Showing posts with label Africa United - NOW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa United - NOW. Show all posts

Friday, May 25, 2012

25 de Maio, dia de África–República de Angola celebra com lançamento da obra poética de Agostinho Neto

Agostinho Neto e Fidel Castro
Dr. António Agostinho Neto e Fidel Castro, dois homens de grande carisma político

O programa da actividade a que à Angop teve acesso compreende o discurso de boas vindas a ser proferido pela Comissária Nacional da Expo, Albina Assis, e as intervenções do embaixador de Angola na Coreia do Sul, Albino Malungo, e de um representante da Universidade de Hankuk, responsável pela tradução da obra em coreano.

Poeta Dr. Antonio Agostinho NetoA apresentação estará a cargo da presidente da Fundação Agostinho Neto, Maria Eugenia Neto, que chegou, na companhia da filha e deputada Irene Neto, a esta cidade, na noite de quinta-feira, ao que se seguira uma sessão de assinatura de autógrafos.

As celebrações do dia de África inscrevem ainda a parada dos países africanos, com concentração no pavilhão de Angola e termino na Expo Hall.

A noite, será servido um jantar de gala no espaço denominado "Multi Purpose Hall", antecedido da intervenção da Comissária Geral de Angola, Albina Assis, e do representante de um país da União Africana.

Desfile de moda e um espectáculo músico-cultural completam o programa que vai assinalar, na Expo Yesou 2012, o Dia de África.

Agostinho Neto e Eugenia Neto (Esposos)Viva o dia de África

Com Angop

Thursday, May 10, 2012

www.angolaxyami.com - Últimas notícias de Angola, África e do Mundo 24Horas.

www.angolaxyami.com - Últimas notícias de Angola, África e do Mundo 24Horas.

Angola 10 anos de paz e desenvolvimento

Republic of Angola hosts exclusive fair on Argentine products
Republic of Angola and Zambia want CFB re-opened soon
Republic of Angola: Lobito Refinery to Produce 120,000 Barrels/Day
França 2012: José Eduardo dos Santos felicita François Hollande
Angola 2012: Numa diz que se houver fraudes MPLA vai "ver fraldas"

Thursday, March 29, 2012

4 de Abril de 2012 - Grande Festival da Paz com todos grandes nomes da Musica Angolana

4 de Abril de 2012 - Grande Festival da Paz com todos grandes nomes da Musica Angolana

Vem Ai o Grande Festival da Paz. com todos grandes nomes da Musica Angolana, A Produção é da Banda.... contamos contigo para Celebrar a Paz....

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dr. Agostinho Neto, pensamento democrático e funções de um governo democrático

Agostinho Neto, pensamento democrático e funções de um governo

GRÉCIA INVENÇÃO E CRISE DEMOCRÁTICA. A política é a gestão dos vários interesses sociais, assim reza um antigo texto grego. Me refiro mesmo a Grécia, caro leitor e estimada leitora. Me debruço sobre a terra dos grandes filósofos que souberam sintetizar e sistematizar conhecimentos milenários de vários campos do saber humano, de modo que  que o futuro “dos seus” fosse ainda melhor que o passado já glorioso. Falo da Grécia, o anel débil da Unidade Europeia, que hoje vive um dos piores momentos desde a sua constituição como República livre e independente.

No momento em que teço estas considerações é cada vez mais claro para todos os analistas e interessados aos problemas europeus, que a causa fundamental da crise que atanalha o país de Sócrates, de Platão, de Aristóteles e outros grandes filósofos – além da crise das dívidas estatais - é a corrupção do seu sistema democrático, político e institucional. Este “facto de coisas” traduziu-se na desarticulação da maior parte todas as instituições que constituem um Estado democrático e posterior exposição das debilidades financeiras nos mercados especulativos.

É uma triste conclusão, porque o sistema democrático é uma das várias riquezas do passado helênico, elaborado para que o povo controlasse o próprio destino. Este sistema é a síntese de um passado glorioso, que serve a orientar a melhor estrada para os governados e os governadores na complexa estrada do progresso social. A codificação do sistema se chama hoje: CONSTITUIÇÃO.

O PODER DO POVO. Pois bem, em democracia, o poder é do povo e para o povo. Ninguém assume o poder se não através do povo, que o elege e o sustem. As eleições obedecem uma série de regras e critérios que os vários países elaboram a fim de evitar zonas de sombra no processo de assunção e gestão legítima do poder.

O poder que os cidadãos confiam aos partidos políticos e à inteira classe dirigente serve a legitimar às suas acções em prol das iniciativas pelo bem comum. O processo eleitoral é uma espécie de diálogo, fim do qual o povo escolhe, entre as várias propostas, aquela que mais se aproxima aos seus anseios presentes e futuros. E como se o povo dissesse: “Assuma o poder e resolva os nossos problemas”. Se o mandato não é respeitado, no próximo pleito eleitoral o partido político e os líderes que o representam perdem a confiança do povo, e portanto às eleições. Esta é a fotografia da interacção política e social de uma democracia madura.

AGOSTINHO NETO E A DEMOCRACIA. A visão política do pai da nação angolana, o doutor António Agostinho Neto, já obedecia tais regras, isto, não obstante o contexto político que se antevia, aquele do partido único já em marcha em outros países africanos. Por isso afirmava: "O mais importante é resolver os problemas do povo". O bem estar do povo é o horizonte inicial e final de qualquer boa acção política.

É nesta ordem de ideias que às sociedades civis, às organizações sociais de várias ordens e categorias têm o direito de criticar às acções dos governos eleitos ou não. Aceitar às críticas é questão de boa educação e ampla visão política e cultural sobre o desenvolvimento dos povos e das sociedades.

Com frequência, as elites de poder e no poder, criticam às organizações sociais por passarem o tempo apontando os colossais e menores erros de governação. "O que fazem vocês além de criticaram e manifestarem exigências e necessidades?" Esta é uma das perguntas de baixa retórica usadas sem o mínimo sentido responsável da própria posição institucional e dever político o social. Assim fazendo, muitos governantes se esquecem o porque ocupam tais posições. Os dirigentes estão aí para resolverem os problemas do povo e se estes persistem, às estradas são duas:

1) Criação de mecanismos de participação social. Que o Governo abra mesas de diálogo com os  partidos da oposição e as organizações da sociedade civil. Ninguém tem no bolso todas as soluções para melhorar às condições de vida de um povo e admitir está dificuldade é já um passo avante.

2) Demissão e novas eleições. Quando um Governo, incapaz de resolver os problemas do povo, não admite as próprias dificuldades e nem entende abrir-se a um diálogo com a oposição e a sociedade civil a única estrada é a demissão e a realização de novas eleições. Fora disso é um harakiri político e consequente decadência social para o próprio povo.

A sociedade civil tem em si às melhores qualidades de um povo por isso o bom governante cria espaços de interacção e constante confronto com às organizações sociais. Para a questão angolana o confronto se torna obrigatório visto e considerando os enormes desafios que se apresentam a cada dia que passa.

Com o político, o doutor, o nacionalista, o poeta Agostinho Neto repetimos: "O mais importante é resolver os problemas do povo - ANGOLANO!"

