Libya and disinformation

Slip in covert operationals under cover of night, spark off an incident somehow, send in the mainstream media to spread the lies far and wide, start a bombing campaign to protect "unarmed" civilians and then help the suddenly heavily armed "civilians" to sweep to power. Then the oil companies move in...oh! and what about Libya's gold reserves?

Photos: Innocent unarmed civilians

We have been over the Libya story again and again and with every day that passes, new information arises, such as the planned homage to be paid to Colonel Muammar Al-Qathafi later this month by the UNO for his excellent humanitarian record, tolerance of minorities, religious tolerance and human rights training for the police force.

We have explained how the same man turned the poorest country in the world into the most prosperous in Africa, we have explained how the country works - a Jamahiriya is a country run by the people, through people's councils.

We have explained how this "uprising" started in Benghazi with a massacre of unarmed civilians (Al-Qathafi supporters) by the "rebels", we have explained how Colonel Al-Qathafi dispatched one of his own sons to negotiate with the "rebels" to find out what it was that they wanted.

Then we find out that they had been receiving thousands of former Libyan flags from abroad (maybe they would like to go back to the human development indices of the time they were flown, the time of King Idris I, when Libya was the poorest nation on Earth), had been receiving uniforms and military gear... and suddenly these "unarmed civilians" morph into marauding gangs of heavily armed Islamist thugs, who refuse to reveal their real long-term agenda (an Islamist State on the gates of Europe?) and with whom the international community cavorts.

After the French (what was that about Sarkozy's Presidential campaign and the financing? Isn't someone going to...er...investigate in France?) and the British (has Cameron yet told his people quite how much it costs to deploy a missile - 500.000 pounds a piece - or an aircraft - 200,000 pounds per aircraft per day, every day, while he closes down hospitals and schools and taxes his voters into endemic poverty?) now it is the turn of Ban Ki-Moon himself to mouth off about Libya without having bothered to find out what is going on.

Then after saying Colonel Al-Qathafi has "lost legitimacy" by attacking "civilians" (what civilians? The bearded wonders running around with heavy weaponry yelling Allahu akhbar?) he sends his envoy Abdel Elah Al Khatib to meet the "rebel leaders" in Tobruk. Why doesn't he meet Colonel Al-Qathafi in Tripoli?

How could Colonel Al-Qathafi go from Knight in Shining Armour to Beast within two weeks? How come a report which had been drawn up after careful study and was about to be presented to the UNO on his excellent humanitarian record can suddenly be tossed into the bin? Who and what was behind the "rebellion"? Who has armed the "civilians"? Does anyone know "unarmed civilians" who roam around with anti-aircraft guns, tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy machine guns?

Then we discover that apart from having some of the purest crude oil reserves in the world, Libya ranks in the top 25 nations in terms of gold reserves, most of them conveniently inside the country, worth some 6 billion USD.

Now for international law. UN Resolution 1970 (2011) forbids the delivery of weaponry of any sort to any citizen in Libya. So who has been delivering weapons to the "unarmed civilians" and when? UN Resolution 1973 (2011) while allowing the use of force to protect "civilians" does not mention attacking conventional ground forces not engaged in battle to help "rebels" nor does it bear any mention whatsoever of aiding rebellious forces to gain power.

If, as has been reported, it is true that Egypt and the USA are responsible for shipping weapons to the Libyan "unarmed civilians" then both are in breach of UNSC Resolution 1970 (2011) and in which case, what is Mr. Ban Ki-Moon going to do about it? Nothing, probably. So much for his legacy. The UN Secretary-General who aided and abetted war crimes and a clear breach of UN law and did nothing? If the USA and Egypt can, as has been alleged, arm the "unarmed civilians", then what is to stop someone else arming Al-Qathafi?

It would be good for the international mainstream media to do more informing and less lying because any military action outside the remit of the Resolutions can constitute war crimes and leave Cameron, Obama and Sarkozy liable for trial as war criminals.

After the dust has settled down, after the lies and misinformation have been uncovered, there are going to be some very embarrassed governments and a handful of protagonists who jumped the gun for oil and gold and to bolster their flagging popularity at home, looking over their shoulders the rest of their lives.

And Colonel Muammar Al-Qathafi might then decide to spill the beans on the deals that have been signed over the years, use his influence in the African Union to freeze these international terrorists out of Africa and reschedule and renegotiate his oil contracts, favouring reasonable and responsible members of the international community over these murderous pariahs.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru