Libya

..The Italian colonial period proved devastating for native Libyans. Half of the indigenous population were either exiled or exterminated between 1911 and WWII. The country was reduced to a theatre of war in which huge minefields were laid, some remaining to the current day.
Italy lost Libya during WWII, and in 1951 the country became independent ... Qaddafi's regime committed to a more equitable distribution of Libya's enormous oil income, and billions of dollars were spent on roads, schools, housing, hospitals and agriculture. In practice, however, Libya's government was and continues to be a strict military dictatorship.
Libya adopted a high international profile based on Pan-Arabism, its virulent condemnation of 'western imperialism', its support of "liberation" movements around the world and its military adventurism in Chad. What angered Western countries most was Qaddafi's alleged support of international terrorist organisations. These activities isolated Libya from the international community.

The most violent reaction to Libya's politics came from the USA, culminating in the air strike of April 1986 that killed dozens of people, including Qaddafi's adopted baby daughter.
Libya's isolation deepened following the 1988 bombing of a Pan-Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. Libya was accused of planting the bomb, and two Libyans were named as suspects. The US and Britain demanded the suspects be turned over for trial, Libya refused, and the resulting standoff caused the US to force the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Libya.
Recent History
After the lifting of sanctions in 1999, Qaddafi began transforming Libya's 'terrorist state' image. He began styling himself as an African 'peacebroker', turning his back on his Arab neighbours to take a leading role in paving the way for a future Africa-wide federation similar to the European Union.
http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/libya--culture-amp-history-20081128-6lau.html

A History of Fascism, 1914-1945 - by Stanley G. Payne - 1996 - History (Page 515)
As one approaches the Middle East, however, the trail becomes warmer. This is an area originally impacted to some extent by paradigmatic European fascism.
Some of the new nationalist regimes which developed in the Middle East during the second half of the century exhibited more of the characteristics of fascism than those of any other part of the world. A first example was the Egyptian regime under Nasser, with its Fuhrerprinzip, "Arab socialism," a state sector of the economy approaching 40 percent, and bellicosity toward Israel...
At first glance a better case might be made for the Libyan dictatorship of Mu'ammar al-Gadhafi, established in 1969. Though the dictator of a major oil-exporting country, Gaddafi is a fanatical Muslim... "Brother Colonel" has renounced capitalism, preaching pan-Arabism and a form of "Arab socialism," while his interest in militarism, violence, ...
http://books.google.com/books?id=NLiFIEdI1V4C&pg=PA515

AFRICAN DISPUTES PIT ARAB VS. BLACK - New York Times
June 5, 1988
''Qaddafi is bringing a truly racist crusade against Chad and Africa,'' Chad's President, Hissen Habre, told an Ivoirian journalist late last year. ...
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEED81139F936A35755C0A96E948260

In October 1995 Muammar Gaddafi hosted a two-week conference in Tripoli, which was attended by Muslim leaders from 80 countries. At this Muslim Leaders Conference, strategies to transform Africa into an Islamic continent were discussed.

Participants openly admitted that their goals were to make Arabic the official language of the continent and Islam the official religion. One South African member of Parliament, Farouk Cassim declared: "It will probably be the biggest revolution to sweep Africa." The head of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) at that time, Yousuf Deedat, announced afterwards that South Africa was high on the agenda of the Islamic offensive: "We are going to turn South Africa into a Muslim state. We have the money to do it," he said (Sunday Times, 22/10/95). At present, less than 2% of South Africans are Muslims. About 40% of the population of Africa are Muslims. 17 of the 55 countries in Africa are officially Islamic states.
http://www.frontline.org.za/news/uprooting_terrorism.htm

Libya May lead U.N. Anti Racism Committee - Tee Hee...
2007-08-24 17:38:00
"Choosing Colonel [Muammar] Gaddafi to head a world anti-racism conference is like appointing a pyromaniac to be town fire chief,"Let's not forget Iran is also on the panel, for balance one assumes. Get set for Durbin 2...
http://www.blogtoplist.com/out.php?id=10072&article=1228474

Indeed, anti-Semitism, the traditional label for racism against Jews everywhere, was transformed into a term used by Israel's enemies to proclaim their own victimization. After the Durban Conference, there wasn't even a proper word left for the hatred of Jews, let alone the thought that it is a problem to be addressed.

The upcoming conference seems to be building up to more of the same. The preparatory meetings have better venues � Geneva instead of Tehran � but the timing is a tad suspicious. The next two meetings are scheduled for Passover and Yom Kippur. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has asked for better dates. So far it has been ignored.

