh confirms his resignation to AJA.
20:30 Al Jazeera obtains this recording of a phone call from a woman in Tripoli. 20:53 AJA reports Libyan ambassador to the EU resigns 21:09 AJE reports “Ibrahim Dabbashim Libya’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, tells Al Jazeera if Gaddafi does not get out, ‘the people will kick him out.’” 21:19 Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, contacts Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, and calls for an extraordinary meeting of the league. 21:47 BBC: Libya’s diplomats at the United Nations for international intervention to end the crisis. The deputy ambassador, Ibrahim Omar Al Dabashi, told BBC World that Col Gaddafi’s government was carrying out a genocide. [AJE YouTube video] Ali al-Essawi, ambassador to India, has resigned. He has accused the government of deploying foreign mercenaries against Libyan citizens. 21:49 AFP: Eyewitnesses are reporting a “massacre” in the Fashloum and Tajoura districts of Tripoli. AJA: New airstrikes have hit Al Joumhouria [The republic] Street in Tripoli. 22:13 Arabiya TV: Libyan military source confirms orders were issued for the aerial bombardment of Benghazi within the past 2 1/2 hours. 22:54 Reported AJA update on the air strikes: Air strikes happening in Zawiya currently; Two fighter jets land in Benghazi after their pilots refuse 23:00 Libyan state TV says "security forces have begun an extensive operation against dens of vandals".23:02 Anti-Gaddafi forces, via Twitter: “now we have Tripoli Misrata Zawia all currently being bombed”[Extremely Graphic pictures]Tuesday, February 2200:33 Saif Gaddafi, also known among the opposition as Muammar’s “mini-me”, also comes on State TV and denies warplanes bombed populated areas in Tripoli and Benghazi, says targets were ammunition depots in remote areas. There are also reports that Libyan border guards have abandoned the eastern border with Egypt although not on State TV. Reuters reports that the Egyptian army's Facebook page says the Egypt-Libya border is now open. 00:34 Al Jazeera writes on their blog"Images of bodies gutted in the attacks are too harrowing to be shown. Our colleagues on the TV side of the newsroom have had to pixellate the bloodied bodies, where limbs have been hacked off and torsos maimed."00:41 Libyan State TV is airing "confessions" by Tunisians in Libya saying they were behind the uprising. 01:10 Financial Times: Oil companies to pull personnel, shut down operations. 01:17 Latest New York Times:
The faltering government of the Libyan strongman Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi struck back at mounting protests against his 40-year rule, as security forces and militiamen backed by helicopters and warplanes besieged parts of the capital Monday, according to witnesses and news reports from Tripoli. By Monday night, witnesses said, the streets of the capital, Tripoli, were thick with special forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi as well as mercenaries. They shot freely as planes dropped what witnesses described as “small bombs” and helicopters fired on protesters, making further demonstrations against the government impossible for the moment.
01:40 Libya's deputy ambassador Dabbashi tells UN "No fly zone should be called over Libya" 03:07 The hacker group Anonymous issues statement in solidarity with Libya protesters. Uploaded February 21st - WHY ANONYMOUS SAYS NO TO NATO INTERFERING IN LIBYA
Today we will examine an embarrassing case in which Qaddafi backers get so busy fabricating stories that their web of deception develops logical contradictions that expose the whole illusion. This happens when incompatible stories denying Qaddafi's use of aircraft against unarmed protesters in February are examined side by side as we will do below.
No doubt these air attacks played a substantial role in earning Qaddafi and his son ICC arrest warrants this week:
Today, 27 June 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued three warrants of arrest respectively for Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi for crimes against humanity (murder and persecution) allegedly committed across Libya from 15 February 2011 until at least 28 February 2011, through the State apparatus and Security Forces.
Almost from the being of the Arab uprising in Libya, Qaddafi met the peaceful protesters with maximum violence. By 21 February, he was already using war planes against demonstrations in Tripoli and Benghazi. It was specifically his use of jets and helicopters against the people, a step not yet taken in Bahrain, Yemen or Syria, that earned him a "No Fly Zone."
