Middle East Revolutions: Current Bahrain protests getting violent

**Obev** · 2011-02-21 19:04

Originally Posted by Kuya

I'm only seeing El Pais report on planes being used to bomb protestors in Lybia, but i see nothing specific on BBC or AJE.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...ame=wtMostRead

It's buried inside other stories on AJE and the BBC.

**Kuya** · 2011-02-21 19:05

I talked with someone else about this, but you would think a story like that would be on every sites top news page, but it isn't. I am thinking that the information is not fully confirmed yet.

**Obev** · 2011-02-21 19:17

Well, yeah, it's all "they claim" this and "Maltese interrogation" that at the moment.

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2011-02-21 19:28

Tonight'a MSNBC Nightly News videos on Libya/middle east
Libya on the brink - http://on.msnbc.com/hJ5fhK

Wave of protests continues to spread - http://on.msnbc.com/dGpV8a

Gadhafi losing iron grip on Libya? - http://on.msnbc.com/gWR25B

Update: Libyan media still saying he will appear on TV.

@ Kuya Its front page for msnbc africa or it was. It was even a feature in Andrea Mitchell reports on MSNBC.

Spoiler: show

**Cantih** · 2011-02-21 20:45

Not news, but something a bit more lighthearted to the situation.

"The most popular song in Bahrain within the past hour or so according to Last.fm is Fates Warning's 'The Ivory Gate of Dreams pt. 3,' a heavy metal song that appears quite indicative of the mood in that country."

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/21...oad-analy.html

**Correction** · 2011-02-21 20:52

the AJE liveblog always gets the choicest photos

**Mugekuge** · 2011-02-21 21:23

Originally Posted by Firas

whoa there; i dont agree with saudi arabia falling...fall in the hands of who? we still need to find out if this was a good step towards the region.

yes, people overthrew the current regime, but whats coming is still unknown. and personally, in this i would side with the people who are saying: this is a very tough period for the muslims, and how this is being taken forward is not an appropriate solution. more problems will occur.
yes definitely, those tyrant regimes are wrong, and they are the cause of all this revolt...but still this is not a solution.
thats just my opinion.

Originally Posted by Zealot

People welcomed a military takeover of the government in Egypt because the popular sentiment was that they could trust the army to stand by the citizenry and make their demands a reality. It doesn't seem like that's going to be the case in Libya, which makes me wonder what will happen if Khadafi falls.

I agree with all of this, shit is going in a very unknown direction of what can happen in that region, besides no idea what Israel is going to do with the new governments, which makes me wonder if someone has links to what Israel government think.

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2011-02-21 22:33

A CNN Anchor made it into Libya and he is reporting. Ben Wedeman.
http://twitter.com/#!/BenCNN

Originally Posted by Correction

the AJE liveblog always gets the choicest photos

Very creative lol, there is one artist who does some pretty hardcore political satire toons on twitpic too, that looks like his work. http://twitpic.com/photos/CarlosLatuff

@Cantih I try to think of the SNL/Wikileaks expose on Gaddafi and his nurse-stitute when I need a laugh.

I have seen so many spellings of his name that I don't know which to use.

**Faris** · 2011-02-22 02:08

on a side story::
21-Feb-2011
http://www.sarayacdn.com/P5Lc6Kaq/09...5869c4f65a.jpg

Students in a school in Sarayaa, Jordan overthrew the dean and the boyscouts are in control now.

This was due to poor facilities in the school and lack of care for the students and their academic progress. (brief statement on the reason)

seriously, this is getting out of control; i keep saying too much freedom is dangerous.

**Cadsuane** · 2011-02-22 02:32

Originally Posted by Firas

seriously, this is getting out of control; i keep saying too much freedom is dangerous.

Yes that is a perfectly rational and obvious conclusion to come to under those circumstances

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2011-02-22 02:34

State Department Briefing on Situation in Middle East
http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN/

Trying to get translations of the hour long speech but analysis is : crazy fucker is going to commit genocide.

Using the term 'cleanse' in reference to retaliation for civil disobedience is very bad. I hope some one helps the people get out of his reach.

