Popular Army to March on Tripoli, as Qaddafi Massacres Protesters, Juan Cole
Aljazeeera Arabic is reporting that Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has lost control of much of Tripoli and really only dominates the area of the capital immediately around his palace. Certainly, his security forces are having to fight for control.
More news from Libya:
Massacres/Crimes Against Humanity/Eyewitness Accounts
Qaddafi Forces Shooting From Ambulances, Witnesses Say
An increasingly gruesome picture began to emerge Saturday of the violent tactics used to quell protesters in Tripoli, where a tense standoff continued.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=a08a2cde2578c44d3492e4c93bc111fe
Kadafi is arming civilian backers, Libyans say
The U.N. Security Council will meet today to consider an arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze. The embattled regime of Moammar Kadafi is arming civilian supporters to set up checkpoints and roving patrols around the Libyan capital to control movement and quash dissent, residents said Saturday.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/zSkXqs8fMF0/la-fgw-libya-kadafi-20110227,0,4265680.story
As Libya uprising reaches Tripoli Gaddafi vows to ‘open up the arsenals’
Gaddafi gives a defiant speech to cheering supporters, as witnesses report indiscriminate firing on demonstrators
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/protests-reach-tripoli-gaddafi-speech-shooting?CMP=twt_fd
Gaddafi vows to fight as opposition closes in
* Some parts of Tripoli said to be under protesters’ control
* Gaddafi appears in central square to rally supporters
* Witness says Zawiyah, 50 km from Tripoli, in rebel hands
* Most oil facilities reported to be under rebel control
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/un-security-council-to-meet-libya-hands-out-cash
Troops kill Tripoli protesters
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Government forces shot dead at least two protesters in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, television stations reported, as a popular uprising against Muammar Gaddafi closed in on his main power base. Gaddafi appeared on the central Green Square to make an impassioned speech of defiance, after witnesses described swirling clashes on streets all around the city between security forces loyal to the 68-year-old leader and crowds of protesters.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/25/troops-kill-tripoli-protesters/
Libya Protesters Hit By Hail Of Gunfire In March
BENGHAZI, Libya — Protesters demanding Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster came under a hail of bullets Friday when pro-regime militiamen opened fire to stop the first significant anti-government marches in days in the Libyan capital. The Libyan leader, speaking from the ramparts of a historic Tripoli fort, told supporters to prepare to defend the nation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/libya-protesters-hail-of-gunfire_n_828522.html
Thousands Feared Dead in Gaddafi’s Crackdown on Libyan Uprising
The United Nations is warning thousands of people may have been killed in Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s assault on the growing popular uprising across Libya. The United Nations is also warning Libya’s food supply network is on the brink of collapse. Deadly clashes are ongoing as anti-government forces close in on the capital city of Tripoli. We get a report from Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat in Libya. [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/25/thousands_feared_dead_in_gaddafis_crackdown
Shots fired on protesters leaving Friday prayer, downtown Tripoli (Feb. 25)
These men left the masjid in the middle of Friday prayer. They were disgusted by the propaganda sermon that was being given.
http://feb17.info/videos/shots-fired-on-protesters-leaving-friday-prayer-downtown-tripoli-feb-25/
BREAKING: Eyewitness accounts of Tripoli massacres after Friday Prayer
We relay to you the account as we received it:
Friends and cousins were there today but they managed to push back the crowds. The people that met in Souq Al Jummah from Tajoura,, Arada and Souq Al Jummah were pushed back. Heavy gunfire non stop. over 20 died but bodies got taken away. People on scene confirmed that they managed to bring some of the dead back but heavy fire stopped them from brining them all. Some were brave enough to use their cars to come into the middle of the gunfire and take the injured and wounded. They are not being taken to the hospital to be treated, the injured, as they get taken away when they arrive at A&E by police. Today was a Friday massacre but as mostashedeen (martyrs) inshallah. Alhamdulilah (praise be to God) all family came back safely. Same happened in many other areas. I didn’t go today so no footage from my end.. received too many warning that this kind of slaughter house show would happen. Big respect to their bravery.
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2596
One Palestinian man killed and another missing in Libya
The family of a Palestinian university student from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis said that they have received news that their son was killed by mercenaries in Libya.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
BREAKING: Mercenaries drag injured protester into truck and drive off!