Death from above is hideous stuff so naturally Qaddafi apologists have had to refute the stubborn fact that Qaddafi used war planes on his own people. To the rescue came the Russian military with the following story:
The reports of Libya mobilizing its air force against its own people spread quickly around the world. However, Russia's military chiefs say they have been monitoring from space – and the pictures tell a different story.
According to Al Jazeera and BBC, on February 22 Libyan government inflicted airstrikes on Benghazi – the country’s largest city – and on the capital Tripoli. However, the Russian military, monitoring the unrest via satellite from the very beginning, says nothing of the sort was going on on the ground.
At this point, the Russian military is saying that, as far as they are concerned, the attacks some media were reporting have never occurred.
All those who supported Qaddafi took this as proof that the people who said they were bombed by Qaddafi's planes were just lying. Activists who wouldn't believe a word coming out of the Pentagon took this report from the pro-Qaddafi, Russian military as gold. This story has been cited all over the Internet as proof that the stories about planes and helicopters is just so much western demonization of the Libyan leader.
So as long as you believe the Russian military and trust what they report, the Libyans didn't carry out any air strikes of any sort, so obviously they didn't bomb any protesters, right?
Problem is Saif Qaddafi, Mummar's son, had a different story. He said the war planes were only bombing ammo dumps so they wouldn't fall into the hands of protesters.
in Reuters Mon, Feb 21 18:51 PM EST:
Residents reported gunfire in parts of Tripoli and one political activist said warplanes had bombed the city. But state TV showed government supporters rallying and Qaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Qaddafi said warplanes had hit only ammunition dumps.
There are also reports that warplanes have bombed parts of the city, and helicopters carrying armed African mercenaries have landed in the streets.
But Qaddafi son, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, said warplanes had hit only ammunition dumps.
He did not say why jets had carried out the air strikes, but on Sunday he accused protesters of raiding ammunition depots in the eastern city of Benghazi.
You can hear Saif Qaddafi make the same claim in English and his own voice at ~01:18 of this YouTube video I made and uploaded on the last day of February.
So if the much touted Russian observers didn't see the ammo dumps being bombed, they wouldn't have seen the demonstrators being bombed either, so their report is worthless.
As for Saif Qaddafi, we already know his testimony is worthless.
This is the kind of 'stuff' that the pro-Qaddafi people use to sow confusion and attempt to deny the Libyan freedom movement the support it deserves.
In The Final Call, June 7, 2011, Bill Fletcher, Jr. asks "Why Isn't Bahrain Being Bombed?" We hear many rhetorical renderings of this concerning Bahrain & Yemen among anti-imperialists lately.
The problem with this question as agitation is that it speaks exclusively to the choir. It is convincing only to those who already know that Bahrain isn't being bombed because it is a NATO protectorate, because of the fleet and the Saudis, etc.
Otherwise, if one approaches his question as a neutral observer with a good grasp of the details, one might say that Bahrain isn't being bombed because Bahrain hasn't attacked protester from the air and so hasn't provided the excuse for imposing a 'non-fly' zone that would make bombing Bahrain 'legal.' If you are not wearing blinders, you could conclude that and leave it at that because that is the bottom-line.
It is absolutely true that with Saudi help Bahrain has imposed a very brutal crackdown on freedom fighters there. Many have been murdered while NATO has looked the other way. This is true. But I have not heard that Bahrain was using aircraft to attack demonstrators. They have yet to cross that line, and the same could be said about Yemen and Syria as far as I know.
So even if there were forces in the UN that wanted to bomb Bahrain and had the clout to push it through, what would be their rational?
We know the road that has led to bombing Libya. It was legalized by the "no fly zone." DefSec Gates had already put the UN on notice that a vote for the "no-fly zone" was a vote for bombing Libya and when they brought in Article 4, just about anything became 'legal.' NATO had all the excuse it needed to rummage around in the internal affairs of an oil rich country in North Africa.
What opened the door to all of this was Qaddafi's use of jets and helicopters on his own people. That allowed the demand for a non-fly zone to gain enough traction, even with the Arab League, to get through the Security Council and that was all the cover the NATO interventionists needed. Game on.
