By Stephen
Lendman
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 Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/
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