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2576
UPDATE: Location of injured protester kidnapping
Update: Earlier we posted footage of an injured protester being dragged and thrown into the back of a car by mercenaries before they drive off. You can watch the footage again here. An eyewitness has confirmed the location of where this took place, and we have illustrated it on a map with a red circle:
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2591
BREAKING: Two youth being beaten by mercenaries then taken away in Tripoli
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2605
A Message to Gaddafi from injured protester at Zawiya Hospital
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r81o9TEpOmw&feature=player_embedded
Casualty in Fashloom – GRAPHIC
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2496
BREAKING: Camera man recording footage is shot and killed
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2579
VERY GRAPHIC VIDEO Hospital in Libya
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=182770725097403
GRAPHIC: Bodies of martyrs in pieces – WATCH WITH CAUTION
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2584
Old man shot in the head and killed for protesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEeNZSBctoE&feature=player_embedded
Another victim in Tripoli’s demonstrations 25th February
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eNFZl8mjFY&feature=player_embedded
Demonstrations in Siya7iya area of Tripoli met with live fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB5xec0dFRo&feature=player_embedded
Shots fired on protesters in Qurya Siyaheya after Friday prayer, Tripoli (Feb. 25)
http://feb17.info/videos/shots-fired-on-protesters-after-friday-prayer-in-qurya-siyaheya-tripoli-feb-25/
A martyr in Tripoli today
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2553
GRAPHIC: Footage of killed protester martyred today in Tripoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBpskfVyrlQ&feature=player_embedded
BRAND NEW VIDEO FROM TRIPOLI!!
Protesters after Friday Prayer met with live fire!
http://feb17.info/videos/brand-new-video-from-tripoli/
The sun sets on Tripoli to the sound of gunfire tonight
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2555
Fashloum (Tripoli): Shot Dead by Gaddafi’s Security (Feb. 25, 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=raiS8CfYP3U
http://feb17.info/videos/fashloum-tripoli-shot-dead-by-gaddafis-security-feb-25-2011/
Protesters in Souq Al-Jumaa, Tripoli (Feb. 24)
In response propaganda of civil war, mutiny and division between east and west that has been broadcast constantly on Libyan state TV. Chants: “With our souls! With our blood! We’ll protect you Benghazi!” Translating of graffiti at the end: “Tell the dogs of the regime to come to the square.” “Broadcast this Al Jazeera, you are the only [news media]… Read the rest of the story
http://feb17.info/videos/protesters-in-souq-al-jumaa-tripoli-feb-24/
Protesters shot at in Soog Al Jumaa, Tripoli (Feb. 25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXbi_VOiaGU&feature=player_embedded
http://feb17.info/videos/protestors-shot-at-in-soog-al-jumaa-tripoli/
Young Protester shot and killed by Gaddafi’s security forces in Souq Al Jumaa, Tripoli (Feb. 25)
http://feb17.info/videos/young-protester-shot-and-killed-by-gaddafis-security-forces-in-souq-al-jumaa-tripoli-feb-25/
“At least 40 injured and dead in Suq al Jumah”
18: 48: More from Ali Tweel in Tripoli, who tweets: “Not less than 40 person injured and dead in soug aljoumaa, via a doctor there”.