Kingamba Mwenho
Por Angola, hoje e sempre!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Kizomba Romana, se as Sextas-feiras os angolanos revivem a banda e matam saudades

Kizomba Romana 2012

Roma (17/02/2012) - Até as boas amizades precisam de encontros formais, mesmo que saltuários, para se reforçarem, para se reconfirmarem como únicas e indistrutíveis. É nesta ótica que os angolanos em Roma se encontram todas as Sextas-feiras nos Momentos de Kizomba Romana. Estes momentos estão se tornando uma tradição de grande cultura e crescimento humano. Começaram como simples eventos para angolanos, hoje constituem um indiscutível ponto de referência para os mwangolés e admiradores da cultura e style angolano.

Sobre os Momentos de Kizomba, outro aspecto peculiar, são as lições grátis de Kizomba e ensinamentos sobre a cultura angolana. Todas as Sextas-feiras se vê um via-vai de italianos e italianas, um via-vai africanos de vários países lusófonos, de modo particular os caboverdianos, um via-vai de africanos interessados a aprenderem a dança do momento: A KIZOMBA ANGOLA. De momentos o Kuduro se dança, não se ensina, portanto, Kizomba com eles.

A comunidade angolana em Roma é constituida essencialmente por estudantes universitários, por isso as saudades da banda são mais fortes, e quando as dificuldades materiais se fazem sentir os mwangolés gostam de estar juntos, mesmo quando não podem contribuir na resolução material dos problemas.

O empenho na formação faz com que a alta cultura se faça sentir no seio dos angolanos na cidade eterna. São muitas as ocasiões, durante os momentos de Kizomba, aonde se deparam angolanos debatendo com categorias sobre vários temas político-culturais, científicos e religiosos. Outro aspecto curioso e não menos importante, é a vontade férrea de muitos angolanos em ensinar aos italianos o melhor da nossa cultura. O angolano quando quer faz.

Ao contrário do que se diz em continuação, os angolanos são unidos quando querem, quando se sentem mais angolanos, quando vivem mais a própria cultura, quando se elevam além do pseudo-sentido patriótico que faz de todos os problemas da banda o factor de divisão entre os mwangolés em várias partes do mundo. Ao contrário do que se diz, muitos angolanos que terminam os seus estudos querem mesmo voltar pra banda, querem contribuir no crescimento e desenvolvimento sustentável de Angola. Um apelo às autoridades competentes, mais atenão angolanos em Roma, muitas boas cabeças se encontram nesta banda, se encontram aqui, dando o melhor de sí para o desenvolvimento da Italia.

Em fim, conversando com os angolanos aqui, pude tirar algumas conclusões: ser angolano é ter fé que juntos podemos construir uma Angola melhor. Ser angolano é ajudar os angolanos a crescerem, é trabalhar pela angolanidade do pensamento e da acção. Ser angolano é sentir-se mal de viver bem quando os outros ainda morrem de fome. Ser um verdadeiro angolano é contribuir pela difusão da nossa cultura, da nossa essência, da nossa visão da vida aonde a celebração das relações interpessoais constituem um momento de grande vitalidade humana. Ser angolano continuar a ser o respeito pela gerarquia: os cotas são Kotas.

Para conhecer os angolanos na Itália, para conhecer os angolanos em Roma, participe nos Momentos de Kizomba Romana. Foi este o pedido e o desafio com o qual terminei (as 04:00 da manha)o encontro com alguns mwangolés e suas "piós" depois de uma Grande Noite de Kizomba - A "Kizomba Carnival Night 2012".

Kizomba Carnival NIGHT 2012.1

Kizomba Romana, se as Sextas-feiras os angolanos revivem a banda e matam saudades

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Para informações:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kizomba.romana
Websites: www.kizomba-romana.angolaxyami.com

Kingamba Mwenho
Por Angola, hoje e sempre!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

African Cup of Nations-bound Palancas Negras of Angola arrived in the Federal Capital, Abuja

A 39-man contingent of the 2012 African Cup of Nations-bound Palancas Negras of Angola arrived in the Federal Capital, Abuja on Tuesday ahead of today’s international friendly game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

angolan-fan[1]The delegation touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 4.33pm aboard a chartered aircraft, which will fly the team back to Luanda on Wednesday evening immediately after the match.

President of the Federacao Angolana de Futebol, Mr. Pedro de Morais Neto led the delegation, which also included vice presidents of the Federation, the Head Coach, four Assistant Coaches, team manager, journalists, psychologist, team doctor, physiotherapist, equipment manager and 22 players. The team trained on Tuesday night at the mainbowl of the National Stadium.

They were received on arrival by General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Musa Amadu and the Director of Technical, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, as well as a battery of media representatives.

The Palancas Negras and officials are quartered at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, and will have a light walk-out on Wednesday morning. The match co-ordination meeting will also take place on Wednesday morning, at the NFF Secretariat.

FIFA referee Aguidissou Crespin from Republic of Benin will be at the centre, to be assisted by compatriots Padonou Prosper (1st Assistant) and Fassinou Alexis (2nd Assistant). Nigerian FIFA referee Bunmi Ogunkolade will be the fourth official.

The Nigeria Football Federation reiterated on Tuesday that gates will be thrown open for the match.

Amadu said: “We want Nigerians to come out en masse to the National Stadium, Abuja and bond together, and also support the Super Eagles in this match against Angola.

It is an important game for our team as it prepares for the African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Rwanda next month”.

The Super Eagles will fly out to Monrovia on Friday for another international friendly match, this time against the Lone Star of Liberia, which will take place at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia on Sunday, 15th January.

Coach Jose Carlos Vidigal expects a tough game from the Super Eagles as his wards set into the final stages of preparation for the three-week, 16-nation African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, starting next week.

On his part, Nigeria’s Coach Stephen Keshi will have a good look at the boys he has been drilling at residential camping since last month, with a view to seeing which of them would be good enough to win shirts in the team to face Rwanda in a 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Kigali next month.

VVG

Monday, October 24, 2011

Muammar Al Ghaddafi Larger than life!!

Rather than having murdered him and his ideas, his death will be the seed that is planting the idea of direct participatory government and revolution into the hearts of a new generation of young Africans, Europeans, Asians, Americans, Australians. Ghadafi, his philosophy and thinking is being understood by millions who would never have known that it is possible to have a government by the people, for the people, and to their benefit. The death of Muammar Ghadafi will be the seed and inspiration for a new phase of the international struggle for liberty, equality and justice. His undoing may well prove to become the seed of the undoing of those who reside in the heart of darkness.

23.10.2011 | Christof Lehmann

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Republic of Angola Signs Agreement To Use Mine Detecting Dogs - Director Leonardo Severino Sapalo

LUANDA, Oct 13 - Angola's National Institute of Demining (INAD) has signed an agreement with two organisations from the United States and Europe to obtain technical assistance to introduce the use of mine detecting dogs in this country.
The accord was signed by INAD Director Leonardo Severino Sapalo, Perry Franklin, the chairman of Marshall Legacy Institute, a non-profit organisation from the US, and Nermin Hadzimujagic, director of the Mine Detection Dog Centre for Southeast Europe (MDDC), an institution of the Bosnia-Herzegovina government.
The main purpose of the accord is to provide INAD technical assistance for the development of skills of mine detection dogs.
Under the agreement, INAD will build 12 kennels for the Viana demining school here and secure training and accreditation for local trainers of mine detection dogs as part of efforts to speed up demining operations in Angola, one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, a legacy of its 27-year civil war which only ended in 2002.
The MDDC will supply two professional teams of dogs for detection of landmines to work in Angola for two months, under INAD's demining operations while the MLI will operate as programme co-ordinator and help INAD choose a programme manager in the country.
Franklin said the MLI had so far supplied 165 explosive detecting dogs to various countries of the world. The Marshall Legacy Institute is a non-profit organisation which provides resources and training as well as landmine detection dogs to affected countries.
The MDDC in Borci, near Konjic, was founded with help from the international community, and has been active since early 2003 as a response to the increasing needs for enhancement in demining methods in the Eastern Europe region. Its activities have recently spread to other parts of the world as well.