That's not surprising. The Durban II chair is Muammar Gaddafi's Libya, a country that expelled its Jewish community soon after the 1967 war between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria. A government that takes foreign policy out on a domestic minority does not bode well as chair for an anti-racism conference. Imagine if Canada were to deal with the People's Republic of China by turning its sights on Canadians of Chinese heritage. Could we then qualify as host for a conference on the very anti-racism we abused?

The truth about Durban I is that all human rights groups, including Canadian NGOs that supported it, were the losers. If Durban II is going to again bury all other racism issues under the debris of the Middle East conflict, then it's better to bury Durban itself.
http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/295480

New Status in Africa Empowers an Ever-Eccentric Qaddafi - NYTimes.com, Mar 23, 2009 ... �It is a burden,� Ali Abd Alaziz Isawi, who served for two years as the minister of ... For the African migrants themselves, life in Libya is often a dead end. �They call us animals and slaves,� said Paul Oknonghou, 28, ... and a crowd of black men and women reach toward him with outstretched arms. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/world/africa/23libya.html

Libya is no longer big enough for Gadhafi, Mar 28, 2009 ... "It is a burden," Ali Abd Alaziz Isawi, who served for two years as the minister of economy, trade and investment, said of the army of illegal immigrants living in Libya. ... For the African migrants themselves, life in Libya is often a ... "They call us animals and slaves," said Paul Oknonghou, 28, ...
http://www.startribune.com/world/42020637.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Col. Gadhafi saw vicious white racism in the tragic death in August 1997, of Princess Diana of Wales, the mother of a future king of England, and her Arab lover. What no one remembered to ask Gadhafi was whether he himself was disposed to allowing any daughter of his to marry even the richest black man in the world let alone a black Libyan. If one were to ask Gadhafi why Africans are not high up in his government, he might balk that all Libyans are Africans. In that case, one should go and find out the truth for oneself in the poor sections of town. One would be shocked by the plight of our African kith and kin that constitute the bulk of the population in oil rich Libya and other Northern African countries similarly afflicted with Arab racism. While pretending to champion pan-African interest, he is busy getting rid of black immigrants from Libya.

On 9 May, 1997, in flagrant defiance of a UN embargo on flights in and out of Libya, Col. Gadhafi invaded Nigeria with his planes carrying 1,000 members of his rag-tag army, plus 500 journalists. They strategically occupied the Kano airport and his other reception facilities, with the connivance of the Nigerian Muslim dictator host. The purpose was to launch a jihad in supposedly religiously secular Nigeria, or at least precipitate a serious schism between the predominantly Moslem north of the country and the Christian and animist south. Right now the Moslem world is trying to use �Sharia� to dismember Nigeria. Pakistan, Libya and Saudi Arabia, to name a few, have pumped substantial funds into Zamfara, the first of Nigeria�s Sharia states, to start the process of Islamizing, (or at least trigger mayhem and civil war), in Nigeria as in Sudan.

No nation in Africa has suffered more in the hands of the Arabs than Ethiopia. It has been going on since Arabs first invaded Africa in the 7th century CE. Recently, with Libya supporting the people of Eritrea, they destroyed the basic structure of Ethiopia, to cut her from the sea and weaken this section of Africa, and eventually all of Africa, for further Arabization. They did this mercilessly with religion.

In the last 38 years, Gadhafi at one time or the other, tried to force Libya�s unification with Egypt, Algeria etc, and has continued the effort since with Sudan. He forcibly annexed the Auzon Strip from Chad, and sponsored destabilization in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Mali, Cote d� Ivoire, Niger, etc in pursuance of his Arabization of Africa policy, laced with inordinate imperial personal ambition. In 1998, his strategy got a fillip with the founding of his community of Sahel-Savannah States (CEN � SAD), which he was hoping to use to control the envisaged African Union (AU). The CEN � SAD, at the moment, ropes in 25 African states from West, East, and Central Africa, and includes Senegal, Cote d �Ivoire, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Comoro Islands etc. Most of these unsuspecting African countries were stable until they joined CEN � SAD.

Col. Muammar Gadhafi pushed desperately for a United States of Africa government to be approved, set up, and launched right there and then, at the 9th ordinary Session of the Assembly of the heads of states of the African Union (AU), held in July 2007, in Accra, Ghana.

He has heightened his Arabization policy pursuit at the AU level since 2001, pretending to be promoting the Pan-African agenda of Kwame Nkrumah. Chinweizu, the renowned scholar, described Gadhafi�s Arab-Black Africa government plan at the time, �as unification of nigger monkey with python.� Arabs themselves divide Africa into North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa to instigate a division and as long as the invaders continue to occupy our land and treat us as slaves in North Africa, the two segments of the continent cannot cohabit.