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2520
Video: Another martyr in Souq Al Jummah today (English Transcript)
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2559
Tripoli Marty in Souq al-Jumah (Feb. 25) **GRAPHIC**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svEMW8ZmiSk&feature=player_embedded&skipcontrinter=1
http://feb17.info/videos/tripoli-marty-in-souq-al-jumah-feb-25-graphic/
More footage from clashes in Souq Al Jummah today
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2523
Protesters are shot at with live ammunition in Alsiahiya
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2525
Protesters in Souq Al Jummah face bullets with rocks
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2531
Protester martyred 2 hours ago in Souq Al Jummah
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2506
BREAKING: Injured protester in Souq Al Jummah
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2517
Image of Underground Prison in Benghazi
http://feb17.info/videos/image-of-underground-prison-in-benghazi/
Gaddafi’s security clean up dead bodies of protesters, Tripoli (Feb. 25)
http://feb17.info/videos/gaddafis-security-clean-up-dead-bodies-of-protesters-tripoli-feb-25/
AUDIO: Tripoli woman expresses fear for her daughters
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2615
Protesters Gaining Ground
Pressure mounts on Libya’s Gaddafi
Demonstrators remain on the streets as leader defies international condemnation.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201122641559301766.html
Libyan rebels say control oil fields, honour deals
* Rebels say control key oil fields
* Rebels pledge to honour oil deals, if they are fair
* Oil production, work at terminals seen down by 75 percent
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyan-rebels-say-control-oil-fields-honour-deals
Defiant Libyans flood streets of Tripoli to protest against Moammar Kadafi
Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of Libya’s capital after Friday prayers. At least some members of the security forces support them, but one man reports that ‘people have been killed.’ Kadafi appears on TV and says, ‘I will fight, and we will prevail,’ adding, ‘Dance, sing and celebrate.’ Thousands of Libyans poured defiantly into the streets of Tripoli after Friday prayers to protest against strongman Moammar Kadafi, who has ruled the country for the last 42 years and has vowed to fight his opponents until the very end.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/uLZbuB4krfg/la-fg-libya-kadafi-20110226,0,3910387.story
Protests continue in parts of Tripoli:resident
ALGIERS, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Libyan security forces have dispersed anti-government protests in some parts of the capital but elswhere they are still going on, a Tripoli resident told Reuters on Friday. “In some areas it was contained and in some areas they are trying to disperse them,” the resident said from the centre of Tripoli. “They fired in the air to try to disperse them.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/protests-dispersed-in-some-areas-of-libyan-capital-in-others-pe
Libya: protesters vow to march on Gaddafi’s palace
Civilian protesters armed with weapons looted from abandoned security installations in Libya’s second city of Benghazi on Friday vowed to march on Col Muammar Gaddafi’s palace in Tripoli.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8348579/Libya-protesters-vow-to-march-on-Gaddafis-palace.html
“Free Benghazi” says united with people of Tripoli
* Benghazi residents express solidarity with Tripoli
* Express belief in one nation, say rebel army backs them
* Interim coalition says it will honour oil contracts
* Citizens hand over guns
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/free-benghazi-says-united-with-people-of-tripoli
Benghazi’s citizen force voices unity with Tripoli
BENGHAZI, Libya: Libya’s rebel-held city of Benghazi has filled a political void with a coalition which is cleaning up, providing food, building defenses, reassuring foreign oil firms and telling Tripoli it believes in one nation.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125315
Breaking Video: Defeated Mercenary, Tripoli (Feb. 25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpXxHBfuPvI&feature=player_embedded
http://feb17.info/videos/breaking-video-defeated-mercenary-feb-25/
Friday Prayer at Martyrs Square in Az Zawiya today
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2551
Al Jazeera Square today after Friday Prayers
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2546
Zwara demonstrates today in large numbers.
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2548
Tripoli Protesters Chanting (Feb. 25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFRQr5FeEqE&feature=player_embedded
http://feb17.info/videos/tripoli-feb-25/
Tripoli Demonstrations in Souq Al-Jumah (Feb. 25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBpskfVyrlQ&feature=player_embedded
http://feb17.info/videos/tripoli-demonstrations-in-souq-al-jumah-feb-25/
Gaddafi’s regime cleans graffiti but protesters respray it.
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2529
BREAKING: Captured mercenary being shielded by Libyans
This is simply phenomenal. A captured mercenary is being shielded by a Libyan from the rest of the angry protesters. Please read the translation of what happened below. Try to listen out for the phrase khalloo hai which means keep him alive. It is repeated so much!
Translation:
Camera man: Leave him guys, leave him!
Protester: Let the world see him! Let the world see him!
Protester: Let him live! We need him to be alive!
Protester: Let him be guys! Come on, let him be!
**between 0:22-0:26 a protester is seen brandishing a knife at the bottom of the screen, the cameraman reacts by pulling him back and saying:
Cameraman: No no no NO! Keep him alive!
Protester: No no No! We need him alive! Keep him alive!
Protester: Guys! War is deceit! Be careful they might ambush you from behind! War is deceit!
Protester: Let him be! Leave him alone!
Protester: Where are you from you dog? Where are you from?
