HOLLYWOOD
Member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 22,314
More Turmoil in Libya
http://blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/7547/2011-07-28.html
http://blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/7547/2011-07-28.html
Time For Peace In Libya
Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, the Libyan "rebel" commander has been killed, most likely by his own compatriots, some of whom he engaged in a power-struggle with in April.
Possible clues to Gen. Younes' demise can be gleaned from an April 3, New York Times article under the headline "Rebel Leadership in Libya Shows Strain." The story described the rivalry between Gen. Younes and a former Libyan army general, Khalifa Heftar, "who returned recently from exile in the United States and appointed himself as the rebel field commander," the Times had reported.
According to the article, "the men could hardly stand one another." At the same time, the Times reported, a former political prisoner named Omar el-Hariri, "occupied the largely ceremonial role of defense minister."
To resolve the divisions, meetings ensued, but according to the Times' article, "When they concluded late last week, Mr. Younes was still the head of the army and Mr. Hariri remained as the defense minister. Only Mr. Heftar, who reportedly refused to work with Mr. Younes, was forced out. On Sunday, though, in a sign that divisions persisted, Mr. Heftar's son said his father was still an army leader."
"As the struggle with Colonel Qaddafi threatened to settle into a stalemate, the rebel government here was showing growing strains that
imperil its struggle to complete a revolution and jeopardize requests for foreign military aid and recognition," the Times also reported, in that April article.
"After the Benghazi meetings, a screaming match broke out when Mr. Heftar’s supporters berated a rebel leader for choosing Mr. Younes to lead the army," the article reported. As with the case today, the "rebels" needed a scapegoat for their lack of significant victories: "The rebel army’s nominal leader, Abdul Fattah Younes, a former interior minister and friend of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi whom many rebel leaders distrusted, could offer little explanation for the recent military stumbles..." the Times reported.
Heftar reportedly has ties to the CIA and lived near its headquarters while in U.S. exile.
The Times also quoted, Fathi Terbil, a young lawyer who helped start the "rebel" uprising, saying: "At least they're not shooting each
other." Terbil may have spoken too soon; the "revolutionaries" may have already started devouring each other.
The "rebels" are united only in one thing--their hatred of Muammar al-Quathafi; they have no alternative vision for Libya. Younes himself, until February had been an al-Quathafi supporter, once serving as his interior minister; similarly, Mustafa abdel Jalil, who is now the titular political leader of the "rebels" was previously al-Quathafi's justice minister.
The other "rebels" include former U.S. Guantanamo Bay inmates who had been detained by the United States for acts of terrorism in
Afghanistan. Upon their release, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, they eventually found their way to Western Libya and started training the Benghazi "rebels." Monarchists, including deposed King Idris Senussi's son, are also in the "rebels'" ranks.
These "revolutionaries" are also trained by the CIA, Egypt, Qatar, and officers on loan from France and Britain. Additionally, NATO serves as the "rebels" Air force.
The "rebels'" opportunism was exposed when Jalil told The Financial Times in a March 14 front-page article that oil concession would be granted post-Quathafi, based on how much support each Western country gave the "rebels" in deposing the colonel.
No wonder they have not inspired the kind of spontaneous support that the Blackberry-Face book revolutionaries did in Tunisia and Egypt.
Combined with their terror campaigns, including beheadings of suspected al-Quathafi supporters, especially Black people, and the racialist ethnic cleansing of Misurata Black Libyans, as reported in The Wall Street Journal on June 21, it's no wonder that three weeks ago more than one million Libyans showed up in the streets of Tripoli to denounce the "rebels."
Gen. Younes' death portends a dangerous moment for Libya, in case the "rebel" factions decide to turn their guns at each other. Some of
Younes' supporters may also defect and rejoin al-Quathafi. All this could mean more chaotic bloodshed in Libya, with multiple rivalries.
More than at any time, the outside powers that have been pushing for war in Libya must come to their senses and embrace the African Union peace proposal. Washington, London, and Paris, are the muscles behind the "rebels."
Now is the time to call for a ceasefire and the creation of a humanitarian corridor as outlined in the African Union plan, which also clears the path for a constitution and democratic elections.
Let warmonger Nicholas Sarkozy step aside. This is the time for South African President Jacob Zuma to make a third trip to Tripoli where "rebel" leaders should join him. The Holy month of Ramadan starts next week. There is no better time than now for peace in Libya.
"Speaking Truth To Empower."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/world/africa/29libya.html
Death of Rebel Leader Stirs Fears of Tribal Conflict
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: July 28, 2011
BENGHAZI, Libya — The top rebel military commander was killed Thursday, and members of his tribe greeted the announcement with gunfire and angry threats. The violent outburst stirred fears that a tribal feud could divide the forces struggling to topple the Libyan dictator, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes spoke
to the media in April.
The leader of the rebels’ provisional government, Mustapha Abdul Jalil, announced Thursday evening without providing details that unnamed assassins had killed the commander, Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, and two other top officers.
General Younes, a former officer and interior minister in the Qaddafi government, had long been a contentious figure among the rebels, some of whom doubted his loyalty. He had been summoned to Benghazi for questioning by a panel of judges, and members of his tribe — the Obeidi, one of the largest tribes in the east — evidently blamed the rebel leadership for having some role in the general’s death.
The specter of a violent tribal conflict within the rebel ranks touches on a central fear of the Western nations backing the Libyan insurrection: that the rebels’ democratic goals could give way to a tribal civil war over Libya’s oil resources. Colonel Qaddafi has often warned of such a possibility as he has fought to keep power, while the rebel leaders have argued that their cause transcends Libya’s age-old tribal divisions.
Before General Younes defected to the rebel side soon after the uprising began in February, he had been a longtime friend of Colonel Qaddafi. Libyan state television sometimes tried to exploit speculation about his divided loyalties by reporting that he had returned to his old job.
During an interview in April, Colonel Qaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, suggested that General Younes was still loyal to her father, saying that at least one former member of the Qaddafi government on the rebels’ ruling council was still talking with the Qaddafis and pointedly declining to rule out General Younes.
For months, a public rivalry between General Younes and another rebel military leader, Khalifa Hifter, contributed to the pervasive sense of chaos in the ranks, as both men claimed to command the fighters in the field.
Rumors about General Younes and intertribal tensions started picking up here in the rebels’ de facto capital early Thursday evening with reports that a group of four judges working for the rebel council had summoned General Younes for questioning. The war effort he led has stalled out for months along immobile battle lines on the eastern front.
When the rebel leadership announced a news conference later at a Benghazi hotel, a few dozen members of his tribe gathered outside and began chanting. Some inside warned of possible violence if General Younes were removed from his position.
Instead, two hours after the press conference had been scheduled to begin, Mr. Abdul Jalil announced the death in a carefully worded speech that left many scratching their heads.
Mr. Abdul Jalil confirmed that General Younes had been summoned for questioning by the judges, though he declined to say why. He said only that General Younes had been “released on his own recognizance,” rather than either accused or exonerated of anything.
Mr. Abdul Jalil said that an armed gang had killed General Younes and the other two officers, and that at least one of the gang members had been captured. He declined to name the killer, or to say whether the gang had been working for Colonel Qaddafi, rebels who did not trust General Younes, or some other tribal group or faction.
Mr. Abdul Jalil then added that the rebel security forces were still searching for the bodies of the three dead officers, raising questions about how he had confirmed their death.
But the rebel leader also conveyed an unmistakable anxiety about the feelings of the Obeidi, General Younes’s tribe. Instead of appearing with other members of the rebel council, as expected, he sat at a table with men he said were elders of the Obeidi. He repeatedly said he wanted to “pay respects” to the tribe for its sacrifice and understanding, calling it “strong and deep.” He left the news conference without taking questions.
Last edited:
