Wherever NATO intervenes,
massacres, mass destruction, and unspeakable horrors and human misery
follow.
Once Africa's most developed country, Libya today's a ravaged, out-of-control
charnel house. Tens of thousands died. Multiples more were injured,
made homeless, and forcibly displaced.
Terror now stalks Libyans living in fear. Protracted conflict continues.
Violence and instability rage. Expect no end for years. Washington's-led
NATO war is one of history's great crimes. Colonization, occupation,
plunder and exploitation were planned.
America got another bloodstained imperial trophy. Keeping it's another
matter. Green Resistance continues its liberating struggle.
Amnesty International's (AI) New Report
Better late than never explaining NATO's legacy. AI's 2011 account misreported
"The Battle for Libya." It pointed fingers the wrong way. It blamed
Gaddafi for NATO aggression. It falsely accused him of "kill(ing) and
injur(ing) scores of unarmed protesters."
It added "serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL),
including war crimes, and gross human rights violation, which point
to the commission of crimes against humanity."
Before Western-backed killer gangs arrived, Libya had peace and calm.
AI blamed Gaddafi for their crimes. Its new report paints an entirely
different picture, but still falls way short of truth and full disclosure.
Titled, "Militias Threaten Hopes for New Libya," it discusses pervasive
violent lawlessness.
It doesn't explain illegitimate National Transitional Council (NTC)
authority or NATO's illegal aggression against a nonbelligerent country.
International law's clear. AI knows it.
No nation may interfere in the internal affairs of another except in
self-defense if attacked. NATO claimed responsibility to protect authority
as Trojan Horse deception for war. Crimes of war and against humanity
followed.
They continue out-of-control. NATO's still involved. Thousands of US
forces invaded to guard key oil facilities. Occasional air attacks occur.
NATO warships occupy Libya's ports. US, Italian, French, and perhaps
other forces are involved. Reports from Misrata in January said Apache
helicopters slaughtered rebel insurgents trying to scale Brega oil platforms.
Killer gangs rage out-of control. Frequent clashes kill civilians and
rival insurgents. Militias control local areas and neighborhoods. Thousands
of Gaddafi loyalists and Black African guest workers were murdered or
held captive and tortured.
"Militias....continue to seize and detain people, outside any legal
framework, and hold them in secret detention centers...." Thousands
have no way to challenge out-of-control lawlessness or escape from brutal
torture.
Detainees AI interviewed described their harrowing experience. They
were:
suspended in contorted positions;
beaten with whips, rifle butts, cables, plastic hoses, metal chains,
bars, and wooden sticks;
electro-shocked with live wires and taser-like weapons;
burned; and
threatened with rape.
Medical reports confirmed their accounts. With rare exceptions, detainees
aren't tried or given access to lawyers. Several said they confessed
to uncommitted crimes to end pain. Others were too scared to speak.
NATO and NTC stooges know what's going on and do nothing.
"(T)he NTC-led transitional government appears to have neither the authority
nor the political will to rein in the militias. (They're) unwilling
to recognize the scale of militia abuses, at most acknowledging individual
cases despite the mounting evidence of patterns of grave, widespread
abuses in many parts of the country."
As a result, ongoing torture and mistreatment continue. AI also exaggerated
Gaddafi era crimes and ignored his mass public support. At the end,
it was overwhelming, and today most Libyans yearn for him back.
NATO and illegitimate NTC officials spurn human rights and international
law principles. Scheduled elections are cover for imperial occupation.
Crimes of war and against humanity won't be punished. As a result, they
continue daily.
Dark-skinned Libyans are especially threatened. Thousands in Tawargha
and elsewhere were forcibly displaced. They still can't return, and
their homes were looted and burned. As a result, those not held captive
are in "poorly resourced" camps in Benghazi, Tripoli and elsewhere.
Many other Mshashiya and Qawalish tribe members, as well as Sirte, Bani
Walid, and other residents, remain threatened by killer gangs. Revenge
killings and other abuses continue. However, Green Resistance struggles
to liberate Libya and restore Jamahiriya rule.
AI visited Libya in January and February 2012. Its researched focused
in and around Tripoli, al-Zawiya, the Nafoussa Mountains, Misrata, Sirte
and Benghazi.
They visited 11 detention centers in central and western Libya under
insurgent gangs control. In at least 10, detainees were tortured and
mistreated. AI interviewed them, those released, facility administrators,
doctors and other hospital staff, relatives of people killed in custody,
militia members, and NTC officials.
Exact numbers of detainees held and mistreated aren't known. However,
thousands remain imprisoned. ICRC representatives said they "visited
over 8,500 detainees in about 60 places of detention." Most were held
in and around Tripoli and Misrata.
In February, NTC stooges held another 2,400. Nearly all current and
former detainees AI interviewed said warrants didn't authorize their
arrests. They were extrajudicial and arbitrary. Self-appointed "judicial
committees" function ad hoc. Defense lawyers aren't present. Coercion,
including torture and other severe treatment, force unjustified self-incrimination.
Many detainees said they were held at multiple locations. Some were
secret. AI witnessed insurgents beating and threatening them, including
some whose release were ordered.
One man said he was forced to lie on his back, hands and feet tied to
the frame. "In this position, (he) was beaten with fists on (his) face.
Then they beat me with a plastic hose on my feet."
"Later, I had to turn around face-down and was tied to the bed. In that
position, I was beaten again with a hose on my back and on the head.
I was also subjected to electric shocks to various parts of my body
including my left arm and chest."
Others described similar experiences. Medical reports confirmed them.
Since September 2011, AI confirmed at least 12 detainee deaths. Forensic
evidence showed extreme abuse. NTC officials knew and do nothing, even
when family members filed complaints.
Last September, they promised "to bring any armed groups under official
authorities and (to) fully investigate any incidents brought to (their)
attention."
According to AI, "(t)his pledge has not been fulfilled. As long as defense
lawyers and judicial authorities have no access to thousands of (detainees,
they) remain held without trial or any means to challenge the legality
of their detention...."
Moreover, extrajudicial killings occur. Investigations are announced
but not conducted. Violence, impunity, and injustice continue. Libyans
felt safe under Gaddafi. Occupation now terrorizes them.
Responsibility lies with NATO's killing machine, puppet NTC stooges,
and recruited killer gangs.
Today's Libya is charnel house hell. It's the same wherever NATO intervenes.
Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians, and other victims know its horrors. As a result,
their liberating struggles continue.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News
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