Libya Revolution

Cosmos

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after Tunisia and Egypt is Libya the next country ?
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224552-Update-Libya-death-toll-tops-173-says-Human-Rights-Watch
 
Seems to be so.

All our latest news has riots in the streets of Benghazi and Tripoli. Gaddafi's son has been making threatening speeches, which seems to be inflaming the situation.
 
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224614-Dictator-on-the-run-Gaddafi-may-have-fled-Libya-already-and-be-on-his-way-to-Venezuela-says-Foreign-Secretary-William-Hague

Dictator on the run: Gaddafi may have fled Libya already and be on his way to Venezuela, says Foreign Secretary William Hague

Protesters appear to have taken control of second city Benghazi

Up to 400 feared dead after dozens killed in clashes

Colonel Gaddafi on his way to Venezuela, say William Hague

Justice minister resigns over 'excessive use of violence'

Two Libyan fighter jets land in Malta as pilots request asylum

David Cameron declares regime response is 'appalling and unacceptable'

Gaddafi's son says: 'We will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet'
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has fled Libya and may be heading for Venezuela, William Hague said today.

The Foreign Secretary said he had seen 'information that suggests he is on the way there [Venezuela] at the moment' - as the North African country was up in flames with reports of around 400 dead.

Gaddafi was said to have fled as the country he has ruled for more than 40 years after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight.

As the dust settles: Libyan protesters celebrated in the streets of Benghazi on Monday, claiming control of the country's second largest city after bloody fighting
Mr Hague spoke after a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday which sharply condemned Libyan authorities for their crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

'I have seen some information that suggests he is on his way there at the moment,' he said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton dismissed Hague's claim, saying she knew nothing about it and other officials described the report as 'rumours'.

Protesters appear to have gained a foothold in Tripoli today as banks and government buildings were looted while demonstrators have claimed they have taken control of the second city Benghazi.

It is thought up to 400 people may have died in the unrest with dozens more reported killed in Tripoli as protests reached the capital for the first time and army units were said to have defected to the opposition.

The Libyan justice minister has now resigned in protest at the 'excessive use of violence' against the protesters, according to the Quryna newspaper, while two feeing Libyan fighter jet pilots landed their aircraft in Malta today.

The pilots asked for political asylum from the air before landing their Mirage jets at Malta International Airport shortly after two civilian helicopters landed carrying seven French citizens.

A source said the fighter pilots had left from a base near Tripoli and had flown low over Libyan airspace to avoid detection.

A coalition of Libyan Islamic leaders has issued a fatwa telling all Muslims it is their duty to rebel against the Libyan leadership and demanding the release of all jailed protesters.
 
Gaddafi says he will die, as a martyr :O

video: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41717751#41717804



http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224681-Libyan-leader-Gaddafi-denies-fleeing-as-41-year-rule-teeters

Puppet Masters Libyan leader Gaddafi denies fleeing as 41-year rule teeters

Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi denied Monday he had fled the country, as protests spread to the capital, regime loyalists quit, and fighter pilots defected after being ordered to fire on demonstrators. Khadhafi's comments in a brief television appearance were the first since the protests erupted lastTuesday in the east of the oil-rich north African nation he has ruled for 41 years.

"I am going to meet with the youth in Green Square" in downtown Tripoli, he said, in what state television reported was a live broadcast from outside the 68-year-old strongman's home.

"It's just to prove that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela and to deny television reports, those dogs," he said, holding up an umbrella in pouring rain as he headed into a car.

Khadhafi moved to scotch rumours he had fled to Venezuela as the pillars of his regime began to crumble with protesters overrunning several cities, not long after the rulers of neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia were forced out.

The president of Yemen, another ruler who has chalked up more than three decades in power, also defied calls to quit saying he would only exit if defeated at the ballot box.

And a top exiled opposition figure said he planned to return to Bahrain, mounting pressure on the ruling royal family which ordered political prisoners freed in a bid to end the standoff which has forced the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix to be scrapped.

While there was fresh violence in several Arab cities, the most dramatic events were in Tripoli where heavy gunfire broke out in downtown areas for the first time since the uprising began a week ago.

Residents of two districts in Tripoli told AFP in Cairo by telephone there had been "a massacre," with gunmen "firing indiscriminately" in Tajura district.

Another witness in Fashlum told AFP that helicopters had landed what he called armed African mercenaries in the neighbourhood, who opened fire on anyone in the street, causing a large number of deaths.

Despite signs Gaddafi's power is loosening, the Middle East's longest-ruling leader sent out a warning through his son that he was ready for a fight to the death.

In a rambling televised address, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam on Monday warned of a "fight to the last bullet" and said "rivers of blood will run through Libya" if protesters did not accept offers of reform.

But in a sign of deep cracks developing in the regime, Libya's deputy ambassador to the United Nations called for Gaddafi to quit, accusing him of "genocide" and saying he should stand trial for war crimes.

"He has to leave as soon as possible. He has to stop killing the Libyan people," Ibrahim Dabbashi told media at the United Nations in New York.

The UN Security Council will meet Tuesday to discuss the Libya crisis, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, noting he had spoken to Gaddafi and urged restraint.

Earlier via his spokesman, Ban said he was "outraged" by reports that Libyan security forces have fired on demonstrators from war planes and helicopters.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged Libya to end the "unacceptable bloodshed" and said "the world is watching the situation in Libya with alarm."

Although government restrictions have complicated the task of compiling a tally, Human Rights Watch said 233 had been killed in the uprising while the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) put the toll at 300-400.

IFHR head Souhayr Belhassen said several eastern cities, including the second city of Benghazi and Sirte, had fallen to demonstrators after army units formerly loyal to Gaddafi defected.

Media reports said Libya's justice minister, Mustapha Abdeljalil, had also resigned along with Libya's Arab League envoy and Tripoli's ambassador to Delhi as well as a diplomat in Beijing.

Two Libyan fighter pilots -- both colonels -- flew their single-seater Mirage F1 jets to Malta and said they had defected after being ordered to attack protesters in Benghazi, Maltese military told AFP.

The turmoil sent London oil prices soaring close to $107 per barrel, and the Fitch agency downgraded Libya's debt rating.

British energy giant BP said it was preparing to evacuate some staff from Libya, which holds Africa's biggest oil reserves, and French oil giant Total said it was repatriating most of its foreign employees and their families.

The United States also ordered all non-essential personnel to leave Libya.

Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh, the region's second longest-ruling leader, is also clinging to power despite a growing clamour for his departure.

"If they want me to quit, I will only leave through the ballot box," Saleh told reporters.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to Yemen streets Monday, including in the capital Sanaa, the southern city of Aden, the northern city of Saada, the western port of Al-Hudaydah and Taez in the south.

According to an AFP tally based on reports by medics, 12 people have been killed and dozens more wounded since February 16 when protests first erupted in Yemen against Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

While Yemen is the poorest Arab country, wealthy states have also been caught up in the wave of unrest.

In Bahrain, King Hamad ordered Shiite political prisoners freed in response to calls at a large pro-government Sunni rally that pledged allegiance to the al-Khalifa dynasty but also urged him to release prisoners.

Thousands of mainly Shiite anti-government protesters camped out in the central Pearl Square, after calling for a huge demonstration on Tuesday to oust the Sunni Al-Khalifa dynasty which has ruled the Gulf kingdom for centuries.

"No mother can keep her children from coming here," Um Alawi, clad in a full niqab and flanked by her daughters, told AFP. "Sacrifice is today the duty of all Bahrainis."

Hassan Mashaima, leader of Bahrain's opposition Haq movement, told AFP he would return to Manama on Tuesday, despite the threat of terrorism charges.

The kingdom issued a statement saying it would no longer host the Grand Prix on March 13
.
 
take a look at this map:


1297868065725.JPEG


Egypt and Tunisia took down their "governments" (leader).

Libya fights hard for freedom.

Edit: spelling
 
Heard the news this morning on the radio of Khadhafi calling for a purge in Lybia, and warning of butchery.

When the mask is down, no amount of pretense can make you believe there is any conscience there.
Even the journalists expressed shock !

And this makes the courage of normal people standing up against this all the more impressive.
 
Olivier said:
Heard the news this morning on the radio of Khadhafi calling for a purge in Lybia, and warning of butchery.

When the mask is down, no amount of pretense can make you believe there is any conscience there.
Even the journalists expressed shock !

And this makes the courage of normal people standing up against this all the more impressive.

so true.
 
Pashalis said:
Olivier said:
Heard the news this morning on the radio of Khadhafi calling for a purge in Lybia, and warning of butchery.

When the mask is down, no amount of pretense can make you believe there is any conscience there.
Even the journalists expressed shock !

And this makes the courage of normal people standing up against this all the more impressive.

so true.

totally agree.
 
whoa... If I just understood the French news correctly, Libya is now split into 2 regions and some military have joined the protesters!

Added 30 seconds later... There is a reasonable chance I misheard. I will poke around, but has anyone else heard the same thing?
 
Patience said:
whoa... If I just understood the French news correctly, Libya is now split into 2 regions and some military have joined the protesters!

Added 30 seconds later... There is a reasonable chance I misheard. I will poke around, but has anyone else heard the same thing?

I heard that on news , too.
 
Here is some kind of confirmation:

_http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014303205_libya23.html

It is dated yesterday. Not sure if it is old news or not... Geez... Earthquakes and peoplequakes all over the place...
 