Via | Agency

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Republic of Angola: José Eduardo dos Santos Dismisses, Appoints Ambassadors

Luanda - Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos, Wednesday in Luanda dismissed 26 extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors serving until now in various countries.

According to a note from the Presidency's Press Office, the list is as follows: Manuel Pedro Pacavira (Italy);

Filipe Felisberto Monimambo (Zimbabwe); Apolinário Jorge Correia (Switzerland); Hermínio Joaquim Escórcio (Algeria); Ana Maria Teles Carreira (UK and Ireland); Lizeth Nawanga Satumbo Pena (Poland); António Fwaminy da Costa Fernandes (Índia); Isaías Jaime Vilinga (Greece); José Guerreiro Alves Primo (Ghana); Pedro Hendrick Vaal Neto (Egypt); António José Condesse de Carvalho (Cuba); Manuel Miguel da Costa Aragão (Argentina); José César Augusto (Cape Verde); João Manuel Bernardo (China); Leovigildo da Costa e Silva (Brazil); Brito António Sozinho (Guinea-Bissau); Domingos Culolo (Swden); João Garcia Bires (Mozambique); Luís José de Almeida (Morocco); Josefina Perpétua Pitra Diakité (USA) Arcanjo Maria do Nascimento (UN Geneva Office and International Organisations); Flávio Saraiva de Carvalho Fonseca (Singapore); Fidedigno Loy de Jesus Figueiredo (Viena-based International Organisations); João Vahekeny (Hungary); Alberto do Carmo Bento Ribeiro (Germany); Jaime Furtado (México).

On the other hand, the head of State appointed 31 extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors to several countries.

They are Manuel Miguel da Costa Aragão (Morocco); Isabel Mercedes da Silva Feijó (Greece); Alberto do Carmo Bento Ribeiro (USA); Josefina Perpétua Pitra Diakité (South Africa); Feliciano António dos Santos (Guinea Bissau); Apolínário Jorge Correia (UN Geneva Offices and International Organisations); Arcanjo Maria do Nascimento (African Union); Fidelino Loy de Jesus Figueiredo (Singapore); Maria de Jesus dos Reis Ferreira (Austria); Lizeth Nawanga Satumbo Pena (Hungary); Flávio Saraiva de Carvalho Fonseca (United Arab Emirates); Alberto Correia Neto (Germany); Agostinho Tavares da Silva Neto (Canada); Leovigildo da Costa e Silva (Mexico); Albino Malungo (South Korea); Josefina Guilhermina Coelho da Cruz (Cape Verde); Brito António Sozinho (Switzerland); João Garcia Bires (China), Nelson Manuel Cosme (Brazil); Balbina Malheiros Dias da Silva (Zâmbia); Ana Maria Teles Carreira (Ghana); Osvaldo dos Santos Varela (Switzerland); Isaías Jaime Vilinga (Mozambique); António Fwaminy da Costa Fernandes (Egypt); Hermínio Joaquim Escórcio (Argentina). Hendrick Vaal Neto (Zimbabwe); Domingos Culolo (Poland); Florêncio Mariano da Conceição de Almeida (Italy); Miguel Gaspar Fernandes (UK and Northern Ireland) and José César Augusto (Cuba).

Xyami | Agency | June 2011

Libya: UN humanitarian chief warns of impact of fighting on civilians in Sirte

10 October 2011 –

The United Nations humanitarian chief voiced extreme concern today about the impact on civilians of continued fighting in and around the Libyan city of Sirte between forces supporting the interim Government and those loyal to the ousted regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi.

Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a statement warning that supplies of drinking water, food and medicines are running low in Sirte, and there is no functioning electricity.

Thousands of people have fled Sirte, the hometown of Colonel Qadhafi, in recent days amid intense fighting in the city. It is one of the few remaining holdouts since the former government fell after months of conflict in the North African country.

“I call on all parties to spare civilians from the effects of hostilities, and to comply with international humanitarian law,” Ms. Amos said.

“The sick and injured must be allowed to seek and receive medical assistance, and both civilians and captured fighters must be treated with respect, regardless of their origin or political affiliation.”

Ms. Amos noted that while aid workers are bringing relief to those who have fled Sirte, heavy fighting prevents them from getting supplies to those still inside the city.

“Life-saving supplies have been pre-positioned in the surrounding areas for delivery as further humanitarian access is established.”

The Emergency Relief Coordinator’s remarks echo those of Georg Charpentier, the deputy head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), who last week took part in a humanitarian assessment mission that visited both the city of Misrata, which was besieged for weeks during the conflict, and the outskirts of Sirte.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Gaddafi pan-Africa dream tatters in Sirte; TNC: "Who cares about Africans?”

In the heart of the Mediterranean city of Sirte, the Ouagadougou conference centre lies in ruins, the showpiece of Muammar Gaddafi's pan-African dream smashed by Libya's new regime forces.
"Who cares about Africans? We have enough to do dealing with Arabs," shouted one of a group of National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters inside the fortress-like centre, built by Gaddafi to host African summits.
NTC forces on Sunday seized control of the conference centre, a key target since they launched a September 15 offensive on the fallen strongman's hometown.
Four weeks of shelling has largely destroyed the sprawling complex, which groups 10 rectangular buildings covering several acres (hectares) ringed by high iron gates. "No resident of Sirte was allowed to enter here. It was only for foreigners and members of the regime," said an NTC fighter.
The facade of the main building is pierced by shelling and windows are smashed, littering the white marble entrance of the main hall, where part of the metal ceiling has collapsed.
The interior of the landmark centre is in ruins. Benches are shredded by shrapnel, walls pockmarked, furniture is destroyed and the floors flooded with broken glass. Desks and cabinets block the emergency exits, which served as sniper posts for pro- Gaddafi diehards.
On the upper floor, NTC fighters busily searched the drawers in the administration offices as well as the completely empty fridges in the kitchens.
In the cafeteria next door, imitation Louis XVI dining chairs were still perfectly aligned with tables covered by the dust of the bombing.
The glass railing of an escalator has been left miraculously intact. Huge yellow sofas are lined up against the walls of the first floor, the apparent rest area for heads of states. Displayed on every wall, slogans highlight the fight against "colonialism" and the glories of "Arab-African unity."
Down the hall, the conference room where Gaddafi, the self-proclaimed "King of Kings of Africa," brought together his counterparts in the continent is almost burned down.
The circular room is plunged in darkness, amid the smell of burning plastic. "It's all money stolen from the Libyans," said an NTC fighter. "And for what? To satisfy the whims of a madman who forced us to live more than 40 years as slaves."
A meeting room with no windows has escaped almost intact, except for a thick layer of dust on its desks made of expensive wood and a flat-screen television, which caught the attention of fighters.
Outside the entrance, armed men waved the new flags of Libya and Iraq. After seizing the centre, fighters spread throughout the complex, tearing down portraits of the fugitive Gaddafi and the green flags of his fallen 42-year regime.
A day after taking a four-lane avenue into the centre, the NTC forces also seized Sirte's university and its new campus, a huge site where Gaddafi's snipers had been picking them off from unfinished buildings.
Bullets and shells later on Sunday hit the Ouagadougou centre again, but this time from Gaddafi loyalists to the north.  -AFP

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Libyans face heavy resistance in Gadhafi hometown, by CHRISTOPHER GILLETTE, Associated Press

SIRTE, Libya (AP) — With NATO warplanes circling overhead, revolutionary fighters battled block by block Saturday as snipers rained fire from rooftops in fierce street fighting in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown — the most important remaining bastion of support for the fugitive leader.