Protester: I want to know who….this battalion… (Video ends)
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2610
Defections
Statement: Libyan ambassador to Lisbon defects
LISBON (AFP) — Libya’s ambassador to Lisbon defected on Friday, denouncing Moamer Kadhafi’s regime as “fascist, tyrannical and unjust” and calling on him to quit, according to a statement received by AFP.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363379
Humanitarian Crisis
Tripoli closes airspace
Tripoli has now closed its airspace and an Egypt Air aircraft circling outside Libyan airspace has not been allowed it, according to Air Malta’s Crisis Operations Room visited this afternoon by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech. Pilot Charles Pace, who operated Air Malta’s flight from Tripoli which landed here at 1.30 p.m., said that the apron in Tripoli was now practically deserted and the feeling was an eerie one with the situation being very different to that described by the pilots who had operated earlier flights. He said there was absolute calm and emptiness with very little happening.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110225/local/tripoli-closes-airspace
UN orders Libya abuse investigation
Diplomats have unanimously condemned Libya, ordered a probe into possible crimes against humanity for Moammar Gadhafi’s crackdown on protesters and recommended that Libya be suspended from the U.N.’s top human rights body.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/un-orders-libya-abuse-investigation-2225880.html
Libya evacuation: China evacuates 12,000 nationals via naval frigate
Libya evacuation: As the safety of foreign nationals deteriorates by the hour, China takes action, evacuating 12,000 Chinese. This latest Libya evacuation follows evacuations by US and European citizens after Qaddafi loyalists reportedly began opening fire on people in the streets.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/ynrvd3nI_Kk/Libya-evacuation-China-evacuates-12-000-nationals-via-naval-frigate
Frightened foreigners flee Libya ‘hell’
Foreigners told Thursday of hellish scenes in Tripoli as they fled the chaos engulfing Libya, with countries worldwide sending planes and warships in a desperate bid to evacuate their nationals. Anarchy descended on Tripoli airport as thousands of foreigners packed into the terminal to try to escape the widening crisis, with those who managed to leave describing how food and water were running low.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/25/frightened-foreigners-flee-libya-hell/
Benghazi residents seek evidence of disappeared Libyans
Hundreds dig up former army headquarters in search of bodies as Gaddafi’s control over country continues to slip.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/benghazi-residents-evidence-disappeared-libyans
Libyan revolt offers new hope in search for father
Atlanta (CNN) — One afternoon this week, Ahmed Almegaryaf, a college student and part-time DJ in suburban Atlanta made the rounds to a local music joint in his gray Nissan Altima. Amid six lanes of traffic on the interstate, it was not difficult to see the oversize sticker plastered on his rear window: “Where is my father?” It’s a question that has haunted Ahmed, 26, and his two brothers all of their lives.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/25/libya.missing.father/index.html
Refugees flood into Tunisia
Tunisian and U.N. officials scramble to avert a refugee crisis as people fleeing the Libyan unrest fill the roads out of the border crossing at Ras Ajdir. Many Tunisians help as volunteers. At first it was dozens of foreigners, most of them Egyptian laborers, teetering under the weight of plastic-wrapped boxes or suitcases they carried on their backs as they made their way past customs guards and immigration officers into relative safety in Tunisia.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/wDPJ_I5-ucI/la-fg-tunisia-tent-city-20110226,0,6945796.story
Developments
Libyan diplomat: Gaddafi has hours left
Recently resigned Libyan representative to Arab League, Italy’s Berlusconi both say embattled Gaddafi regime no longer controls large parts of country. Meanwhile Erdogan speaks out against planned UN sanctions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4034309,00.html
Gaddafi’s son portrays a peaceful Tripoli
TRIPOLI, Feb 26 (Reuters) – For the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the streets of Tripoli are full of jubilant crowds shooting fireworks, chanting songs and celebrating his father’s long rule — a picture painted on state television. “Everything is calm,” Saif al-Islam Gaddafi told a group of foreign journalists invited to the Libyan capital after 10 days of unrest during which media access has been limited.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/gaddafis-son-portrays-a-peaceful-tripoli
Saif Gaddafi interview with Turkish Reporter…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mNyIhg_png&feature=player_embedded
Gaddafi’s son: Truce possible by Saturday
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi tells foreign journalists army decided not to attack ‘terrorists,’ give negotiations a chance. Text drafted by France, Britain calls for arms embargo against Libya, travel bans and asset freezes for country’s top leaders; US says imposing sanctions, cutting diplomatic ties with Tripoli. Libya’s deputy UN ambassador: Gaddafi psychologically unstable.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4034168,00.html
Gaddafi addresses Tripoli crowd