Italy says 1,000 killed in Libya unrest : http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224783-Italy-says-1-000-killed-in-Libya-unrest


Analysis of the Global Insurrection Against Neo-Liberal Economic Domination and the Coming American Rebellion - We Are Egypt :

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/224816-Analysis-of-the-Global-Insurrection-Against-Neo-Liberal-Economic-Domination-and-the-Coming-American-Rebellion-We-Are-Egypt
 
Why Libya is different
Good article from a Libya expert at the Telegraph:
_Libya protests: The tangled web keeping Gaddafi in power

Libya protests: The tangled web keeping Gaddafi in power
Gaddafi was very astute in sharing command among countless tribal factions, writes John Hamilton .

By John Hamilton 6:26PM GMT 23 Feb 2011

One of the most common observations in recent days, as Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's dictatorship has approached its violent nemesis, is that Libya has "descended into chaos". Yet the key to understanding the country, and its current convulsions, is that chaos is not just a fact of life, but the essence of Gaddafi's corrupt and brutal regime.

Throughout his 42-year reign, the "Brother Leader" has created a thicket of rival institutions, which he has played off against each other to prevent any competitor from emerging. And even though he initially made the abolition of tribalism one of the core tenets of his revolution, he has increasingly used inter-tribal rivalries to maintain his grip on power.

According to the philosophy outlined in Gaddafi's Green Book, Libya is ruled as a jamahiriya, meaning "state of the masses". Theoretically, parliamentary sovereignty lies in the hands of the General People's Congress, a sclerotic and despised body that supposedly represents the views of every single Libyan, via a branching network of local committees that everyone is supposed to attend, but nobody does. (It is telling that the congress's headquarters was one of the first buildings in Tripoli to be torched.)

In the mid-1970s, Gaddafi also established the Revolutionary Committees, feared and hated bodies which play a role similar to the Communist Party in the Soviet system. In the mid-1990s, he added another layer of complexity, creating People's Social Leadership Committees, whose members come from the heads of families, tribes and regional structures. Below these are innumerable overlapping ministries, institutions, authorities and funds, which run the country from day to day.

Even before the current crisis, this system had led the infighting to intensify to a debilitating extent. From the outside, this has sometimes been characterised as a struggle between reformers and conservatives – but it is better seen as a struggle for control of lucrative positions in a corrupt system. A WikiLeaks cable from January 2009 showed how Gaddafi used the main anti-corruption committee as a tool for exerting patronage and control, making sure that "entities headed by regime loyalists administer particularly plum contracts, ensuring that they are well-positioned to extract rents [and bribes] from foreign companies". This has allowed officials up to and including the ruling family to accumulate vast fortunes, and hide them in foreign accounts.

This administrative chaos was damaging enough – but the pattern of divide and rule did not end there. Gaddafi created a huge number of intelligence and state security bodies, so his people could never know who might be informing on them. The army is a weak and fractured institution, which Gaddafi has never trusted and has always kept at arm's length: its commander, Major General Abu Bakr Yunis Jabir, is reportedly under house arrest after refusing to order troops to fire on protesters.

The consequence of this haphazard, overlapping structure is that, unlike in Egypt or Tunisia, there is no single group with the authority and resources to depose the dictator – which is precisely what Gaddafi intended. To complicate matters even further, he stuffed the lists of regional military governors, Republican Guard leaders and Revolutionary Committee members with members of his own tribe, the Qadhadhfa. Because of its relatively lowly status in the hierarchy, it is unlikely that the majority of the population would accept another of its members wielding power in Gaddafi's place: that means the entire regime has its back to the wall, not just its leader.

One encouraging sign is that the million-strong Warfalla tribe, largely based in the west, appears to be allied with the protests. The Warfalla have long been a bulwark of the regime: they provided many members of officers' movement which backed Gaddafi's 1969 coup against King Idris Sanussi. The other tribe which is strongly loyal are the Megraha, whose number includes the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi – hence the importance of his repatriation.

One of the worst-case scenarios for Libya is a partition into east and west regions, as tribes from each seek to revenge themselves on their enemies. Although often characterised as Islamist, the opposition in the east has also been deeply tribal: the old monarchy was supported by the tribes of Cyrenaica's Green Mountains, who have maintained a low-level insurgency against Gaddafi's rule.

If Gaddafi is to be toppled without a long and bitter conflict, it may require one of his closest circle, sometimes referred to as "the men of the tent", to turn against him. Among this circle are his brother-in-law Abdalla Senoussi and foreign minister Musa Kusa, the senior officials largely responsible for internal and external security respectively. Failing that, one of the senior military figures will have to step into the breach – although any units that join the rebellion in the east could face the elite and well-equipped 32nd Reinforced Brigade of the Armed People, led by Gaddafi's sixth son, Khemis. With Libya's dictator digging in, the denouement is likely to be bloody.

John Hamilton is a Libya expert and a director of Cross Border Information
 
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