NBC's Engel: Protesters control eastern Libya [spoilered for size]

Spoiler: show

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news...-eastern-libya

NBC's Engel: Protesters control eastern Libya

Unable to communicate by phone after crossing from Egypt into Libya on Tuesday, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel reported via text messaging and Twitter that he encountered only protesters and military defectors in the eastern region of the war-torn country.

Days after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s security forces unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of any Arab country against the current wave of protests sweeping the region, Engel said the opposition was in control along the country’s eastern border.

“No army presence in border area,” he wrote, noting it was now in “protesters’ hands.”

Later, he reported from Tubruk that the city had “fallen" and the army forces were with the people. “All soldiers tell us they are with the people. … Army switched sides in this area.”

“Soldiers tell us they refuse to fire on own people..'our army like Egypt. Won't kill its people,'” he said.

He witnessed people cheering “Libyans unite,” saw a partly-burned army base near the border and signs on the road calling for tribes to stay united. He was told by a gunman: “I’ll say this openly … we must go on to topple the regime.”

Tribal members told Engel that some soldiers had resisted joining them, while others had turned in their weapons. He reported seeing some former soldiers alongside “sons of revolt” and encountered several informal checkpoints – organized by tribes – that were manned by men with hunting rifles and clubs.

rifles and clubs.

Engel also reported that some Libyan demonstrators said they had "captured a group of mercenaries...including at least one from Niger."

The streets of eastern Libya were calm, Engel wrote, though people complained of shortages of rice, flour, sugar and oil. Graffiti on one wall read: “Down Gadhafi.”

In a reminder of the protests sweeping the region and which toppled the government to Libya’s east, Engel noted thousands of Egyptians crossing the Libyan border to head home.

Engel and his crew were unable to establish a voice connection with a satellite phone, but he was able to text messages to NBC’s London bureau, where a producer was publishing them via Twitter.

Follow Richard Engel on Twitter. http://twitter.com/richardengelnbc

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41713482...deastn_africa/
Gadhafi vows to die as a martyr in Libya
U.S. officials confirm an area in the east of the country has 'fallen' to the protesters

Gadhafi spoke as U.S. officials confirmed reports by NBC News' Richard Engel, who has managed to enter the country from Egypt, that part of the east of Libya has "fallen" to the protesters and was no longer controlled by the central government.

Ben CNN his blog about how it was when he crossed over the border from Egypt into Libya.
So far he is the only Journalist as far as I know.

Spoilered for length
In eastern Libya, citizens buoyant and cautious as they await Gadhafi's move - This Just In - CNN.com Blogs
CNN's Ben Wedeman is reporting from eastern Libya, part of which no longer appeared to be in Moammar Gadhafi's control.

Spoiler: show

February 21st, 2011
11:49 PM ET

Editor's note: CNN's Ben Wedeman reports from eastern Libya after crossing into that country from Egypt. He is the first Western television correspondent to enter and report from Libya during the current crisis.

"Your passports please," said the young man in civilian clothing toting an AK-47 at the Libyan border.

"For what?" responded our driver, Saleh, a burly, bearded man who had picked us up just moments before. "There is no government. What is the point?" He pulled away with a dismissive laugh.

On the Libyan side, there were no officials, no passport control, no customs.

I've seen this before. In Afghanistan after the route of the Taliban, in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Government authority suddenly evaporates. It's exhilarating on one level; its whiff of chaos disconcerting on another.

The scene on the Libyan side of the border was jarring. Men - and teenage boys - with clubs, pistols and machine guns were trying to establish a modicum of order.

Hundreds of Egyptian workers were trying to get out, their meager possessions - bags, blankets, odds and ends - piled high on top of minibuses.

Egyptian border officials told us that 15,000 people had crossed from Libya on Monday alone.

"Welcome to free Libya," said one of the armed young men now controlling the border.

"Free Libya" was surprisingly normal, once we got out of the border area. We stopped for petrol - there were no lines - and saw some stores were open. The electricity was working. The cell phone system is still functioning, though you can't call abroad. The internet, however, has been down for days.

On the other hand, we did see regular groups of more armed young men in civilian clothing, stopping cars, checking IDs, asking questions. All were surprised, but happy, to see the first television news crew to cross into Libya since the uprising began February 15.

They were polite, if a tad giddy. Having thrown off the yoke of Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year rule (longer than most Libyans have been alive), it's understandable.

As we made our way westward from the border, driver Saleh gave me a running commentary on all the sins of the Gadhafi family and its cronies:

"You see all the potholes in this lousy road? This should be a four-lane highway. Gadhafi spent hardly a dinar on this part of the country."

"You see that rest house? Gadhafi's son built it, and overcharged the government."

"You see that house? It was stolen from its owner and given to one of Gadhafi's sons."

"You see those flashes? That's an ammunition dump an army officer loyal to Gadhafi set on fire before fleeing to Tripoli."

Saleh was also full of useful advice, I think.

"If you get stopped by forces loyal to Gadhafi, tell them you're a German doctor. Don't say you're a journalist. And say your colleagues are doctors, too."

When we finally reached our destination - which I can't disclose - we drove up to a nondescript villa and were greeted by a dozen men who could barely contain their excitement.

After endless handshakes, embraces and greetings, a man in his 50s wearing a dark overcoat and red sweater pushed through the crowd.

"You must show the world what has happened here. We will show you everything, everything!" I'll call him Ahmed, and he described himself as one of the leaders of "the resistance." He had studied briefly in the United States, but his academic career was cut short when he was imprisoned for three years for leading student protests against Gadhafi in the 1970s.

He accompanied us to our accommodations, asking us about American football, baseball, the American university where he studied. I was able to get a few questions in sideways. He told me the army in the east had joined the anti-Gadhafi movement, that there were still pro-Gadhafi elements operating in the east (and therefore we needed to be very careful).

He and many others in eastern Libya are well aware their struggle against Gadhafi's regime is going to be tough, and bloodier still. They may be buoyed by their success so far, but they're under no illusion that Gadhafi isn't willing to use everything in his arsenal - aircraft, mercenaries, whatever it takes - to stay in power.

At the border, a man asked me, "Did you see he used helicopters and war planes against protesters in Tripoli today? This is genocide."

**donnie** · 2011-02-22 14:57

pro-government stance @21 feb 8 PM until midnight : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd2DP0u7awM

CNN covered it in the arabic version only, saying 300,000 people have gathered in a pro-government stance calling for unity. today there was about 30,000 protestors in LuLu roundabout waiting for their leader to arrive in Bahrain who didn't show up since he didn't check in for the flight to Bahrain from UK.

source: http://arabic.cnn.com/2011/middle_ea...sts/index.html

now I can understand the genocide in Libya is all over the news, but whoever is covering Bahrain in most of the news networks somehow forgot to mention the 300,000 people unity stance in a very small population.

@ Kuya
democracy isnt always the solution, there are many different political models that can be applied to make sure countries where religious parties are in fact the majority in population( in bahrain case , sunni and shia) cannot be in full power.

here is a what nick kristof (a guy who was all about this movement since day 1) wrote today:

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/

Spoiler: show

A few scattered thoughts about Bahrain, on a day on which huge protests are unfolding.

Members of the ruling family, the Khalifas, are rightly proud of what they’ve built here. Bahrain is modern, moderate and well-educated, and by Gulf standards it has more of the forms of democracy than some others. But here’s my question to King Hamad: Why is it any more appropriate for a minority Sunni population to rule over majority Shia than it was in South Africa for a minority white population to rule over a majority black population? What exactly is the difference?

Indeed, the language of the ruling party sounds a lot to me like the language of white South Africans — or even like the language of white southerners in Jim Crow America, or the language of militant Israeli settlers in the West Bank. There’s a fear of the rabble, a distrust of full democracy, a sense of entitlement. Apartheid isn’t exactly the right metaphor, because there isn’t formal separation (although neighborhoods are often either Sunni or Shia), and people routinely have very close friends of the other sect. But how can a system that bars 70 percent of the population from serving in the army be considered fair? How can a system in which the leading cabinet positions are filled by one family be considered fair?

The government talks about “unity” and complains that the opposition is encouraging sectarianism. Please! An American friend was on the roundabout Thursday morning when police attacked. They caught him but when they saw he was American they were friendly and said they were hunting Shia only. My friend said the experience left him feeling icy, as if they were hunting rats. And several people I talked to who were there said that the police used anti-Shia epithets and curses as they were beating prisoners. If the government wants to ease sectarianism, it might start by bringing Shia into the police and armed forces and fire anybody caught making derogatory comments about Shiites.

The two sides are very, very far apart right now, and it’s hard to imagine them hammering out a compromise that both can agree on. The opposition would accept King Hamad continuing as king – perhaps more like a Moroccan or Jordanian king than a British one, but still much less powerful than today – but the Khalifa family would have to give up the way it dominates Bahrain. Right now, government is pretty much a family affair, and that would have to end. I worry that the result will be more strikes and protests and a stalemate, and then harder-line elements in the family will again use force. The big worry in the roundabout isn’t so much that the army goes in again, but that the government sends in thugs (perhaps Wahabis from Saudi Arabia, by opening the causeway to them) to provoke fighting and intimidate the protesters. That’s similar to what I saw Mubarak do in Cairo, and it was terrifying.

Two things bother me about the protests. One is that the participants are overwhelmingly Shia. I’ve met a few Sunni on the roundabout, but very, very few – and that makes it less authentic and broad-based an opposition movement than it should be. There are lots of disgruntled Sunni, but they don’t go out on the streets, either because they don’t feel comfortable in a Shia-dominated movement or because their families work in the army or police (as many poor Sunnis do) and would get in severe trouble for doing so. Nonetheless, the protest organizers could try harder to reach out to the Sunni community, and a first step would be to stop the “Death to al-Khalifa” chants and similar slogans. The other day I saw a sign reading “Imagine Bahrain without the al-Khalifas.” That kind of thing is utterly inappropriate. The opposition has to do what Nelson Mandela did so brilliantly in South Africa – make clear that majority rule will not lead to persecution of the minority. Every time the democracy movement scrawls “Death to Al-Khalifa” on a sign, it erodes its own legitimacy before the world.

So what do you think? I’m a newcomer to Bahrain (this is only my second visit), so tell me what I got wrong, what I misunderstand and what’s going to happen. How is this going to end?

**Cadsuane** · 2011-02-22 15:27

Originally Posted by donnie

here is a what nick kristof (a guy who was all about this movement since day 1) wrote today:

You should read this more closely yourself.

**Kuya** · 2011-02-22 16:36

Originally Posted by donnie

pro-government stance @21 feb 8 PM until midnight : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd2DP0u7awM

CNN covered it in the arabic version only, saying 300,000 people have gathered in a pro-government stance calling for unity. today there was about 30,000 protestors in LuLu roundabout waiting for their leader to arrive in Bahrain who didn't show up since he didn't check in for the flight to Bahrain from UK.

source: http://arabic.cnn.com/2011/middle_ea...sts/index.html

now I can understand the genocide in Libya is all over the news, but whoever is covering Bahrain in most of the news networks somehow forgot to mention the 300,000 people unity stance in a very small population.

@ Kuya
democracy isnt always the solution, there are many different political models that can be applied to make sure countries where religious parties are in fact the majority in population( in bahrain case , sunni and shia) cannot be in full power.

here is a what nick kristof (a guy who was all about this movement since day 1) wrote today:

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/

So you don't believe in democracy is what you're saying.

**donnie** · 2011-02-22 17:08

seperation of church and state is what made democracy work in U.S, and I have read what nick wrote, I am not with the government either but I have to choose a side and it seems dialoge that government offered is better then giong on riot and setting my country 40 years back.
muslim brotherhood in Egypt which is the equavilient of Al-Wifaq here have not participated in the protest and refused to elect someone from muslim brotherhood for the government in thier statement and they said exactly " the power in the goverment should be based on the constitution and law , and not a cleric ", if Al-Wifaq was clever they shouldnt have hi-jacked the movement and then lose many supporters of the movement including me. I will stand against those muslim fanatics and I think I am entitled to say it since I live here not you :s

**Kuya** · 2011-02-22 17:30

This is the first time i hear that separation of church and State is what makes democracy work. Good luck proving that.

There is no indication that the protestors want a theocracy. They're mostly asking for reforms.

You're on the side that wants to relegate 70% of the shia population in the country to constant discrimination by a 30% sunni minority. The point of course is that if the majority in the country is shia, then the government, if truly representative, should be majority shia.

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2011-02-22 17:56

Cairo/Egypt

Just posted up today, Frontline made a double video release on the inner workings of the Egyptian Revolution. They don't mention the Google Exec Wael, so I am uncertain what role he played in context to April 6 movement. It has a really close look at the Muslim Brotherhood without the spooky conspiracies yet the Frontline narrator's 'everything sounds imperative' voice naturally lends a sense of caution to it.

They have some cutscenes from the Al Jazeera April 6 movement show also. It is on their[AJE's] site under the series listings. There was a dispute among the groups about an Al Jaz English show mislabeling one of the groups as leading the revolution but I could not determine which group or documentary on AJE they referred to. I only know that the documentary/show with the supposed misinfo was in a weekly show hosted by a female. Still need a damn flow chart for the whole thing.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...tion-in-cairo/
Introduction - Revolution in Cairo | Frontline PBS

As the protest movement in Egypt sent shock waves throughout the country -- and the world -- FRONTLINE dispatched teams to Cairo for this special report.

"This is a story that no one could have predicted, and everyone now wants to know more about," says FRONTLINE executive producer David Fanning. "We're using our new monthly magazine to be able to respond quickly to timely events and help fill the need for added depth and insight on these important breaking stories."

In this hour's lead story, Revolution in Cairo, FRONTLINE gains unique access to the April 6 Youth Movement as they plot strategy, then head out into Cairo's Tahrir Square, hoping to bring down President Hosni Mubarak. The film traces these young Egyptian activists' long road to revolution, as they made increasingly bold use of the Internet in their underground resistance over the last few years.

Through sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the members of April 6 and related groups helped organize a political movement that the secret police did not understand and could not stop, despite the arrest and torture of some of the movement's key members.

The Brothers
For the second story, The Brothers, veteran Middle East correspondent Charles Sennott of GlobalPost is on the ground in Cairo for FRONTLINE to investigate the Muslim Brotherhood, the controversial but poorly understood Islamist political movement that's poised to play a key role in Egypt's future.

While the group was absent in Tahrir Square when young demonstrators first ignited Egypt's revolt, the Brotherhood assumed a larger role over the course of the protests, taking frontline positions in rock-throwing battles with regime supporters and helping to run emergency medical clinics. Now that the Muslim Brotherhood stands to take a prominent place at the negotiating table, we examine what the group believes and how it may influence politics in the country and the region.

Libya

Engel: Eastern Libya no longer under Gadhafi control [video]
Richard Engel, NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent, is now in the eastern Libyan city of Tubruk and was able to call in this report to MSNBC cable. - http://on.msnbc.com/e9FmAB

Links To UN Security Council meeting related info/vids:

Spoiler: show

Press release France at the UN: [it is long and has a map with info spoilered below]

Spoiler: show

http://www.franceonu.org/spip.php?article5389
France To the UN at New York

1. Latest developments in New York

On 22 February 2011 the Security Council held an emergency meeting in a private format (open to UN member states but not to the press) under the agenda item "Peace and Security in Africa", to listen to a report by the Secretariat (Lynn Pascoe, Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs) and the Permanent Representative of Libya to the UN. The Council then met in private consultations. After the meeting, the president of the Security Council made the following press statement:

"The members of the Security Council were briefed on the situation in Libya by Mr Lynn Pascoe, UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and the Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, whose Mission had requested a meeting of the Security Council.

The members of the Security Council welcomed the statement issued by the League of Arab States on 22 February 2011.

The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the situation in Libya. They condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians. They called for an immediate end to violence and for steps to address the legitimate demands of the population, including through national dialogue.

The members of the Security Council called on the Government of Libya to meet its responsibility to protect its population. They called upon the Libyan authorities to act with restraint, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and to allow immediate access for international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies.

The members of the Security Council called for international humanitarian assistance to the people of Libya and expressed concern at the reports of shortages of medical supplies to treat the wounded. They strongly urged the Libyan authorities to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian and medical supplies and humanitarian workers into the country.

The members of the Security Council underlined the need for the government of Libya to respect the freedom of peaceful assembly and of expression, including freedom of the press. They called for the immediate lifting of restrictions on all forms of the media.

The members of the Security Council stressed the importance of accountability. They underscored the need to hold those responsible for attacks, including by forces under their control, on civilians.

The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the safety of foreign nationals in Libya. They urged the Libyan authorities and all relevant parties to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals and facilitate the departure of those wishing to leave the country.

The members of the Security Council will continue to follow the situation closely."

2. Overview [map picture here]
http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/a...ac----Copy.gif

On 15 February 2011, riots broke out in Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya. In the days that followed, the movement spread and grew, despite a brutal crackdown. The army drove back the demonstrators with live ammunition; reports also claimed the use of heavy weapons in Benghazi. Human Rights Watch reported on 21 February that at least 233 people had died in the country.

There has been increasing international condemnation of the violence perpetrated against the demonstrators. On 22 February, France, through its Prime Minister, Mr. François Fillon, “called for an end to the violence” (see box below, French declarations).

On 21 February, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, spoke on the telephone with Muammar Gaddafi. He urged Colonel Gaddafi to put an end to the violence against the demonstrators and to respect “fundamental freedoms and human rights, including the right of free assembly and the right to information.”

On 22 February, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navenethem Pillay, mentioned possible crimes against humanity and demanded an “immediate halt to the serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Libyan authorities.” The UN demanded that an independent international inquiry be opened.

Mr. Dabbashi, Deputy Ambassador of the Libyan Mission to the UN, disassociated himself from the regime along with several colleagues of the Libyan mission on Monday, 21 February 2011 in a statement to the press. He sent a letter to the Security Council on 21 February on behalf of the Permanent Representation of Libya to the UN, asking for “an urgent meeting of the Security Council in order to discuss the grave situation in Libya and to take appropriate action.”

The Security Council held an emergency meeting on 22 February in order to address the situation in Libya, firstly during informal consultations in the morning and then during a formal meeting later in the day at the request of several member countries under the agenda item “Peace and security in Africa.”

UN.org : Security Council meets on Libya, as UN officials urge end to violence against protesters

Spoiler: show

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.as...=protests&Cr1=
Security Council meets on Libya, as UN officials urge end to violence against protesters

22 February 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations human rights chief have both called on the Libyan authorities to immediately end their violent crackdown on protesters, and the Security Council is meeting today to discuss the situation in the North African nation.

Mr. Ban, in a statement issued by his spokesperson on Monday, said he was “outraged” at press reports that the Libyan authorities have been firing at demonstrators from war planes and helicopters.

“This is unacceptable,” the Secretary-General told reporters in Los Angeles, where his currently on an official visit. “This violence against demonstrators must immediately stop.”

Mr. Ban, who had a 40-minute telephone conversation with Muammar Qaddafi yesterday, said he urged the Libyan leader to stop the violence and strongly underlined the importance of respecting human rights and heeding the aspirations and calls of the demonstrators.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today called for an immediate cessation of the “grave” rights violations committed by the Libyan authorities and urged an independent investigation into the violent suppression of protests.

“The callousness with which Libyan authorities and their hired guns are reportedly shooting live rounds of ammunition at peaceful protestors is unconscionable. I am extremely worried that lives are being lost even as I speak,” she stated in a news release.

“The international community must unite in condemnation of such acts and make unequivocal commitments to ensure justice is rendered to the thousands of victims of this repression.”

Citing the reported use of machine guns, snipers and military planes against demonstrators, Ms. Pillay said such extremely serious allegations of acts committed in brazen defiance of international law must not go without a full and independent investigation.

“Protection of civilians should always be the paramount consideration in maintaining order and the rule of law. The authorities should immediately cease such illegal acts of violence against demonstrators. Widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity,” she stated.

A group of UN human rights experts also called on the Libyan Government to immediately cease the use of excessive and lethal force. “The situation in Libya is quickly spilling out of control with the Government targeting the very people it has been mandated to serve,” they stated in a news release. “Adopting tactics such as the use of live ammunition to crush dissent is unacceptable.”

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution, Christof Heyns, stressed that such acts cannot go unpunished. “By engaging in a massacre of its own people, the Government of Libya is guilty of committing gross violations of human rights which could amount to crimes against humanity.”

The experts voiced concern about the reported use of military planes to attack protesters, the alleged involvement of foreign mercenaries in killing the protesters, and the arbitrary arrests of individuals including lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists.

The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, voiced her alarm over the worsening situation in Libya and the continuing clampdown on media and vital information services.

“I call on the Libyan authorities to exercise maximum restraint. I also call on them to respect the right of people to access information, to be able to communicate with one another and for the media to be able to do its job,” she stated.

“Attempting to silence people by repression, by denying them access to vital information services is a violation of basic human rights that can only fuel anger and frustration,” she added.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that it has become increasingly concerned about dangers for civilians and especially for asylum-seekers and refugees in Libya as many may inadvertently be caught up in this violence.

“We have no access at this time to the refugee community. Over the past months we have been trying to regularize our presence in Libya, and this has constrained our work,” Melissa Fleming, UNHCR’s spokesperson in Geneva, told a news conference.

“Some of the reports we are getting from third-party sources are very worrying. A journalist has passed information to us from Somalis in Tripoli who say they are being hunted on suspicion of being mercenaries. He says they feel trapped and are frightened to go out, even though there is little or no food at home,” she said.

Prior to the current unrest UNHCR had registered over 8,000 refugees in Libya, with a further 3,000 asylum-seekers having pending cases. The agency is asking all countries to recognize the humanitarian needs at this time of all people fleeing targeted violence, threats, and other human rights abuses in Libya.

LOL The real reaction to Qaddafi's speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujpD37QNFOA

**6souls** · 2011-02-24 09:48

Libya protests: Gaddafi says Bin Laden to blame

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...11357883-1.jpg

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has told state TV that Osama Bin Laden and his followers are to blame for the protests wracking his country.

In a phone call from the town of al-Zawiya played live on TV, Col Gaddafi said young people were being duped with drugs and alcohol to take part in "destruction and sabotage".

Col Gaddafi is battling to shore up control of Tripoli and western areas.

Protesters have been consolidating gains in cities in the east.

'This is your country'

The telephone call was said to be an address to the people of al-Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of the capital, where there has been renewed gunfire reported in the streets.

Col Gaddafi said the protesters had no genuine demands and were being dictated to by the al-Qaeda leader.

He said that Libya was not like Egypt and Tunisia, which have seen their leaders deposed, because the people of Libya had it in their own hands to change their lives through committees.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...ocs_464map.jpg

"This is your country and it is up to you how to deal with it," he said.

He called on families to rein in their sons, saying many of the protesters were underage and beyond the reach of the law.

But he also vowed that those carrying out violent protests should be put on trial.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12570279

**Mistress Stowastiq** · 2011-02-24 13:35

Libya:

The Bin Ladin Al Qaeda + Drugs + youth = we want democracy is really vintage Glenn Beck material.

White House Brief going on right now and they are grilling him about Libya.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live -also will be on CSPAN when its over. http://www.c-span.org/Events/Protest...10737419811-5/

But here is a Libya areas map that is periodically updated with fresh news on areas taken by opposition vs Gaddafi.

Table breaker so I spoilered it

Spoiler: show

**Mugekuge** · 2011-02-24 19:30

You know something is scary when Ahmadinejad is against Gaddafi way of handling protests, i probably will eat my words but i have a feeling Gaddafi will stay in power.

Thread: Middle East Revolutions: Current Bahrain protests getting violent

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