In a paper presented at the meeting of the Arab league in Amman, Jordan, in 2001, Muammar Gadhafi spelt out the Arabization agenda against Africa in language reminiscent of Adolph Hitler�s Lebensraum, (Hitler�s sick obsession to secure a living space for political and economic expansion in Europe) for the Germans, (the superior race). Gadhafi in his address during the Amman�s Arab conference invited his Arab brothers outside of Africa to come to Africa in the following words. �The third of the Arab community living outside Africa should move in with the two-thirds (about 250 million) on the continent, and join the African Union, which is the only space we have.�

Gadhafi�s unbridled urge in modern times to enlarge Arabia inside Africa, is a continuation of the Arab war against Africans and the Arabization of African lands that started in the 7th century CE. Arabs have since settled on one-third of Africa, pushing continuously southwards towards the Atlantic Ocean. Arabs� racial war against black Africa started with their occupation and colonization of Egypt between 637 and 642 CE, decimating the Coptic or black population.

Libya Preaches to Durban II on Racism Against Maids, as Qaddafi Jr. Arrested for Beating Maids
Published by Hillel Neuer- at August 7, 2008 in Jean Ziegler, Libya, Iran and Human Rights Council.
Many newspapers over the past few weeks have reported on Libya�s hostile measures against Switzerland and its citizens. Few, though, have noted the irony of it all, a part of which relates to the United Nations.

The conflict began after Hannibal, the youngest son of Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Qaddafi, and his wife Aline were arrested by Geneva police in their luxury hotel, which is situated next to the UN human rights office. Two of their servants, a Moroccan man and a Tunisian woman, had complained of being beaten with a belt and coat hanger, causing hotel staff to call in the authorities. (The desert despot�s 32-year-old son has a long record of violent run-ins with the law across European capitals.)

The couple were charged with assault. Hannibal spent two evenings in detention while his wife, who came to Geneva to give birth, was transferred to a maternity unit. Released on $500,000 bail, they flew back to Libya escorted by doctors from Geneva�s main hospital.

Retaliation was swift. Aisha Qadaffi, sister of the accused, warned that her country would respond on the principle of �an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.� The Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution halted all oil shipments to the Helvetic confederation. Swiss companies in Libya, including Nestl�, were shut down or padlocked, and diplomats sent packing. Two Swiss nationals were seized as hostages. �Spontaneous� demonstrations against the Swiss aggressor erupted in the capital.

The outrage has ebbed, but the crisis remains. Today�s Tribune de Geneve reports that Foreign Minster Micheline Calmy-Rey may head on a special mission to Libya. Which bring us to the irony of it all.

Of all Western democracies, the current Swiss government must be the last to ever have imagined being targeted by mad Middle East dictators, who have always felt so at home at Geneva�s hotels, boutiques and banks � so much so, that their spoiled progeny jet over to have their babies born there.

After all, was it not she who, to seal a $28 billion gas deal, recently visited with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a time when no other self-respecting democratic leader would do the same? Did she not go the extra mile to pose smilingly with the world�s most dangerous fomentor of racist hatred, even donning the Islamic headscarf, for added measure? Did she not keep silent over the brutal human rights situation in Iran, despite being asked to speak out by Shirin Ebadi, the renowned women�s rights advocate?

The current Swiss government has always profited from special ties with Qaddafi � the extent to which the current episode has highlighted as never before. It turns out that half of Switzerland�s oil comes from Libya. That Libyan company Tamoil owns one of Switzerland�s two oil refineries and runs 320 filling stations in the country. The Libyans also threatened to withdraw their assets from Swiss banks. And how much is that? Some $6 billion.

But it�s more, more than just oil, investments and trade. It�s political and moral support. In the past year, Calmy-Rey and her diplomats worldwide waged a massive campaign to elect her Geneva friend Jean Ziegler � the 1989 co-founder of the �Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize� � as a senior adviser to the UN Human Rights Council. When the vote was won, Swiss UN ambassador Blaise Godet literally embraced his colleague from Cuba�s Castro regime, Ziegler�s other favorite government, thereby revealing another unholy alliance.

This week in Geneva the council�s advisors feted Ziegler at their inaugural session, while choosing as their chair the Cuban Alfonso Martinez � whose long record on a predecessor UN body included killing a resolution for the Kurdish victims gassed by Saddam in Halabja. When the current stand-off was ignited in July, Swiss newspaper Le Matin suggested Ziegler as a natural mediator. �I think Qaddafi appreciates me as a writer and intellectual, because he reads my books which are translated into Arabic in Cairo,� Ziegler told the newspaper. �There is a relationship of mutual respect and listening between us,� said Ziegler, from his place of vacation in Calabria, Italy.

