In These New Times

Sirte on 1st September 2011 Celebrating Libyan Revolution Day

On 1st September 1969 Colonel Muammar Qaddafi and the Free Unitary Officers seized power in a bloodless coup from the corrupt King Idris, and for the next 10 years worked to bring about Libya’s sovereignty and control of its national wealth, before leaving power in 1979, two years after the creation of the direct democracy Jamahiriya system launched on March 2nd, 1977.

Every year Libyans celebrate this event which was the first step along their freedom. This year here are images from Sirte:

“FIGHT FAR FROM OVER”

Echoing comments made by Leader Gaddafi and Saif  in recent broadcasts, Libyan Jamahiriya media spokesperson, Dr Moussa Ibrahim said: “The Transitional Council and the armed gangs do not control the country. Our army still controls many regions of Libya … We will be able to capture Tripoli back and many other cities in the near future.

“The fight is very, very far from over … We can lead it from street to street, from house to house.”

Repeating allegations that Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the NTC military commander for Tripoli, who is an al Qaeda ally and supporter, Dr Ibrahim said: “For God’s sake, Tripoli is governed by … a very famous international al Qaeda leader.

“He’s a star of terrorism,” he added, in comments which may resonate with some in the West who have voiced concern about the role of Islamist movements in the Arab Spring revolts in Libya and elsewhere against secular autocrats.

“The citizens of the West need to understand that their politicians are … aligning with the most evil forces.

“Al Qaeda is fighting with NATO against us.”

Dr Ibrahim said fighting would continue if the NTC and its Western allies did not accept a window of opportunity to negotiate now with the Libyan leadership : “They need to negotiate with us … otherwise they will never have a country to govern.”

A failure to talk soon could lead to “total war, not just in Libya,” Ibrahim said. “God knows what consequences that will have for Europe and the northern coast of the Mediterranean”.

Such fighting talk has been persistent from Muammar Gaddafi for the entire six months of the NATO-led terrorist aggression against the peaceful Libyan Jamahiriya and he still enjoys over 90% support from the Libyans as well as growing worldwide international support.

Analysts believe the threat of an Iraq-style insurgency is very real and also that the Al-Qaida elements may turn on their western masters.

Dr Moussa Ibrahim insisted: “Within even a few weeks, a few months, even a couple of years, we will have all of Libya back” under the people’s control.

A Libyan man living in Scotland believes a NATO airstrike killed five members of his family in a raid which like thousands of others was meant to kill popular leader Muammar Gaddafi and others resisting the foreign occupation.

Mohi Alghazali said his relatives died in the bombing on the Libyan city of Bani Walid on Wednesday.

The airstrike came after rumours had been circulating locally that both Colonel Muammar and his son Saif Gaddafi were in Bani Walid, which is still, along with most of Libya, still in the hands of their supporters, the Jamahiriya people’s power of Libya.

Western news shows images of rebels and recently arrived thousands of Libyans who were in exile in the west for many decades and who have not experienced Libya as they were from the exploitative capitalist class, and shows these images usually with lots of sky.

Mr Alghazali, who lives in Aberdeen, is calling for answers from NATO after his aunt and uncle and three of their children died in the attack.

The senior production engineer, who studied in Edinburgh for four years before moving to Aberdeen, has a lot of close family still living in Libya.

Relatives in Tripoli told him about the deaths in the airstrike, while his mother and father live in Sirte, which is Muammar Gaddafi’s home city. Sirte has been constantly under heavy NATO bombing and missile strikes but refuses to raise the rebel monarchist flag.

Mr Alghazli has contacted NATO asking for the reasons behind the airstrike, to establish whether the house his relatives were staying in was a target.