In a surprise appearance, the Libyan leader gives a defiant speech to supporters in Green Square in the centre of the country’s capital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-2ZD1EYe0&feature=player_embedded
Gaddafi vows to open arsenals to arm his supporters
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday vowed defiantly to triumph over his enemies, urging his supporters in Tripoli’s Green Square to protect Libya and its petroleum interests.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/25/139234.html
Gadhafi vows to triumph over his enemies: ‘We will fight and we will kill them’
Addressing supporters in Tripoli, the Libyan leader urges crowd to protect the country’s petroleum interests, telling them to ‘dance, sing and prepare.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/gadhafi-vows-to-triumph-over-his-enemies-we-will-fight-and-we-will-kill-them-1.345728?localLinksEnabled=false
Libya: Justice Awaits Abusive Security Forces
(New York) – Members and commanders of the Libyan security forces, as well as foreign fighters, can be punished under international law for the unlawful use of force or firearms, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/25/libya-justice-awaits-abusive-security-forces
Libyan envoy urges UN to save Libya
The UN chief and Libya’s entire team of envoys at the world body urges the Security Council to act quickly.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2011/02/20112261323395683.html
UN: Suspend Libya’s Rights Council Role
(New York) – The United Nations General Assembly should immediately suspend Libya’s membership rights in the UN Human Rights Council, 63 nongovernmental organizations from around the world said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/25/un-suspend-libya-s-rights-council-role
HRW: Libya: Human Rights Council holds special session
NGOs call for an international commission of inquiry. Human Rights Watch applauds the initiative to hold this special session in response to the ongoing crisis in Libya. Situations such as this are litmus tests of the HRC’s relevance, and the council today should take whatever steps it can to address the serious human rights violations occurring in that country. In particular, Human Rights Watch strongly supports the proposal that the HRC “urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry…to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in Libya in connection with the ongoing protests.”
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/02/25/libya-human-rights-council-holds-special-session
Amnesty International: Security Council must refer Libya to International Criminal Court
Amnesty International urges the UN to act now to stop the outrageous abuses taking place on the streets of Tripoli and elsewhere in the country.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/security-council-must-refer-libya-international-criminal-court-2011-02-25
Obama declares national state of emergency over Libya
President Obama issued an executive order Friday evening that imposes immediate sanctions on Libyan ruler Muammar al Qaddafi, his sons and his accomplices in the slaughter of civilians. In a letter accompanying the order, Obama declared a national emergency over the situation. “I have determined that the actions of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, his government, and close associates, including extreme measures against the people of Libya, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. The order declares a national emergency to deal with this threat,” Obama wrote in the letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/25/obama_declares_national_state_of_emergency_over_libya
US slaps sanctions on Libyan govt
President Barack Obama says Libyan sanctions target Gaddafi’s government, while protecting Libyan people’s assets.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2011/02/20112261461685557.html
US to impose sanctions on Libya
US spy agencies monitoring Libya for proof of atrocities and withdrawing embassy staff from Tripoli ahead of UN meeting.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2011/02/201122519474363971.html
US prepares Libya sanctions, closes embassy (AP)
AP – The White House announced sweeping new sanctions on Libya’s government and temporarily abandoned its embassy in Tripoli on Friday, as a final flight carrying American citizens departed from the war-ravaged capital.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110225/ap_on_re_us/us_us_mideast
All Libya options on table including military action: US
The United States is not taking any options off the table with regard to its response to the violence in Libya, including potential U.S. military action, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/25/139254.html
Senators and experts call on Obama to take stronger measures against Qaddafi
The calls are increasing in Washington for the Obama administration to take new, stronger measures to punish the Libyan government led by Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi for atrocities and to protect Libyan civilians. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) implored Obama on in a press conference to establish a no-fly zone in Libya, abandon its recognition of the Qaddafi government, transfer recognition to a transitional government formed by the rebels as soon as possible, and provide the opposition with support, including weapons.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/25/senators_and_experts_call_on_obama_to_take_stronger_measures_against_qaddafi
Over 200 Arab groups call for Libya no-fly zone
