Whilst there is a good reason to exercise caution with regard to the rebels in Libya, there is another side that causes me to throw good sense and caution to the wind, and support those who want to get rid of Moammar Gaddhafi. It is the manner in which people have disappeared.
In the past few weeks I have been reading of some of the stories that go back in time, where anyone who opposed Daffy Duck, even when residing in another country, could be arrested and taken away from their families. One such story involves a Libyan-American cardiologist, whose father was taken when he was 6 years old.
Another story, that of Eman al Obaidi has been told in part. The Daffy goons claimed that she was released but her family have stated that this is not the case, so now Eman is amongst those who have disappeared.
The New York Slimes takes up the story of the people who are looking for their relatives who have been taken during the fighting against Daffy goons. You can read the story here.
It has to be remembered that some of the rebel fighters are in fact Islamists. They have their own motivations for fighting; and some of them fought in Iraq too. However, these are not the majority of the rebels. The numbers are simply too big to believe that all of these people are Islamists and AQ associated individuals. These rebel fighters have been brave and I have seen few critical reports (I did see one in Der Spiegel, where it was claimed that the rebels were killing the Daffy loyalists, but who knows if the story was accurate… it could be…). The journalists who have been with the rebels have observed the humane treatment given to the wounded government soldiers. For some there has been an opening of the eyes, as these people finally realize that the Daffy goons in charge have lied to them.
Since Daffy seized control in Libya thousands of people have disappeared, never to be heard from again. This is the same thing that happened under Saddam Hussein. The people were thrown into prison and tortured, before they were killed. So it is no surprise to hear that Daffy troops have captured these rebel fighters and then sent them to Daffy prison.
Some of the people who have been captured have been journalists. One team of 4 worked for the NY Slimes. They were missing for up to a week. The woman in the team has mentioned that she was abused, and that the whole team was terrorised when they were captured. She did not mention if she had faced being raped. Other teams of journalists have also gone missing. At the same time I heard that Daffy had captured the 70 members of an Italian tugboat. I have seen no reports about this incident and have no idea if they have been released. Neither have I heard that he actually released the Dutch SAS team that were captured. On the other hand, the rebels released the British SAS team as soon as their identities were verified. It shows the difference between the two sides, and this is one of the reasons that I have thrown my lot with the rebels.
The Lockerbie bombing is another reason for despising Daffy Duck and wanting to see him removed from power. Daffy ordered that bombing. On top of that there is the murder of the British policewoman outside of the Libyan Embassy in the 1990s. A staff member of the embassy was taking pot shots at the demonstrators who were there, and he deliberately shot and killed the policewoman. The man, who was covered by diplomatic immunity at the time was identified, but there was insufficient proof. He has been captured by the rebels, and the story has been brought up again. This time, a man who was a student in London at the time, has also fingered this man as being a Daffy spy who spied on the students and wrote reports about their activities. The man claimed that he was in the hands of the police when the policewoman was killed. However, that has not been confirmed. The man’s fingerprints were found on the window sill where the gun had been situated and fired on the protesters.
Therefore, I am scanning the stories coming out of Libya. I remain alert with regard to the signs of Islamism. From what I have been reading I have seen no evidence to support the idea that the coalition has been working with people who are Islamists and associated with Al Qaeda. Instead, I hear of people who are praising David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy. To my mind it is a case of wait and see if they are on the level when they say that they are not associated with AQ.