However, the newspaper noted, �the sociologist categorically refuses to comment on the current crisis between Switzerland and Libya.� Nor did Ziegler ever say a word � or lift a finger � over all the years that the Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor were cruelly held hostage in Libyan jails.

Perhaps the greatest unspoken irony is that of Libya�s role. The country currently chairs the planning of the April 2009 Durban Review Conference, the UN�s next world conference against racism and intolerance. In advance of an African preparatory session later this month, Libya has just submitted a UN questionnaire on its policies and practices.

Here we learn that the sixth principle of Qaddafi�s Green Charter �defines Libya�s society of non-discrimination.� And that the penal code �does not discriminate between local or foreign workers in Libya.� And that Article 420 prohibits �all forms of slavery� and �forced labor.� Finally, �Libya does not only not practice racism but we combat the practice of regimes against the African people.� How? By confronting � get this � a �new form of racism related to house helpers (maids).� No less.

Yes, over the next year the world shall look to the Guide of the Revolution to guide us all on how to treat foreigners, how to practice tolerance, and � as its most shining example � how to treat house helpers and maids.

Eventually, a deal will be struck, Calmy-Rey will kowtow before Qaddafi, the criminal case will be closed. Hannibal will then be free to return to his beloved Lake Geneva playground.

As Libya�s leading expert on how to address what it calls a new form of racism � how to treat house helpers � why not have Hannibal Qaddafi take the place of the current Libyan represenative and personally head the UN�s Durban II process? More than anyone, he will appreciate the job�s diplomatic immunity.
http://blog.unwatch.org/?p=189

Libya: "We are proud of chairing the preparatory working group. The scourge of racism and xenophobia had not been eliminated yet. Some were turning a blind eye to the worst kind of crimes that affected innocent women and children... People of the world are eagerly awaiting the results of the Durban Review Conference. We call on all countries to show a sense of responsibility on constructively drafting an outcome document�"

Iran: "We welcome the ongoing process of the Durban Review Conference� The world today witnesses racism, defamation of religions, religious intolerance, racial profiling and the intellectual legitimisation of racism. This form of racism was disseminated in large proportion in the media, including the Internet. The failures in the struggle against racism, inter alia, the contemporary forms of racism had led to persisting manifestations of racism and intolerance including racial and religious profiling and the rise in Islamophobic incidents in the world. Iran had contributed $40,000 to the Durban Review Conference for facilitating the realization of a better participative conference by all stakeholders."

Cuba for Non-Aligned Movement: "The effective implementation of the Durban agreements was not only essential in the fight against racism; it was also a debt owed to millions of victims of these abominable practices through history."

China: "The Durban Review Conference provided the international community with an opportunity for the future, to promote human rights, eliminate differences, promote solidarity, encourage effective participation, and take effective measures against racism."

Syria: "The Durban Declaration was a landmark in the struggle against racism.. That was why Syria was convinced of the need for everyone to pull together for the follow-up. Foreign occupation seriously increased the risk of racism, said the report of the High Commissioner. As to racial profiling in the media, Syria supported the legitimate position of the Arab countries..."

Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference: "The Organization of the Islamic Conference attaches the highest importance to the subject of racism... The outcome of the Durban Review Conference must provide a comprehensive protection mechanism to all victims, including those who had suffered the war on terror in terms of racio-religious profiling and its concomitant incitement to racial or religious discrimination, hatred and violence. The Organization of the Islamic Conference welcomed the successful holding of the second session of the Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards." [Ed. note: This Algerian-chaired U.N. committee is seeking to rewrite international human rights law by definining any criticism of Islamic dogma as a human rights violation, and is endorsed by Art. 30 of the current Durban II draft; see UN Watch speech below.]

Articles 60 to 62 demonize the West, addressing only its sins of slavery, yet saying nothing of the massive Arab trade in African slaves, thereby politicizing that which should never be politicized.

Article 1 breaches President Obama�s red line by reaffirming what his government called the quote, �flawed 2001 Durban Declaration�, a text that stigmatized Israel with false accusations.
Myth Number Two: that going to the conference means dialogue.

In truth, we�ve been negotiating non-stop since August 2007. Going to the conference means endorsing a particular text, and risks legitimizing the greatest perpetrators of racism.

Ironically, many who now claim to support dialogue, are Mideast states belonging to the Arab Boycott Office in Damascus, or radical left campaigners who call for equally bigoted boycotts in the West.