Gaddafi ready for transition talks…..about six months too late

The BBC is reporting that Gaddafi is ready to begin talks to transfer power. His spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, reportedly said the toppled leader's son Saadi would lead the talks. The rebels say they will not negotiate until he surrenders.

It was the the Associated Press news agency in New York that had received a call from Col Gaddafi's spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who said the former leader was still in Libya although he did not specify where.

Mr Ibrahim, whom AP says it identified by his voice, said Col Gaddafi was offering to negotiate with the rebels to form a transitional government.

Those negotations would be led by Col Gaddafi's son, Saadi, said Mr Ibrahim, who told AP he was still in Tripoli and had seen the former leader on Friday.

Early this week, CNN reported it had been in email contact with Saadi Gaddafi who confirmed his desire to negotiate a ceasefire.
"I will try to save my city Tripoli and 2 millions of people living there... otherwise Tripoli will be lost forever like Somalia," he wrote.

Without a cease-fire, Mr Gaddafi added, "Soon it will be a sea of blood."

An official in the rebel's National Transitional Council (NTC) told Reuters news agency that they did not know where Col Gaddafi was and no negotiations were taking place with him.

"If he wants to surrender, then we will negotiate and we will capture him," said Ali Tarhouni, the rebel official in charge of oil and financial matters.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague described Colonel Gaddafi's offer as "delusional", saying the NTC is already in charge of the country.

By sounds of it Gaddafi seems to believe that he is in control. I wonder if he is currently in a Fuhrer bunkers surrounded by sucophants and still believing that there is the ghost of a chance that he can negotiate his way out of arrest and prison, perhaps even a date with the hangman (not that I would want to see the last happen). That or he is trying to buy time to effect some sort of escape to a friendlier country.

Whattever the reason it is far too late for negotiations. For better or worse (and I hope the NTC do not prove to be worse) he is history.

Moomar and Condi sitting in a tree

Perhaps the strangest thing to come out of the Libyan revolution so far is the discovery of a photo album belonging to Muammar Gh
Ghaddafi’s in his fortified compound this week.

From MSNBC

The subject of the photo album was Hilary Clinton's predecesor as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Ghaddafi once described her as a “darling black African woman.”

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland described the US Government's response to this discovery as "Eeeewww this is creepy!"

Rice and Ghaddaffi met in 2008 when Libya was seeking to improve relations with the U.S. Ghaddafi was said to be very excited.

Ghaddafi had been an ardent fan of Rice even before their face-to-face encounter. In a 2007 interview with al Jazeera he described her as his “darling black African woman.” He referred to her as Leezza and said “I love her very much.”

Mercifully Ghaddafi is not believed to have suggested anything of a hanky or even panky nature at their meeting and none of the photos of Ms Rice are even remotely erotic.

It is believed, however, that Ghaddafi's ipod includes the following song

Futile defiance!

Guardian live reporting  now reports that two more of Gaddafi's sons, Al-Saadi and Muhammad, are in rebel hands.

BBC reports that an audio message said to be from Col Gaddafi is being broadcast on state TV.

He has called for Libyans to "save Tripoli"

I think that is what the rebels are doing!

Ghaddafi's son captured

BBC and Guardian live coverage both report that Ghaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, has been captured

Once again we will know whether this is true or not soon

Libya's Comical Ali?

The BBC's live reporting carries a quote from Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim who has appeared on state TV, telling viewers: "Our country will be safe, in peace and in tranquillity soon.. These are the moments of the last battle in which we will be victorious God willing and the remnants of these gangs which are acting under Nato's orders will be destroyed."

Ah well that's alright then: Viva Ghaddafi... Pah!

The end surely in sight now for Ghaddafi

The Telegraph live coverage is citing reports from  Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera that  ghaddafi's presidential guard has surrendered to rebels.

We will  for sure if this is true soon

Rebels close in further on Tripoli

According to both the Guardian's and the Telegraph's live coverage of events in Libya  the  Libyan rebels are now only seven kilometres away from the centre of Tripoli and are meeting no resistance. Civilians from the capital are pouring out of their homes to welcome the convoy.

When regimes topple they topple fast so it seems

Endgame in Libya?

Recent reports of senior regime henchmen deserting, the near encirclement of Tripoli and the start of uprisings in the city surely point to a swift end to Ghaddafi's end as Libyan dictator.


It's been a long time coming. Like many I had hoped that the rebels would have swept him aside sooner. But that was not to be.

But Ghaddafi's downfall is just the end of the beginning. It is unlikely that the fighting will not continue in the form of an insurgency form regime friendlier areas.

A bigger problem will be uniting the country.  I hope that the National Resistance Council is up to what will be a massive job.

As ever there far better commentators on world events than I cold ever be

Libyan air strikes start

French, RAF and USAF aircraft have been in action over Libya. Canadian, Spanish Danish, Norwgian, Qatari and UAE aircraft are to follow suit. The indications are that they are having some effect but time will tell. Hopefully they will have a major effect on Ghaddafi's ability to wreak slaughter on the rebels. Libyan media sources have reported dozens of civilian deaths - how true these reports is anyone's guess at the moment.

I support the strikes for the following reasons:

• Although weeks too late they should help ensure that the Libyan uprising is not crushed. To have stood aside and done nothing would have seen Ghaddafi wreak an appalling vengeance on the rebels.
• By stepping in and helping to stop a Ghaddafi victory should prevent a protracted insurgency by rebels disillusioned by the West. This would have been a gift to hardline Islamists.
• The attacks should provide cover for the the rebels, at the very least, to  regain towns lost to forces loyal to Ghaddafi over the last couple of weeks,
• Hopefully thought the strikes will assist in regime change

It is not that I do not have reservations about the strikes:

• Not so very long ago the countries that are now leading leading the strikes  were engaging in a "rapprochement" with the very person they are now seeking  to remove
• Little regard is being given to protests elsewhere in the Arab world and nothing is being done to stem the murder of protestors, particularly in Yemen and Bahrain.
• No action would have been taken had there not have been huge commercial interests in Libya.  

 Let's see what happens

Well the UN has finally passed a resolution permitting the establishment of a no fly zone over Libya, The US, France, Canada and the UK will participate. Several other nations are likely to follow suit.

Ghaddafi appears to have responded by calling a cease fire (kind of, sort of but not in the western town of Misrata where the regime has continued with shelling attacks). Who knows how long it will lasr

I can't help but feel that if this resolution should have been enacted weeks ago, It might have prevented a lot of death and destruction (assuming, of course, that Ghaddafi had reacted then with a cease fire and stuck to it).

Better late than never I suppose... Just so long as the no-fly enforcers don't contrive to screw things up by bombing the rebels

Let’s follow France’s lead

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has taken a bold step and is to recognise the Libyan opposition's Interim Governing Council based in the eastern city of Benghazi. France is the first country to do so.

While it is right and proper that the West does not send troops into Libya – that could damage the rebel cause, even though it now seems that Ghaddafi and his minions are slowly regaining ground – there is a lot more that can be done.

Sanctions are fine and well but the rebels require far more international support. Recognising the interim council in Behghazi is a first step. Rapid provision of humanitarian aid is of course a given. The way things are going I am sure the rebels would greatly appreciate as many portable anti tank and anti aircraft missile systems as can be spared. And as a matter of urgency too!

Hopefully there will be no more prevarication and a no-fly zone over Libya will be put into place as soon as possible

Thanks to H for drawing my attention to this

So much for Chavez’s attempt to prop up his buddy

An attempt by Hugo Chavez to broker a peace deal between Ghaddafi and the Libyan rebels has failed. Unsorprisingly leader of the rebels have rejected any such approach out of hand.

"No one has told us a thing about it and we are not interested anyway," said the spokesman of the national committee in Benghazi, Abdul Hafif Goga. "We will never negotiate with him."

"Talk of peace is far too late," said a second member of the organising committee, Salwa Bogheiga. "A lot of people have died and there is no one to negotiate with. They lost that right when they started killing people on 17 February."

The rebel committee in Benghazi and the military leadership that jointly run the eastern side of the country insist that they are now too committed to consider any sort of ceasefire. They say that Gaddafi would use it to re-organise his loyalist troops for a major assault on rebel-held cities.

In Chavez’s mind he surely thinks he is doing something constructive. After all he is trying to help out an old friend and ally in the struggle to provide the best rhetoric against the USA.

As the rebel leaders say themselves it is far too late for talks – that time ended when Ghaddafi’s men opened fire. If Chavez is negotiating Ghaddafi’s departure, then fine I suppose. Negotiating anything more to Ghaddafi’s advantage can be forgotten.

Signs of protest - Libya

From Buzzfeed's display of Libyan protest signs. These are from within Libya. Unsurprisingly the mood is more sombre than those produced by expatriates. I would be interested to see what the sign with Homer's brain says...

Signs of protest - Expatriates

Buzzfeed has a selection of Libyan protest signs both from within Libya and from expatriates around the world. Here are some from the US and UK expatriates. It is good to see Beavis return on the side of the Libyan protestors....