Arab organizations from 18 countries, coordinating their effort with 30 Arab intellectuals, called on world leaders to impose an U.N.-sponsored and Arab-led no-fly zone in Libya to protect innocent civilians there. The call for civilian protection was aimed to influence the U.N. Security Council, the European Union, the African Union, and the Arab League. It was timed to influence discussions at the Security Council and the U.N. Human Rights Council over the coming days. The organizations hail from countries including Egypt, Libya, Qatar, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/02/25/over_200_arab_groups_call_for_libya_no_fly_zone
Libya’s Arab League delegation renounces Gaddafi
CAIRO, Feb 25 (Reuters) – The Libyan delegation to the Arab League in Cairo renounced links to Muammar Gaddafi on Friday and said it now represented the will of the people. “We have joined our people in their legitimate demands for change and the establishment of a democratic system,” the Libyan delegation to the Arab League said in a statement, condemning “the heinous crimes against unarmed citizens”. The Libyan delegation to the Arab League has changed its name to “the representative of Libyan people to the Arab League,” Ahmed Nassouf, Deputy Director of Protocol, told Reuters.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/libyas-arab-league-delegation-renounces-gaddafi
France’s Sarkozy says Gaddafi must go
ANKARA, Feb 25 (Reuters) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had to leave but cautioned against military action in the North African state. “Mr Gaddafi must leave,” Sarkozy told a news conference with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. “Regarding a military intervention … France would consider any initiative of this type with extreme caution and reserve,” he said.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/frances-sarkozy-says-gaddafi-must-go
EU to impose Libya sanctions next week: diplomats
European Union governments reached consensus on Friday on imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on Libya, but a formal decision will only be taken early next week, diplomats said, as the U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously called for Libya to be suspended from the body.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/02/25/139238.html
Russia warns Libyan authorities will be prosecuted
MOSCOW, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev condemned on Friday the use of force against civilians in Libya and warned that Libyan authorities would face prosecution under international law if they did not stop the violence.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/russia-warns-libyan-authorities-will-be-prosecuted
Arab, African diplomats urge UN to impose severe sanction on Libya
UN security Council meets in N.Y. to discuss proposed sanctions; Libya’s deputy UN ambassador says Gadhafi is ‘a madman and he is psychologically not stable.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/arab-african-diplomats-urge-un-to-impose-severe-sanction-on-libya-1.345756?localLinksEnabled=false
Libya: UK officials tell Gaddafi loyalists to defect or face war crimes trial
• SAS on standby to rescue trapped Britons
• Leader says Libya will be ‘red with fire’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/libya-uk-gaddafi-sas-embassy
Arab MKs comment on 2010 Libya visit
Delegation of Arab Israeli MKs, public figures who met with Gaddafi in controversial Libya visit last year, now vow not to endorse any other ‘war criminal’. One participant says noticed warning signs when dictator’s men prevented delegation from coming in contact with Libyan public.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4034017,00.html
Conflicting versions of events in Libya
As the crisis in Libya unfolds, it has become clear that the government’s perspective on the unrest is very different to that of the people on the ground. In this report from Malta, Al Jazeera’s Cal Perry compares the two views through the eyes of a former Libyan embassy worker, and his employer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBnFF3Adjqg&feature=youtube_gdata
Solidarity
Libya, Leeds is with you!
http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2569
Libya, Manchester is demonstrating every day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kq0gclyGsY&feature=player_embedded
Libya, University of California is with you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVx0be9CUJY&feature=player_embedded
Analysis/Op-ed
Free Libyan media start talking back
TOBRUK, Libya (AFP) — Tucked away in a small back room beyond the clamor of the city, four Libyan journalists sit around microphones in a makeshift studio and freely discuss a whirlwind fortnight of change: Radio Free Tobruk is up and running. After four decades of having to hold its tongue, the media is starting to talk back, in the shape of this and other small radio stations springing up as more and more of the country slips from the grasp of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363502
Libyan energy infrastructure
http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2011/02/libyan-energy-infrastructure.html
EU Military exports to Libya
The EU exports around €340 million of military equipment to Libya each year. Here are the details — what country, what kind of equipment. The official record is here. This is data for 2009, the most recent available. I’ve pulled out the relevant data, simplified the categories somewhat, and made a spreadsheet out of it.
http://ohuiginn.net/mt/2011/02/eu_military_exports_to_libya.html
Inside Story – What would a new Libya look like?
After more than a week of unrest, thousands of Libyans are still calling for the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. But the man who has led Libya for more than 41 years is clinging to power. What does the current political structure in Libya look like and what kind of Libya would emerge if Gaddafi falls?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6swku8Lnms&feature=youtube_gdata
Inside Story – Libya’s power struggle
The protests in Libya are continuing and Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, is struggling to hold on to power. Major parts of the country are under the control of pro-reform protesters. Many now are fearing a violent showdown. But in a country divided by tribes, alliances and clans, it is difficult to draw the outlines of a future battle. Who exactly are the groups that are holding the future of the country in their hands? And how long can the Libyan leader survive?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzEcaBcOe8U&feature=youtube_gdata
Counting the Cost – Libya: From pariah to partner (and back again)
We look at Libya’s role in the global economy as oil prices continue to rise and visit the London School of Economics where Muammar Gaddafi’s son once studied and submitted a 400-page report on civil society and human rights. And, as the unrest spreads governments stuggle to get their people out; we look at Turkey’s relationship with Libya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6deWLw1dBw&feature=youtube_gdata
Listening Post – Libya: Shining a light into a media black hole
The media’s role in the historic Arab uprisings has so far been celebrated and feared, with the collaboration between new media and satellite TV too powerful for dictators to withstand. But that has all changed in Libya. Muammar Gaddafi appears to have learnt some media lessons from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia and quickly responded to protests in his country by shutting out foreign journalists, jamming TV transmissions and cutting off the internet and phone networks. The absence of professional journalists has meant that the job has been left to citizen journalists and the world has been able to follow the story through the often horrific and violent videos that have been leaked out of the country. This week we look at new media’s role in shedding light on an otherwise information black hole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s9Y9WCjo8I&feature=youtube_gdata
Obama seeks a new approach on Mideast
President Obama has asked his aides to formulate a Mideast foreign policy that emphasizes democratic reforms without alienating longtime allies. President Obama is challenging his administration to formulate a new Middle East policy that emphasizes political and economic reforms to bolster U.S. allies now threatened by the protest movements sweeping the region.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/agAjDY7Hlxc/la-fg-obama-mideast-20110226,0,347321.story
They’re on acid, so they must die
The Middle East is my home. It is who I am and where I will last be found on this earth. I love it with all my heart, but holy cow is it the craziest place you have ever seen! Between Tunisia, Egypt, Libya – dare I say etc.? – we have found ourselves smack in the middle of one of the worst scripts Hollywood could ever churn out – except it’s actually real.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=125325
‘Libya is not Egypt’, Ahmed Moor
Like virtually every other sentient creature in the galaxy, I’ve been following the Arab revolutions closely. But unlike the “serious people who know better,” it hasn’t occurred to me that “Libya isn’t Egypt.” At the outset of the revolutionary wave, several writers – most notably Stephen Walt – made the commonsense and sobering argument that revolutions are impossibly difficult to predict. And because cases of contagious revolutions are historically difficult to come by, there was no reason to believe that Tunisia would precipitate unrest in Egypt.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/libya-is-not-egypt.html
Butcher of Tripoli ‘must go’
Moammar Gadhafi vowed to “crush any enemy” Friday, addressing a crowd of supporters in Tripoli, as he became increasingly isolated in Libya and internationally after the United States said it was imposing sanctions and cutting diplomatic ties with him while France said the Libyan leader “must go.”
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125345
Libya’s Significance
With the 42-year reign of Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi coming to a seemingly inevitable end, it is worth reflecting on the significance and regional implications of his ouster. Perhaps most importantly, Qaddafi’s removal cannot but result in genuine regime change. Unlike Egypt or Tunisia, Libya does not possess autonomous state institutions or state-sponsored elites with the capacity to force out the leader in order to perpetuate their custodianship of the state. If Qaddafi falls – and absent foreign intervention – Libya’s power elite will either go down with him, or remain masters of institutions and networks that no longer exist, are shattered beyond repair or have lost their relevance. Libya, in other words, will be spared the spectre of a permanent transition, and any successor appointed by the Ancien Régime will make Shapour Bakhtiar’s 39-day tenure look everlasting. As with the national uprising against the Shah in the late 1970s, the only possible outcomes are restoration or revolution.
Arabs are democracy’s new pioneers
The leaderless Middle East uprisings can inspire freedom movements as Latin America did before
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/24/arabs-democracy-latin-america
A second chance in the Arab world, Rami G. Khouri
Sometimes in life you are given a second chance to get something right, after getting it wrong the first time. The perception I get from discussions in Washington with independent analysts and people in and close to the Obama administration, is that the United States remains caught and wavering between two approaches.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=125341
A world of rage, and an idle world, Rami G. Khouri
In the United Kingdom, government officials are set to begin recording the level of people’s happiness and satisfaction with their lives. In a growing list of countries in the Arab world, people are busy engaged in monitoring body counts.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=17&article_id=125340