Intense sniper fire by Gaddafi's men defending his home city exacts a bloody price on NTC troops The battle for Sirte is crucial because Libya's new leaders have promised to declare liberation after it is captured even though fighting continues elsewhere and Gadhafi remains on the run. That will allow them to move forward with setting a timeline for elections and establishing normalcy in the oil-rich North African nation.

Revolutionary forces launched a major attack on Friday, pushing into the Mediterranean coastal city from the west, east and south after a three week siege from the outskirts in which they said they were giving civilians time to flee.

Gadhafi forces also remain entrenched in the central city of Bani Walid, but the transitional leaders say they will declare liberation without it because Sirte's fall will give them control over all seaports and harbors.

British Defense Secretary Liam Fox pledged to keep up NATO airstrikes even after Sirte's fall, saying the international military action would continue as long as the remnants of the regime pose a risk to the people of Libya.

"We have a message for those who are still fighting for Gadhafi that the game is over, you have been rejected by the people of Libya," he told reporters Saturday in Tripoli.

Anti-Gadhafi forces met strong resistance as they pushed to within less than half a mile (kilometer) from loyalist fighters dug in around Sirte's Ouagadougou convention center and Green Square in fierce street fighting in the heart of the city.

Libya's de facto leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the head of the governing National Transitional Council, said the battle has been "ferocious," with 15 revolutionary fighters killed and 180 wounded on Friday.

"Our fighters today are still dealing with the snipers positioned on the high buildings and we sustained heavy casualties," he said at a joint news conference in Tripoli with Fox and Italian Defense Secretary Ignazio La Russa.

Suleiman Ali, commander for revolutionary forces, said loyalist forces have been driven away from Ibn Sina Hospital where hundreds of civilians have sought refuge from the fighting.

A military spokesman in Tripoli, Abdel-Rahman Busin, said he expected the city to be declared free in the next 24 hours.

"They've pretty much taken the city and it's just a few pockets of resistance," he said, adding snipers were still posing a major threat.

NATO warplanes flew overhead but no strikes were immediately reported.

Abdul-Jalil called on the international community to help Libyans treat the wounded, saying they could deduct the cost from Libyan assets that were frozen under Gadhafi's regime.

Sirte, 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, is key to the physical unity of the nation of some 6 million people, since it lies roughly in the center of the coastal plain where most Libyans live, blocking the easiest routes between east and west.

The international community has rallied around Libya's efforts to move forward with forming a new government, with transitional leaders promising elections within eight months after liberation is declared.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Libya/War4Oil: Anti-Gaddafi Fighters Loot, Burn Homes In Sirte

ABU HADI, Libya -- After capturing this hamlet, a center for Moammar Gadhafi's tribe, revolutionary fighters have gone on a vengeance spree, looting and burning homes and making off with gold, furniture and even automobiles.

Anti-Gaddafi Fighters Loot, Burn Homes In Sirte Anti-Gaddafi Fighters Loot, Burn Homes In Sirte

Other fighters are trying to persuade them to stop and have sought to protect the tribesmen of the ousted leader. As a result, the rampage in Abu Hadi, a suburb of Gadhafi's home city of Sirte, has underscored a geographical split among the forces loyal to Libya's new interim government.

Most of those looting homes are unorganized, volunteer bands of gunmen from the city of Misrata, to the west, which was brutalized in a bloody siege by Gadhafi's forces during the nearly 7-month uprising against his rule. Trying to rein them in are revolutionaries from eastern Libya, which shook off Gadhafi's rule early and have since had time to organize their forces.

"The Misrata fighters came into the revolution with a sense of bitterness and anger," Breiga al-Maghrabi, an eastern fighter, said Wednesday. "They want revenge for what happened to them in Misrata."

"Look – it's Ali Baba," he told an Associated Press reporter as he cruised streets of Abu Hadi in his pickup truck. He pointed at a residential street where a number of revolutionaries walked out of a home with belongings in their arms. The looters loaded a white Chrysler on the back of a truck and drove away with it.

The capture of Abu Hadi earlier this week was a key step in the revolutionaries' weeks-long siege of Sirte, the most important of the pro-Gadhafi cities that are still holding out against Libya's new rulers. Abu Hadi lies to the south of Sirte, and with revolutionary fighters already on the eastern and western sides of the city – and the Mediterranean Sea lying on its northern side – that means Gadhafi loyalists inside Sirte are now trapped.

The loyalists in the city center have been putting up a powerful defense for three weeks now, and on Wednesday the two sides traded artillery, tank and mortar shelling. Still, a spokesman for the revolutionaries' Defense Ministry, Col. Ahmed Bani, vowed on Wednesday that its forces "will be able to completely dominate Sirte in the next few days."

Deputy Defense Minister Fawzy Abu Kataf said it would take two days of heavy shelling to uproot the remaining pro-Gadhafi fighters in the city. But he said revolutionary fighters were holding off on an all-out assault to allow residents to leave.

Abu Hadi, a center of the ousted leader's Gadhadhfa tribe 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Sirte, was a ghost town. Streets were littered with bullet casings, and black smoke billowed from four homes that had been set ablaze by fighters. Many of the homes laid out in rows in the residential complexes had been broken into, with wooden doors busted, stoves and refrigerators overturned, baby clothes and homework strewn all over the floors.

Fathi al-Shobash, an eastern revolutionary, said that when he tried to stop Misrata fighters from raiding homes, they would push him away and say this was their time to treat the Gadhadhfas the way they were treated by their leader. Gadhafi drew heavily on the Gadhadhfa and other loyalist tribes for his military and other key parts of his regime.

"I came to sincerely fight for freedom and my one goal is to rid Libya of Moammar Gadhafi," said al-Shobash. "Why take it out on innocent people from his tribe?"

The tensions between east and west have begun to percolate on a national level as the interim government – set up by easterners – tries to solidify its authority after the fall of Tripoli and Gadhafi's ouster in late August. Already, some in the west have rankled at what they see as attempts by easterners to dominate.

Eastern Libya was the first to rise up in February and set up a quasi-state with a de facto capital in Benghazi, the country's second largest city. That gave them more time to organize their forces, creating a command structure and a degree of discipline in the ranks.

In contrast, western cities faced heavier crackdowns by Gadhafi's forces that kept them divided. Misrata was battered by a siege that was repelled after weeks of bloody street fighting. Western cities have formed brigades of volunteer fighters that have been criticized for being disorganized and acting like armed gangs.

"We ask them, 'Who is your commander,' and they say 'We don't have one,'" al-Maghrabi said of the western revolutionaries at Abu Hadi. "Many are just armed and running around taking out their anger on the homes here."

