It's goodbye Gaddafi, but with rivers of blood
Protesters in the Libyan capital Tripoli sacked the headquarters of state television overnight and set offices of the People’s Committees that are the mainstay of the regime ablaze, witnesses told AFP by telephone this morning.
If they’ve been able to do that, then it’s pretty much over for Gaddafi. Taking over state television headquarters in a harsh dictatorship is the equivalent of storming the Bastille or taking control of the palace.
State television would in a crisis like that have been heavily guarded by the army. If it was not, and protestors could get through to sack the place, then we have a good indication of what is happening with the army, and it is not what Saif Gaddafi said last night.
The Gaddafi family’s survival depends on the loyalty of the army.
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Libyan State TV still on air. Just checked it (10:26am). Currently re-running Gaddafi’s son speech.
That makes a change from folklore dancing.
The folklore dancing would be reminiscent of the cartoons broadcast by Xandir Malta in May 1987 when – although the election results had not been officially published – Nationalists were out on the strees in full force, celebrating finally being rid of the Labour government.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110221/world-news/gaddafis-son-warns-of-civil-war
michael cauchi(17 minutes ago)my worries are not for maltese businesses in Libya but for an influx of immigrants ….will be deadly for our small island…fingers crossed
Would you rather have this on your conscience? http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DAAAYXk2ZnCg
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110221/world-news/gaddafis-son-warns-of-civil-war
stephen.c(5 minutes ago)Do not be happy with what is going on in these Arab countrys,this is the start of the end of the west,now these country’s will be taken over by Islam extremists and they will want to wage war with the west,Malta will be the first stepping stone and we shall have the great siege all over again,the holy war has just started and will end the human race i am afraid,good luck to us all.
Jesus Christ, talk about uccello di mal augurio!
Hey ”Tunnel Vision” – just think of the Islamic tourists Joey will be bringing over for their rest periods in between battles.
Quoting him, ”this is the time to launch a huge marketing campaign to exploit to our advantage the problems our neighbours are experiencing”. How pathetic!
Protest in tunisia for separation of mosque and state – if they are to carry on like this, the tables will be reversed and we’ll be the backwards countries in a hundred or less…
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/world/africa/21tunisia.html?_r=1
It’s a domino effect. One country after the other with riots. More refugees are expected to arrive in the next hours in the south of Italy. It seems that in Sicily marquee tents are being pitched to be ready for the next hours.
Libya Al Riadhia (State TV) currently showing videos glorifying Gaddafi, him shaking hands with world leaders, addressing adoring crowds etc…, while in the background this guy in a green scarf is (presumably) singing his praises. Why does this remind me of Xandir Malta while waiting for the 1981 election results?
Gaddafi: wasn’t he the man who gave our beloved Mintoff an award for human rights? That says something. Not just about Gaddafi and his definition of human rights, but also about Mintoff.
Malta is as guilty as any other western country for keeping silent and not distancing itself from a dictator like Gaddafi. Oh, sure, we come up with empty reasons like “international relations” and “Keeping the peace with our neighbors.” But the real reason has always been money.
We have had a vested interest in that country and because of it we have forced ourselves to turn a blind eye to the cruel way Gaddafi ruled his country. We even bother to keep up appearances and have photos taken with the guy. If we hadn’t, if we had turned down any invitation from that rat, then the pro-Libyan people of Malta would have been up in arms, because of the business we have in that country.
Well done to us. We accuse the USA and UK for allowing dictators to flourish in oil rich countries. We say that the US is guilty of supporting such regimes in order to keep these places poor. But we are just as guilty. And let’s face it, the only reason why we used to say these things is because we believed that Gaddafi would never be overthrown.
Well that worked out well, didn’t it? Now we do, in many ways, have blood on our hands. We should have always taken a stand against Gaddafi and his band of hooligans and to hell with our interests in that country.
I was always ashamed of the fact that Malta kept such good terms with a country that rules its people in such a manner. We should have been first in line to congratulate the people of Libya in their efforts to oust the bugger and his worshippers. But instead we are silent. Why? Are we still afraid of upsetting those in Malta who want Libya to remain under Gaddafi’s rule, seriously?
I wish our government would grow a pair and stand up for these principles it harps on about. So divorce compromises our values, but then there is no mention of how much we have already compromised our values by being buddy-buddy with Col Gaddafi, shaking the hand of a man who oppresses his own people.
As for the Labour Party – well, I doubt we will hear much from them. Muscat is probably busy planning the slogan for the new marketing campaign for those who would have otherwise headed for Libya for a nice break.
Not to mention the close ties Labour had with that man in the past and which are probably going to bite them in the backside now.
It makes me sick to the stomach to think that anyone in Malta, a country that talks so much about God, charity and all things moral, would ever have anything to do with such dictators. But what am I saying, the Labour Party, in its heyday, was particularly close to Gaddafi, North Korea and the USSR. Birds of a feather flock together, and that says a lot about where our own country was heading at that time.
So will the Labour Party ditch its past relations with Gaddafi and speak out against him and support the people’s efforts to get rid of him? That would certainly be progressive.
Will our government finally take a stand on something that is happening outside Malta? Will Malta finally wake up and realize that our daydreaming days are over and that we cannot act like we live in a bubble? I think we will. At least I hope so. I will not lose faith.
The fact that he’s using mercenaries actually means that the army isn’t behind him after all.
BBC World Service is saying that the most accurate information about the situation in Libya is from Italy:
http://www.corriere.it/esteri/11_febbraio_21/libia-guerra-civile_d21f5616-3d82-11e0-8c41-24e78bec137b.shtml
Not only but I recall KMB, either during the discussions on local councils or in the run up to the EU referendum, identifying him and his country as a model of democracy.
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici picked up Mintoff’s Gaddafi Award for Human Rights – a fitting representative.
Gaddafi’s award for human rights-someone please tell me this is a joke!
He would do that, wouldn’t he?
Before the 1976 elections, Gheddafi spoke at an MLP mass meeting – I think in Birzebbuga – and said that if the Maltese voted for the PN, he would stop supplying oil at a cheap price.
No Foreign Interefence Act for him then, eh?
“State television would in a crisis like that have been heavily guarded by the army. If it was not, and protestors could get through to sack the place, then we have a good indication of what is happening with the army, and it is not what Saif Gaddafi said last night.”
They evidently have a backup TV centre, possibly even located abroad as when I last checked they were still transmitting. I quite expect the beloved colonel to have such backup plans.
Even his own physical safety is unlikley to be threatened as his ‘residences’ are impervious to anything short of a full scale military attack. That will of course change if/when the military changes sides.
Just checked Libya TV and it’s still running.
It is showing a crowd of people demonstrating and they seem to be pro Gaddafi but I cannot be sure.
They are waving green flags and what look like portraits of Gaddafi but I’m not sure as the picture is not that clear and it could be someone else.
Please let us be moderate and factual in what we write. And I do not mean you, Ms. Caruana Galizia.
I have spent nearly 20 years working in Libya and I was always treated with courtesy and kindness. Without citing Christian (or Muslim) feelings I want to publicly show my complete solidarity with all Libyan people of good will.
Here’s another one:
“george micallef
iva ghandek ragul anke ahna nuru is solidarita maghhom, imma m,a dak il mahmug gaddafi u il klikka tieghu inkluzi dawk il maltin mhux ser ikun xejn anzi niextieq illi ilo gvern malti jikkundanna x`qed jaghmel il militar kontra il poplu libjan li qed jipprotesta.
keep it up libja and kill the bustards”
[Daphne – Well, they’ve shot the spoonbills already, so they majtezwel kill the bustards.]
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