Ghaddafi still has his friends...

More Libyan diplomats resign, a major airbase goes over to the rebels; Ghaddafi's minions still kill protestors and his son Saif has pledged that the family will die in Libya (probably sooner than he thinks).

It may be more than cold comfort that he still has friends across the world... well in and around the Caribbean anyway.


Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has given his support; Fidel Castro spins the violence as a golden opportunity for US/NATO intervention.

And now, unsurprisingly Venezuela has gotten in on the action:

Earlier today Chavez tweeted the following message "Long live Libya and its independence! Ghaddafi faces a civil war!" Make of that what you will.

However, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro addressed the Venezuelan National Assembly saying that while the country "repudiates the violence" in Libya, the conflict merits "objective" study (wtf????) . "Conditions are being created to justify an invasion of Libya, and the central objective of that invasion ... is to take away Libya's oil,"

Is Chavez showing his usual level of gross stupidity when it comes to foreign affairs? I freely admit that I loathe the man but it seems that he is up to his usual tricks.

It would be wrong to post photos of Castro, Ortega and Chavez cosying up to Ghaddafi without posting a few others, however...




(to damn them all with faint praise) none of the above are singing his praises now!

Here's to a day very soon when the graffiti seen here will be repeated across all of the country

Libyans used to be afraid. But...,

after they saw the blood they aren't afraid anymore, they are angry. (To use a quote from a Guardian article)

- Protests have spread like wildfire out of Benghazi and other western towns to the doorsteps of the regime;

-the Libyan military murders the protestors by the score and yet the protests continue

- Diplomats are defecting and fighter pilots are seeking asylum rather than bomb or strafe protestors.

- Various tribes

Papers are even carrying rumours that Ghaddafi has upped sticks and has fled to Venezuela.

The last item sounds like a rumour (But oh if it were true!). Ghaddafi's son has appeared o tv denying airstikes on protestors (they were hitting ammo dumps, honest guv!).

There are reports that Ghaddafi will appear shortly on Libyan tv. However defiant he may be it now looks clear that his 42 year hold on Libya is close to its end. He is staring into the abyss...

Just one more push and he tumbles into the abyss...

Slaughter in Libya

The numbers vary from news source to news source but it seems certain that the number of people murdered by Libyan security forces is over 100.

According to the Independent, Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimates the death toll at 104 people have been killed since the start of protests in Libya. It believes, however, that this is a conservative estimate.

The crackdown prompted about 50 Libyan Muslim religious leaders to issue an appeal, sent to Reuters, for the security forces, as Muslims, to stop the killing:

"This is an urgent appeal from religious scholars, intellectuals, and clan elders from Tripoli, Bani Walid, Zintan, Jadu, Msalata, Misrata, Zawiah, and other towns and villages of the western area," said the appeal. We appeal to every Muslim, within the regime or assisting it in any way, to recognize that the killing of innocent human beings is forbidden by our Creator and by His beloved Prophet of Compassion (peace be upon him)...Do NOT kill your brothers and sisters. STOP the massacre NOW!"

Libya's state news agency unsurprisingly has accused outside agencies for fomenting discontent” "a foreign network trained on how to create clashes and chaos so as to destabilise Libya."

Witness accounts have been hard to verify independently because Libyan authorities have not allowed foreign journalists into the country since the protests erupted and local reporters have been barred from travelling to Benghazi. Mobile phone connections have often been out of service and Internet service in Libya has been cut off. However, People in Tripoli said they had Internet access late on Saturday.

A Benghazi resident said security forces were confined to a compound from which snipers were firing at protesters. "Right now, the only military presence in Benghazi is confined to the Command Centre Complex in the city. The rest of the city is liberated," he said late on Saturday.

Whether this is true or not remains to be seen

The Telegraph’s reports are even starker, although one cannot be sure how much is rumour and how much is fact.

According to the Telegraph Gaddafi has made use of foreign mercenaries tanks and helicopter gunships to put down demonstrations. It states that fighting has also broken out in the cities of Al-Bayda, Ajdabiya, Zawiya, and Darnah (These seem mainly to be in the Eastern part of the country, close to Benghazi),
.
Protestors in Ajdabiya even claimed that it was now a "a Free City" after the HQ of Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committee was burned down on Friday, along with 14 other buildings.

Whether much of this is also true remains to be seen

One thing that is certain – Gaddafi is in some trouble and is being utterly brutal in crushing dissent (even by the standards of the region).

Will he fall? I certainly hope so but I have no idea how easily hope can turn to reality.