The tensions erupted at a checkpoint at an Abu Hadi roundabout held by Benghazi fighters. Scuffles broke out when a Misrata fighter refused to take orders from the Benghazi revolutionary.

"You divided the country, admit it – you divided it," the Misrata man shouted at the Benghazi fighter as other revolutionaries tried to pull them apart.

One Misrata revolutionary, Abdullah Faisal, denied men from his city were behind the looting, insisting eastern fighters had let a "fifth column" slip in.

Col. Bashir Abu Thafeera, who commands a brigade of eastern fighters at Abu Hadi, said the Misratans' thirst for vengeance was understandable, given the brutality of the Gadhafi siege of their city.

"They suffered a lot at the beginning of this revolution, and this is also the reaction of 42 years of oppression under Gadhafi," Abu Thafeera told the AP. He said many of the homes that were burned were believed to belong to Gadhafi loyalists who participated in the Misrata siege.

Still, he warned that the same looting could erupt in Sirte itself when it falls. He said eastern fighters would try to move into Sirte more quickly to take control to prevent looting and vengeance attacks.

Most of Abu Hadi's residents fled last week during the fighting before its capture. Families packed up what they could and set up a tent camp several miles away. Abu Thafeera said his troops were trying to ensure their safety so they could return.

One resident, Saada Gheit, came to look in on her home and found it looted. "They took my gold, raided my closets. I don't know why they are taking out their anger on us," she told the AP.

The 47-year-old Gheit and 10 other families have taken refuge in another house nearby. Gheit on Wednesday cooked a meal in a giant cauldron over a bonfire in the courtyard as children ran around nearby. She said her family car was packed with blankets and clothing in case they need to flee again.

"All we can do is run from place to place," she said. "They don't like Moammar Gadhafi, but what was our crime?"

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI 10/ 5/11
04:31 PM ET
AP

Benghazi Oil-rich city of east bids for power in new Libya

Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi would risk fading back into obscurity after a six-month interlude as the seat of the revolutionary government were it not for one powerful asset: oil.

Benghazi residents are struggling to convert their wartime sacrifices into economic clout to restore the status of a city once deemed on a par with the capital, Tripoli, and rescue it from its relative obscurity in the Muammar Gaddafi era.

Under Gaddafi, Benghazi was at the mercy of Tripoli for its share of state funding, even though most of this is generated from nearby eastern oil fields. Libya’s economy is almost entirely reliant on oil and gas revenue.

Cradle of the anti-Gaddafi revolt, Benghazi had languished low on the deposed ruler’s list of spending priorities, which many see as punishment for a tradition of eastern resistance to his 42 years of one-man rule — and to Tripoli’s dominance.

“There’s a feeling of entitlement in Benghazi and they want rewards. They held the fort for six months and this came on the back of a period of repression,” said a Libyan oil industry source in the city where the interim National Transitional Council (NTC) set up its headquarters early in the revolt.

Youssef Mahmoud, an engineer at Jowef Oil, a subsidiary of the state National Oil Corporation (NOC), typifies the sort of grassroots resource regionalism that has the potential to shake up the North African country’s bedrock industry.

He heads a group of about 4,000 state oil workers called the Feb. 17 Oil Committee, and is lobbying Libya’s interim rulers for a “greater say in oil policy” that would be symbolised by moving NOC headquarters from Tripoli to Benghazi.

“Gaddafi took it (the NOC) to Tripoli because he wanted control. But where are the fields?” complained Mahmoud, jabbing his finger at a map of Libya, showing a large clump of black circles representing oil fields in the eastern Sirte Basin.

The east supplies more than 60 percent of oil exports and much of Libya’s untapped oil is thought to be in this region, including the virgin Kufra Basin near the Sudanese border.

Libya has Africa’s largest oil reserves.

Benghazi residents hope oil revenue, worth around $130 million a day at current Brent prices, can fuel an economic revival in the east, from cleaning up the streets to promoting new industries such as tourism.

“It’s not just oil, we have beautiful places,” said Ali, who works in a youth hostel in Benghazi.

Old postcards in hotel cabinets remind visitors of the city’s former charms. One shows the long, crescent-shaped Italian ‘Lungomare’, or seaside promenade, with its Doric columns and distinctive double-domed Catholic cathedral. Another pictures Juliana Beach full of happy, paddling children.

Today, seafront visitors encounter the near-ubiquitous smell of sewage and rusting carcasses of broken-down cars.

POINT OF NO RETURN

It may be hard for Libya’s new rulers to ignore Benghazi’s demands, given the role the city played in initiating the revolt against Gaddafi in February and spearheading a NATO-backed military campaign that has pushed his troops back to Sirte.

Eastern Libya’s many former revolutionary brigades will not want to see their region lose out in the post-Gaddafi era — although fighters from the Western Mountains and Misrata may be just as keen to turn their military exploits into political power.

Benghazi’s trump card, however, is oil.

“When armed local stakeholders, and perhaps militias, start saying this oil is on our territory, it becomes an emerging political risk,” said Henry Smith, Libya analyst at London-based consultancy Control Risks.

Besides the city’s well-documented political and military roles, the Benghazi-based Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco) played a vital role for Libya in selling oil and buying fuel when international sanctions had incapacitated the NOC.

This inverted the relationship between the parent company and its subsidiary, perhaps irreversibly.

A senior NOC source said plans were in place to wrest control back from Agoco by mid-October, but added that the relationship between the two firms would likely have to alter.

“There will be a struggle for power. The NOC wants to go back to its old role and Agoco is saying that it supported the revolution so it wants a bigger say,” he said.

“It wants a commercial basis. Agoco wants to get some profits from the operations.”

In an indication of the simmering tensions, a source within Agoco referred to the NOC as “Bab al-Aziziya for the oil sector” — the name of Gaddafi’s fortified compound in Tripoli.

OLD AND NEW RIVALRIES

Healing the historical east-west rifts, and new ones that have emerged during the revolution, will be a key test for interim rulers in the factionalised and heavily-armed country.

Cultural divisions between Tripoli and Benghazi pre-date Roman times when Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were separate provinces. Libya’s Senussi kings were from the east and Benghazi was seen as Tripoli’s equal before army officers led by Gaddafi toppled King Idris in 1969.

Months of conflict have reinforced a sense of distance between Tripoli and Benghazi, 1,000 km apart.

Poor telephone links mean Libyans must dial internationally between the two cities. Gaddafi forces are still holding out in the coastal city of Sirte, impeding traffic on the main east-west highway and forcing travellers to fly via a NATO air corridor in the Mediterranean or to go by ship.

Benghazi’s ambitions for economic power in the new Libya may sound aspirational, but some politicians may be listening.
All three foreign leaders who visited Libya last month — French, British and Turkish — chose to visit the city.

“(French President Nicolas) Sarkozy has given a message by coming to speak in Benghazi. He is saying that Benghazi should not be ignored,” said Nasser Ahdash, head of the National Forum, a political group which has helped organise marches to back demands that Benghazi should be Libya’s economic capital.

In another nod to the eastern city, NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil, from eastern Libya himself, has not yet moved to Tripoli from Benghazi. Initially, his foot-dragging was seen as linked to security concerns. Now it looks more political.

The NTC’s vice-chairman and spokesman, Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, said the move would not happen until Libya is fully “liberated” from Gaddafi and that the NTC would not abandon Benghazi.

“We will keep a base for the NTC. Benghazi is necessary.”

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Libya/War for oil: Life inside besieged Libyan city of Sirte is "unimaginable"

By Tim Gaynor

SIRTE | Tue Oct 4, 2011 2:36pm EDT

Oct 4 (Reuters) - Fleeing besieged Sirte, Ali Durgham couldn't stop the tears as he described how his father had been killed by a stray shell as he walked to the mosque with his brother.

"He died in my arms," Durgham said. "I buried him yesterday."

The young man's uncle is now in Sirte's Ibn Sina hospital -- but it, too, has been hit in the fighting, residents said.

"The hospital is being attacked with shells," Durgham said, echoing other people leaving the city. "It's filled with dirt. There's only three doctors who are working with patients."

Despite the shelling and a deeper push into the city by interim government forces ahead of what may be a final battle, he said he was determined to go back into Sirte on Wednesday to bring his uncle out.

The stories told by the people streaming out of Muammar Gaddafi's hometown, mostly recounted at checkpoints manned by anti-Gaddafi forces, provide a grim snapshot of life inside.

"It is unimaginable back there," Masoud Awidat, who had just driven out of the town in a car with a bullet-riddled windscreen and door, told Reuters.

"It gets worse every day. There's no food. There are fires, apartments are destroyed."

Terrified residents are sleeping in the streets and under stairs for fear that their roofs will fall in overnight.

People talked of two families whose cars had been hit by rocket propelled grenades as they tried to flee the city.

One man showed a piece of string holding up his trousers because he had not eaten for so long.

"These used to fit me," he said.

A Red Cross team who managed to deliver medical supplies to Sirte's hospital has reported that the city of about 100,000 people has no power. Civilians say many streets are flooded.

Sirte has been under attack for about three weeks, the target of a couple of all-out assaults and near-constant shelling by interim government forces and NATO air strikes.

"IT WILL BE LIKE GADDAFI SAID"

Pro-Gaddafi fighters inside are putting up fierce resistance and, NATO and some civilians say, forcibly recruiting locals to fight alongside them and preventing people from getting out.

"We reached the outskirts of the city but the militia stopped us from leaving," Awidat said of a previous attempt he made to leave. He managed to slip out on Tuesday morning.

"Where we live there are still families trapped," he said.

Sirte presents a conundrum for the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and for NATO, whose mandate in Libya is to protect of civilians.

The NTC must strike a balance between a prolonged fight that would delay their efforts to govern and a quicker but bloody victory that would worsen regional divisions and embarrass the fledgling government and its foreign backers.

Some civilians say pro-Gaddafi fighters are hiding in residential areas, raising fears of vicious street battles ahead.

"Sirte is not going to be like Tripoli," said NTC medic Mashallah Al-Zoy, referring to the relatively easy manner in which anti-Gaddafi fighters swept into the capital.

"It will be street-to-street, house-to-house, like (Gaddafi) said."

Some residents now cannot afford the scarce fuel they need to drive out to safety, the United Nations and aid groups say.

Residents said pasta and flour had become precious commodities.

NTC fighters, viewed with suspicion by many people leaving Sirte, have been handing out food and drinks at makeshift kiosks along the route.

"I haven't eaten bread in weeks," said Fathi al-Naji as he crammed a tuna sandwich into his mouth.

Some people leaving on Tuesday looked lost.

Three women and two men from Chad, who said they had lived in Sirte for years, wandered along a roadside not far from the town, with nine bewildered children but no belongings.

When asked how much longer he estimated food supplies in Sirte could last, one of the men answered: "what food?". (Additional reporting by Rania El Gamal in Sirte; Writing by Barry Malone; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Libya/Neo-colonization: New Libyan NTC regime torturing prisoners

A US human rights watchdog has called on Libya's new regime to stop its loyalists from rounding up suspected opposition forces and torturing and enslaving them.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Friday that militiamen loyal to the Nato-backed National Transitional Council have locked up thousands of people on suspicion of supporting former leader Muammar Gadaffi, including women and children - and none have been brought before a judge.

It said that some detainees reporting beatings and electric shocks had the scars to prove it.

HRW staff recently visited 20 detention camps in Tripoli and interviewed 53 inmates, including 37 Libyan citizens and 16 sub-Saharan Africans.

The investigators discovered that NTC-aligned gunmen had forced some dark-skinned Libyan people and migrants to do manual labour, including carrying heavy materials, cleaning and renovating buildings around Tripoli or on military bases.

Detainees who reported abuse said guards beat them, sometimes daily.

HRW did not to release the names of detainees and facilities for fear of reprisals against those interviewed.

A sub-Saharan African man identified only as Mohammed wept as he showed HRW investigators welts on his arms, back and neck from beatings by guards at a small detention camp.

And seven prisoners in two facilities, including women, said guards had subjected them to electric shocks.

HRW regional director Joe Stork said: "After all that Libyans suffered in Muammar Gadaffi's jails, it's disheartening that some of the new authorities are subjecting detainees to arbitrary arrest and beatings today.

"The NTC owes it to the people of Libya to show that they will institute the rule of law from the start."

The NTC is struggling to form a new government amid infighting over government posts and continued resistance to its rule in several towns.

  • Italian energy giant Eni has signed a deal to restart oil and natural gas plants under Italian management.

    The firm hopes to get natural gas, another mainstay of Libya's economy, flowing to Italy again through the Greenstream pipeline by October.

by Tom Mellen

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

White power - United States, Britain, France and NATO - Hands off Libya! And out of Africa!

The African Socialist International (ASI) condemns the present and historical barbaric assault on Libya, Africa from imperialist powers who are driven by the profit motive inherent in capitalism, pure and simple.

We condemn the United Nations (UN) as a tool of imperialism being used to ensure and protect neocolonialism in Africa.

 


U.S. bombs destroy home of Colonel Gaddafi, resulting in the deaths of his son and grandchildren

 

It was the United Nations that provided the legal and political cover for the attack on Libya.

It is NATO, under U.S. leadership that is formally carrying out the mission.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was formed during the era of colonial supremacy for the purpose of contending with the then-Soviet Union.

The fact that this North Atlantic treaty group has come together to attack Africa helps to expose the fact the the crisis of imperialism is generated in large part by the growing threat to colonial assets traditionally in the hands of white power.

The attack on Libya gives lie to the notion of sovereignty in Africa. Neocolonialism is the fundamental reality that defines the African state, even states attempting to exercise a modicum of independence like Libya.

Remember, neocolonialism is more than the attitude of the head of state or ministers of government.

It is an economic relationship that Kwame Nkrumah recognized as a necessary product of a divided Africa.

The attack on Libya reveals for all to see the vulnerability of any so-called independent African state to stand up alone to the military projections of the imperialist State, independent of the mobilized international African working class.

Libya is standing alone notwithstanding its financial contributions to various of the neocolonial heads of state whose favour Gaddafi courted in his efforts to unite the neocolonial club called the Africa Union (AU).

Not a single one of them has come to his aid although many of them are always available to carry out military missions in Africa to facilitate this or that imperialist foreign policy objective.

The ASI understands that the United Nations was created by white power imperialism and that it is incapable of serving the best interest of Africa and its people, no matter where on this earth we are located.

Our redemption and the peace we long for is only possible in a united and socialist Africa.

We reject UN Security Council seat/s for Nigeria or South Africa, or for the both of them.

These are neocolonial states which would only act in accordance with imperialist wishes and do the bidding of white power.

ASI Chairman, Omali Yeshitela, while addressing the Chinese and their collaboration with imperialism in his Political Report to the Fifth Congress of the African People’s Socialist Party, made this observation: “China also intends to transform its material conditions of existence, not through revolution to overthrow capitalism, but through joining imperialism at the trough.”

Indeed the black petty bourgeoisie leadership of Good Luck Jonathan in Nigeria, or Zuma and the African National Congress in South Africa, are begging to get to the blood-soaked imperialist trough, especially down in South Africa where ruthless anti-black war criminals are still being harboured, and who still have privilege.

The imperialists also hide behind the Arab league, a corrupted organisation of Arab neocolonial dictators who collaborate with the white settler colonial state of Israel.

This imperialist-led boot-licking organization has no legitimacy to decide when an African country should be attacked and its government replaced.

Libya’s stand against Israel must not go unnoticed. It is an important anti-imperialist, anti-zionist stance, as is the similar stand taken by Iran and Syria. The combined influence of Libya, Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. in the face of a weakened Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Algeria certainly is something that has loosened the metaphorical bowels of imperialism.

It is clear that the question of African unity is the most pressing question of our times.

It is a question that not only will determine the fate of Africa and African people worldwide, but it is a question that will determine whether a meaningful future is forthcoming, free of bosses and slaves, that when solved will chart the course for all of humanity.

If we want to stop all imperialists' bestial wars of aggressions, we must participate and accelerate the struggle for a socialist United States of Africa.

The African petty bourgeoisie and its African Union are of no use for Africa and African people.

Together with its counterpart, the Arab petty bourgeoisie and the Arab League cannot fight imperialism.

They are part and parcel of imperialism they have no interest in doing so. They are allies in an unequal partnership.

This aggression launched by US president Barack Hussein Obama under the pretext of saving civilians from Gadaffi’s army is packaged in a bundle of lies in the same way that US president George W Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair used to invade Iraq, then capture and lynch President Saddam Hussein.

They claimed Hussein was acquiring and developing weapons of mass destruction, which later were proved to be pure inventions of the US State Department and CIA.

Everyone already knows, however, that it is the US and its NATO allies that have all the weapons of mass destruction that constitute a threat to the world's existence.

One must pose the question: Why did the indebted and bankrupt British, French and US North American states attack Libya?

The answer: It is to prevent the shifting of power at the expense of Europe and North America.

The downfall of the AU, once championed by Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, will remain a powerless and treacherous organisation, because it is a Pan-Africanist vision that appeals to the heads of neocolonial states who are opposed to the emancipation and power of Africa and of the African workers.

The consolidation of the real shifting of the balance of power in favour of Africa and of the African world begins with the triumph of the African Internationalism of Omali Yeshitela, which is the development of the African Fundamentalism of Garvey, the Socialism of Nkrumah and the revolutionary work of Malcolm X, Patrice Lumumba and others; Yeshitelism recognises the necessity to organise into a single organisation of African workers and peasants from around the world to build the United States of Africa, which will end the power of white capitalists and their negro collaborators.

We cannot accept the French, British, US North Americans and others who continue to bamboozle us with lies about democracy and white people saving Africa.

Bourgeois elections anywhere are for the people with money. They are never the voice of the people, but the voice of people with money.

Most of us already know that Africans have no freedom in the west. A conference sponsored by the same UN in September 2001 in Durban, South Africa agreed that slavery and colonialism are crimes against Humanity. How can UN allow them to bomb Libya?

All charity money collected on behalf of Africans in Haiti is still in the hands of white NGO accounts for their own use.

In Libya, the rebels are already selling oil and setting up a central bank. A rebel movement setting up its own bank is a première in world history!

There are reports showing that Obama backed CIA covert actions against Libya before the bombing started.

British SAS were captured in Libya inn March and Western corporations made plans to sell Libyan oil just as they did for Iraq before the invasion occurred.

US president Obama has frozen $30 billion of Libyan funds earmarked for African Projects! And they are steadily bombing the people of Libya to save them.

And finally, our unity with Gadaffi’s government is not based on the inherent legitimacy of the government itself.

It is based on the fact that the imperialists are attempting to rescue themselves from a deep crisis where their political power is being threatened on every front with Libya.

In fact, the same thing is true with Syria.

We don’t validate the regimes.

We invalidate imperialism, although in the case of Libya, as we have said on more than one occasion, Gadaffi stands heads above most of the African cretins that pose as leaders and heads of state.

It is too late; Africans will never accept this invasion of our land. Reparations are still due us from the white world for hundreds of years of stolen black labour and African resources.

Death to Imperialism! Death to Neocolonialism!

Build the African Socialist international, the tool for a genuine unity of Africa and African people world wide.

Statement from African Socialist International, uhuruasi@aol.com, April 26, 2011, London, 07862294364, www.asiuhuru.org

African Socialist International

Sirte civilians accuse NATO of genocide: "They have hit all kinds of buildings: schools, hospitals"

CIVILIANS pouring out of the besieged city of Sirte accused NATO of committing genocide yesterday as revolutionary forces reinforced their numbers and prepared for a new attack on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's home town.

Long lines of civilian vehicles were seen leaving after a night punctuated by NATO air attacks. Forces fighting for the National Transitional Council (NTC) added their own artillery and mortar rounds at regular intervals.

Civilians, many looking scared or sullen, said that conditions inside Sirte were "disastrous". They made claims which, if verified, offer a conundrum for Nato, which operates with a UN mandate on the need to protect civilian life.

"It has been worse than awful," said Riab Safran, 28, as his car was searched by revolutionary fighters. His family had been sleeping on the beach, he said.

"They have hit all kinds of buildings: schools, hospitals," he said, referring to NATO airstrikes.

He said he could not distinguish between NATO and NTC attacks but believed it was a NATO bomb that destroyed part of his home on Saturday. NATO said it hit a number of military targets including a rocket launcher, artillery, and three ammunition stores.

Another resident said: "NATO bombing is killing civilians. Where is the United Nations? Where is the Muslim world to stop this genocide of the people of Sirte?"

The man, who gave his name as Mohammed Ali Alum Sekily, said six members of his family had been killed, but declined to give details. An eight-day-old baby brought out in one car was born on the beach, the family said.

Some of those interviewed by The Times said that Gaddafi loyalists were forcing residents to stay in the city. Others said that residents were frightened of revolutionary fighters who were rumoured to be abducting women from cars trying to leave Sirte.

NTC fighters denied the charges. I saw them offering food and water to those queueing to leave.

Residents said that power and water had run out and petrol was 400 Libyan dinars ($A330) a gallon. The water shortage has produced an epidemic of diseases, according to medical staff at a clinic in the town of Harawa, 35km east of Sirte. However, Gaddafi loyalists appeared to have plentiful stores of pasta, oil, flour and ammunition, residents said. Loyalists used an open radio channel to taunt NTC fighters, insisting that the city would never be taken.

The NTC forces checked the identity papers of those leaving against lists of known Gaddafi security personnel and senior former government figures, and they detained a number of men.

Following their unsuccessful assault on Saturday, one commander said that the NTC leadership thought that the attack was badly co-ordinated.

"We don't want to lose people, we don't want another Saturday, this was a mistake," said Omran Al Awaib from the Tiger Brigade.

The attacking forces lost eight dead and 153 wounded as they tried to move up the main road into the city. But the hard-won gains were abandoned the same evening as NTC troops retreated, leaving a barricade of sand-filled shipping containers. It has now been dismantled by Gaddafi forces.

There was almost no fighting yesterday except for long-range artillery and mortars. NTC forces were finally able to link up with reinforcements pushing towards the city from Benghazi, completing their encirclement of Sirte.

An NTC commander said that a new offensive would begin in the coming days.

THE TIMES

  • Tom Coghlan
  • From:The Times
  • September 27, 2011 1:27PM

  • Monday, September 26, 2011

    "Gaddafi's billions" Where is money of Libyans? | Sarkozy | Obama | Cameron

    Central Bank of Libya, the rebels captured the Transitional National Council, announced the sale of 29 tons of gold. The bank undertook these measures to "provide citizens with wages." The new head of the Central Bank Ghassem Azzoz also poined out that the bank's assets were fully preserved during the war, nothing has been stolen! Nothing! And nothing has been removed!


    It is striking that as it turned out, "the corrupt tyrant" (as the "revolutionaries" had to admit, and this is worth a lot) was not tempted even by a gram of gold owned by the people. Not a gram!

    However, knowing about the Colonel what we, friends of Libya, learned about him over the past six months, there's nothing strange about it. Another thing is surprising. So let's talk about it.

    About a week ago, the so-called self-styled "friends of Libya" met in Paris to decide that once the capital of Libya Tripoli had been seized - it is a separate story by whom! - the Libyan people's money can be "unfreeze" and passed to the "democrats." Who are the "democrats" and why for the sake of "democracy" they had to kill thousands of Libyans - is also a separate story!

    In brief, in Paris they began to count and...

    When calculations were done, it turned out that on the frozen Libyan accounts there were only 15 billion. Out of the 89 or 130 ...

    Stop, the West mentioned also 170 billion! And claimed that the "tyrant" ( "what a bastard!" screamed all the politicians and everybody in the West, just to defame the lion of the desert! ) stole the money from the Libyan people!

    Western politics and Margelov who joined them started feeling uncomfortable, they had a talk behind closed doors and solemnly announced that they found other ten billion. 25 altogether! Out of 170 billion, frozen in March!

    Western politics and Margelov who joined them started feeling uncomfortable, they had a talk behind closed doors and solemnly announced that they found other ten billion. 25 altogether! Out of 170 billion, frozen in March!

    Moreover, even this amount was delivered to the "new" authorities of Libya not in the currency (the accounts were in dollars, euro, pounds and, in theory, were supposed to be returned in cash ) but they came in boxes with newly printed Libyan dinars. From London - as much as 40 tons!


    Read more: I can not be silent! I can stop to cry! [libyasos]

    Thursday, September 15, 2011

    Libya/Warcrimes: Appel Urgent - abus des rebelles/Otan non relaté

    Publié le 14 septembre 2011 par Investig'Action - Michel COLLON
    Ce qui suit vient d'un e-mail (vérifié), que j'ai envoyé hier à quelqu'un d'Amnesty International. Aujourd'hui, je n'ai pas pu l'envoyer à quelqu'un d'autre, mais j'ai l'intention de le faire bientôt. En attendant, je vais le poster ici sur mon blog, en demandant à toute personne se sentant concernée d'aider à le transmettre. Au moins, nous pouvons être assez sûrs de qui est responsable du massacre survenu à l'hôpital d'Abou Salim. Bien sûr, nous ne pourrons jamais être certains à 100%, le problème étant causé par des gens actuellement hors de contrôle et sourds aux faibles plaidoyers pour le « respect des droits humains ». Ces plaidoyers sont exprimés par les deux parties, mais celle ici en cause semble les ignorer. Les Libyens en payent apparemment le prix.

    Libya-nato-rebels-warcrimes-Appel Urgent-abus des rebelles non relaté Appel Urgent: abus des rebelles/OTAN non relaté

    J'écris pour vous avertir de certaines choses que j'ai constatées à propos de la découverte sinistre et traumatisante faite récemment à l'hôpital d'Abou Salim à Tripoli. On a beaucoup écrit sur ce lieu depuis le 26 août, avec ses salles abandonnées et peut-être des centaines de corps en décomposition. Mais je crains que les circonstances aient été mal comprises ; en effet, les journalistes ont tendance à quitter les lieux perplexes, sans avoir remarqué quelques-uns des indices les plus importants. J'ai compilé mes recherches sur les médias disponibles publiquement ici : Les massacres de Tripoli. Le drame de l'hôpital d'Abu Salim...
    Voici ci-dessous les indices les plus clairs relevés par un couple de journalistes qui les a remarqués, et que nous remercions.
    « L'hôpital de Tripoli transformé en "morgue de masse" », Janis Mackey Frayer, "Tripoli hospital turned into 'mass morgue'" Janis Mackey Frayer, CTV News. Sat. Aug. 27 2011 :
    On ne sait pas comment les hommes, femmes et enfants sont morts. Les corps que nous avons vus étaient ceux de loyalistes kadhafistes qui ont été blessés dans la bataille. Une affiche de Mouammar Kadhafi présidait une salle pleine de sang, d'eau et des asticots.
    Au moins deux hommes ont été abattus dans leur lit. Ils étaient au deuxième étage recouvert de couvertures. Comme les civières avaient été poussées plus loin, on pouvait voir où les balles avaient traversé les oreillers. Le sang sur le mur indiquait qu'il s'agissait d'une exécution. L'un des corps avait une carte militaire libyenne l'identifiant comme un membre des forces spéciales.
    Personne ne peut dire si c'ce sont des kadhafistes ou des tireurs rebelles qui les ont exécutés. J'ai demandé à un médecin de me dire depuis combien de temps, à son avis, les deux hommes étaient morts. Il a estimé que le décès remontait à deux ou trois jours, puis a secoué la tête et a marché le long du couloir strié de sang.
    Outre les patients, du personnel peut avoir été abattu. Cette photo par Youssef Boudlal devrait être présentée à un expert en médecine légale, mais je pense que cela montre les traces de 3 à 6 exécutions par balle dans ce tronçon de couloir :
    Les forces rebelles ont déclaré que le personnel s'était tout simplement « enfui », mais j'ai l'impression qu'il a été exécuté pour que les rebelles puissent se servir des lieux comme d'une sorte de morgue. La couleur de peau des morts est un autre indice : tous ou presque ont la peau noire, selon les journalistes et les photographies. Une autre photo de François Mori montre qu'une des victimes au moins a été décapitée, apparemment dans ce lit (à droite du centre) :
    Certains éléments au sein des forces rebelles sont connus pour avoir tué des hommes noirs en particulier et pour avoir coupé des têtes. Je ne peux pas voir là-dedans l'œuvre d'un régime en fuite, faisant tuer ses propres partisans par des snipers, procédant à des exécutions sommaires, ou chassant les médecins pour que les patients meurent faute de soins.
    Que peut-on et que doit-on faire à propos des abus possibles commis par les forces du nouveau gouvernement ? Je ne sais pas. Pour ma part, je retroune à mes anciens blogs. J'espère que vous pourrez aider à déclencher l'alarme à propos de cette preuve qui suggère fortement de quoi les gens de Tripoli sont l'objet en l'absence de protection de l'ancien gouvernement.
    Lien de l'article : http://www.michelcollon.info/Appel-Urgent-abus-des-rebelles-non.html

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