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The Italian defence minister confirmed the dispatch of at least one Italian electronic warfare and recon naval vessel near Libyan territorial waters. It is believed that some special forces may be aboard the ship, although their purpose is as yet unknown. <ref> http://www.agi.it/english-version/italy/elenco-notizie/201102212243-cro-ren1104-govt_confirms_dispatch_of_navy_ship_off_libyan_waters</ref>
The Italian defence minister confirmed the dispatch of at least one Italian electronic warfare and recon naval vessel near Libyan territorial waters. It is believed that some special forces may be aboard the ship, although their purpose is as yet unknown. <ref> http://www.agi.it/english-version/italy/elenco-notizie/201102212243-cro-ren1104-govt_confirms_dispatch_of_navy_ship_off_libyan_waters</ref>

According to Polish-related ambassador in TV interview - the flood of resignations and leaving alone Gaddafi by the army, and all government related people can't be stopped and days of Muammar Gaddafi rule are counted. Firing to people only increase violence and it is sign of government end. <ref> http://superstacja.tv/0,program_tv#program 22:40 Finał Dnia - podsumowanie wydarzeń - 21 II 2011 </ref>


== Arrests and other repression ==
== Arrests and other repression ==

Revision as of 22:35, 21 February 2011

2011 Libyan protests
Date15 February 2011 – ongoing
Casualties
Death(s)519+, including 497+ protesters, 2 policemen, 5 escaped prisoners, 15 funeral mourners. (at least 242 of which were in Benghazi)[1][2][3][4][5]
Injuries3,980+

The 2011 Libyan protests are ongoing protests occurring in the North African state of Libya against the government of Libya and its Dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi. The unrest began on 13 January 2011 and continues to the present. Media outlets have reported the unrest as being inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, connecting these protests with the wider 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests.[6]

On 18 February demonstrators took control over most of Benghazi, the country's second largest city, with some support from police and defecting military units. In reaction the government sent in elite troops, which were resisted by Benghazi's inhabitants and mutinying members of the military.[7] In Benghazi, during the course of four separate protests that took place on 20 February, more than 200 people have died.[8] The New York Times reported that "the crackdown in Libya has proven the bloodiest of the recent government actions."[9]

Several Libyan diplomats stepped down during the protests; see List of Libyan officials who stepped down during 2011 protests.

Background

File:Libya.pop.pyramid.2005.jpg
About half of the population of Libya are teenagers or younger (2005 figures).[clarification needed]

Muammar al-Gaddafi has ruled Libya as the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution since overthrowing the monarchy in 1969. Following the retirement of Fidel Castro in 2008 and the death of Omar Bongo in 2009, Gaddafi is the world's longest ruling non-royal head of state.

Petroleum revenues make up to 58% of Libya's GDP,[10] leading to a resource curse. Governments with "resource curse" revenue have a lower need for taxes from other industries and consequently are less willing to develop their middle class. To calm down opposition, such governments can use the income from natural resources to offer services to the population, or to specific regime supporters.[11] The government of Libya can do similarly using the national oil resources.[12]

Early protests

The former Libyan flag used in the Kingdom of Libya had been used by some protesters as an opposition flag.[13][14]

From 13–16 January, upset at delays and political corruption, protesters in Darnah, Benghazi, Bani Walid and other cities broke into and occupied housing that the government was building.[15][16] By 27 January, the government had responded to the housing unrest with a US$24 billion investment fund to provide housing and development.

In late January, Jamal al-Hajji, a writer, political commentator and accountant, "call[ed] on the internet for demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms in Libya" inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings. He was arrested on 1 February by plain-clothes police officers, and charged on 3 February with injuring someone with his car. Amnesty International claimed that because al-Hajji had previously been imprisoned for his non-violent political opinions, the real reason for the present arrest appeared to be his call for demonstrations.[17]

Timeline of events

Map of Libya

15 February

On the evening of 15 February approximately 200 people began demonstrating in front of police headquarters in Benghazi following the arrest of Libyan human rights activist Fethi Tarbel. Tarbel is known for his work with families of the victims of the 1996 Abu Salim prison massacre, when more than 1,000 prisoners are believed to have been executed.[18]

Over the course of the evening, between 500 to 600 protesters gathered in front of the Benghazi police headquarters, chanting slogans. The protest was broken up violently by police,[19] causing as many as 40 injuries among the protesters.[20]

In Al Bayda and Az Zintan, hundreds of protesters in each town called for "the end of the regime" and set fire to police and security buildings.[19] In Az Zintan, the protesters set up tents in the town centre.[19]

16 February

  • Benghazi: Hundreds of protesters gathered at Maydan al-Shajara in Benghazi, and authorities tried to disperse them with water cannon.[21] The police, with help from some criminals clashed with the protesters before escaping in minibuses, and the protesters closed Jamal Abdel Naser street. The protesters noticed that the police officers were not from Benghazi from their accents.[22]
  • Al Baydam: 4 protesters were killed in Al Baydam, near Al Bayda, the Al-Yawm paper said, as the crowd (estimated at more than 1,500 people and was supplied with water by local people) attempted to storm the internal security building, set fire to two cars and burnt down the headquarters of the traffic police on the 16th.[23]
  • Al Bayda: Protesters clashed with police, leading to 6 deaths[22] and 3 injuries.[24]
  • Tripoli: Several pro-Gaddafi rallies of many dozens of loyalist and Tripolitanian people took place.[23] Several other pro-Gaddafi rallies took place as dozens of Libyans, angered by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in the Italian press, rioted outside the Italian consulate, storming the building and setting it on fire. A diplomat said that at least 10 people (both rioters and police) were killed in the ensuing clashes.[25]
  • Al-Quba: More than 400 protesters, with a wide range of ages, set fire to the police station.[22]
  • Other cities where protests took place included Darnah and Az Zintan, but no injuries were reported.[24]

17 February - "Day of Rage"

A "Day of Rage" in Libya and by Libyans in exile was planned for 17 February.[27][28][29] The National Conference for the Libyan Opposition stated that "all" groups opposed to Colonel Gaddafi in Libya and in exile planned protests against him on 17 February, in memory of the demonstrations in Benghazi on 17 February 2006 that were initially against the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons but which turned into protests against Gaddafi.[29] The protest plans were inspired by the 2010–2011 Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings.[29] In early February, Gaddafi had met with "political activists, journalists, and media figures" and "warned" them that they would be "held responsible" if they participated "in any way in disturbing the peace or creating chaos in Libya".[29]

Protests on the Day of Rage took place in four cities in Libya.[30] In Benghazi, a government authority released 30 prisoners from jail, armed them and paid them to fight against protesters.[31] Several demonstrators were killed by snipers and gunfire from helicopters.[30][32] The London Evening Standard estimate that 14 were killed.[32] Al Jazeera English estimates that at least 14 were killed since the previous day (16 February).[30]

  • In Ajdabiya at least 10 were killed by police.[citation needed]
  • In Benghazi, Al Jazeera English reported an eyewitness who saw 6 unarmed protesters shot dead by police;[31] BBC reported that "at least 15 people" were killed in clashes with security forces.[33]
  • In Al Bayda, Libya al-Youm reported 4 people shot dead by snipers,[31] and a Libyan human-rights group reported 13 people had been killed.[31]
  • In Darnah at least 6 people were killed by police.[citation needed]
  • In Tripoli protests took place in many places across the city.[citation needed]
  • In Zentan a number of government buildings including a police station were set on fire.[citation needed]

18 February

According to BBC News, "violent confrontations" between demonstrators and security forces spread to five Libyan cities "so far, but not yet to the capital Tripoli, in any large numbers."

  • Benghazi: Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in front of the Benghazi courthouse. According to BBC News, a "doctor at Benghazi's Jalla hospital" told them that he had "seen 15 bodies - all dead from gunshot wounds" - by the time he left the hospital "in the early hours of Friday."[33] Police and army personnel reportedly withdrew from the city after being overwhelmed by protesters. Protesters took control of the local radio station. Some army personnel joined the protesters, and by the early hours of 19 February, protesters had taken control of the airport.[34][unreliable source?]
  • Al Bayda: Unconfirmed reports indicated that the local police force and riot-control units joined the protesters.[35][unreliable source?] Unconfirmed eyewitness reports indicate that two officers who were accused of shooting protesters were hanged by protesters.[36][unreliable source?] The Libyan Oea newspaper, which is allied to Colonel Gaddafi's reputedly pro-reform son Seif al-Islam, said that the two policemen had been lynched by a demonstrators' angry lynch mob on 18 February in the city of Al Bayda.[37]
  • The government of Libya initially restricted access to the Internet in the country for several hours,[38] but later imposed a more comprehensive and sustained blackout.[39]

19 February

Widespread protests continued for a third successive day.[4] The opposition warned civilians of massacre by the government unless the international community applied pressure.[42] Witnesses in Libya have reported helicopters firing into crowds of anti-government protesters.[43] The army withdrew from the city of Al Bayda.[44] Human Rights Watch and the Libyan newspaper Quryna said thousands of demonstrators had poured out onto the streets in Benghazi and other eastern cities on 18 February, a day after the clashes in which 49 people were killed, and that some protests were still continuing.[37] Artillery, helicopter gunships and antiaircraft missile launchers were used to kill protesters.[45] Protests were also reported in Misurata.[46]

According to a death toll compiled by the AFP news agency from local sources, at least 41 people have been killed since demonstrations first erupted on 15 February. The toll excludes two policemen newspapers said to have been hanged in Al Bayda on 18 February. The New York-based Human Rights Watch, citing phone interviews with hospital staff and eye witnesses, said that security forces killed more than 80 anti-Gadaffi-regime protesters in unrest-swept eastern Libya.[37] Opposition groups later put the number of dead at over 120.[47] The residents of Bengazi told Al Jazeera that at least 200 people had died while the New York City-based Human Rights Watch put the countrywide death toll at a "conservative" 104 on the 19th.[46] The security forces (troops and police) of Benghazi were in their barracks while the city was in a state of civil mutiny.[48]

The UK's former Foreign Secretary and Chairman of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that the protests across the Middle East were resembling the anti-Communist/pro-democracy events in Eastern Europe of 1989.[49] British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "deeply concerned" by the "unacceptable violence" used against protesters.[49]

20 February

Protests escalated[50] with residents also reporting small protests beginning in Tripoli, indicating a widening of the unrest from the Eastern half of the country into Gaddafi's center of power.[51] Hospitals confirmed that they have run out of supplies and doctors estimate the death-toll in Benghazi to be between 200-300.[52] After the people of Benghazi beat back the police and captured several key military barracks local military brigades joined the protesters.[53] By this time protesters in Benghazi numbered in the tens of thousands, possibly in the hundreds of thousands.[54] Reports also emerged of pro-Gaddafi militia by the Elfedeel Bu Omar compound "being butchered by angry mobs." Al Jazeera said that protesters were in control of the city as loyalist security forces fled to the airport.[55] Further military units are reported to have defected in order to protect protesters.[54] Several senior Muslim clerics and tribal leaders from around Libya called for an end to the bloodshed by the regime, and for the government to step down.[46] A large[vague] spontaenous protest occurred in Tripoli by night where the protesters quickly overran police.[56] One tribal leader threatened to block oil exports.[54]

The Tuareg tribe in the south were said to have answered a call by the larger Warfala tribe to take part in the protests. The Tuareg towns of Ghat and Ubary were also locations for violence as members of the tribe reportedly attacking government buildings and police stations.[55]

File:Saif al-Islam television.jpg
Saif El Islam addressing Libya on state TV, 20 February

Saif El Islam appeared on state television and blamed the violence and protests, including "acts of sabotage and burning," on "foreign agents," and in particular, Israel, echoing the attempts made by other Arab leaders in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen to dismiss and downplay the unrest.[57] He said that the unrest "may cause civil war" and referred to the civil war in Libya in 1936. He also said that Libya was different from its neighbours. He ends by warning: We will fight to the last man and woman and bullet. We will not lose Libya. We will not let Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and BBC trick us. [58][59] The Libyan representative at the Arab League resigned, stating that the reason for his resignation was the "oppression against protesters".[60] There were also unconfirmed rumours that Muammar al-Gaddafi had left for Brazil or Venezuela leaving Saif El Islam in charge.[61][62] The Libyan ambassador to China, Hussein Sadiq al Musrati, resigned from his post during an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic. He also called on the army to intervene and called for all Libya's diplomats to resign.[55]

The United States Department of State, through the American Embassy, issued a travel warning to US citizens due to the continuing unrest in the country.[63] The European Union called on the government to refrain from using force and to answer the protesters' grievances.[55]

On the night of 20 February, clashes escalated in Tripoli, with protesters trying to seize control of Green Square. Witnesses reported snipers firing on crowds, and Gaddafi supporters driving around the square shooting and running over demonstrators. Protesters burned a police and security forces station, and the General People's Congress building.[64]

21 February

Saif al-Islam Muammar Al-Gaddafi called for a "general assembly" to discuss grievances.[65]

LTT Wimax internet, Al Madar mobile phone service, and text messaging services were restored in the Tripoli area at 01:30.[citation needed] The BBC reported that the Libyan ambassador to India, Ali al-Essawi, resigned in protest of the government crackdown.[66]

It was reported that the People's Hall in Tripoli, which serves as the meeting place for the General People's Congress, had been set on fire.[67][68]

Islamic leaders and clerics in Libya urged all Muslims to rebel against Gaddafi.[69]

The country's justice minister, Mustapha Abdel Jalil, resigned in response to the worsening situation and the attacks on civilians by security forces. There were also reports that the State Television Centre had been smashed up by protesters and that at least one Tripoli police station was burned down.[70]

Banks and other government buildings were looted throughout the day in Tripoli as the city's death toll rose to at least 61. There were reports that leader Muammar Gaddafi had fled the capital after the People's Hall and the state television headquarters were overrun and burned by protesters – according to rumors he had fled either to the town of Sebha or to Venezuela.[71]

Libyan Air Force warplanes and attack helicopters launched airstrikes on protesters, reportedly targeting a funeral procession and a group of protesters trying to reach an army base.[72][73] Two senior Libyan Air Force pilots defected and flew their Mirage F1 fighter jets to Malta and requested political asylum after defying orders to bomb protesters.[74]. There was also a strange landing of two Super Puma civilian helicopters about 15:40, with people claiming that they are French, and helicopters was there registered. [75] Protests began in Malta in front of the Libyan embassy for Democracy in Libya.

In Benghazi, protesters took control of the streets, and looted weapons from the main security headquarters. Demonstrators also lowered the Gaddafi-era flag from above the main courthouse, and replaced it with the flag of the country's old monarchy.[72]

The Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez convened a press meeting with fellow EU foreign ministers, at the European Council building in Brussels, in the hope of getting them to evacuate the EU’s citizens from Libya.[76]

The UK’s BP said it was preparing to evacuate about 40 expatriate workers from Libya, where it has suspended onshore oil exploration due to the political unrest and Norway’s Statoil said it already has started pulling out a handful of international staff from Libya and has closed its Tripoli corporate office. Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan said his country had evacuated almost 600 of its nationals from Libya after looters raided the facilities of Turkish construction companies, but there are no known reports of Turkish citizens being harmed in the raids.[76]

On 21 February, British Foreign Secretary William Hague stated that he had received information that Muammar al-Gaddafi had left Libya and was travelling to Venezuela. [77] Venezuelan government officials denied reports that Muammar Gaddafi had left Libya and was on a plane bound for Caracas.[78]

Navy warships begin bombardment of residential areas in Tripoli, leaving an unknown number of casualties [79]

The Italian defence minister confirmed the dispatch of at least one Italian electronic warfare and recon naval vessel near Libyan territorial waters. It is believed that some special forces may be aboard the ship, although their purpose is as yet unknown. [80]

According to Polish-related ambassador in TV interview - the flood of resignations and leaving alone Gaddafi by the army, and all government related people can't be stopped and days of Muammar Gaddafi rule are counted. Firing to people only increase violence and it is sign of government end. [81]

Arrests and other repression

Gaddafi on 13 February warned against the use of Facebook,[82] and security organs arrested several prominent internet activists and bloggers.[83][84] The novelist Idris Al-Mesmari was arrested hours after giving an interview with Al Jazeera about the police reaction to protests in Benghazi on 15 February.[19]

Then there were the air strikes.

Media censorship

Lebanese officials complained that Libya was jamming the broadcasts of Lebanese television reporting on the crackdown.[55]

Casualties

Residents of Benghazi told Al Jazeera that at least 200 people had died, while the New York-based Human Rights Watch put the countrywide death toll at a "conservative" 104 on 19 February.[46] Other sources list the number of deaths to be 220 in Benghazi alone.[85] The actual deaths in Benghazi had probably passed 100, Human Rights Watch said on the 20 February.[51]

Libyan official resignations

See List of Libyan ambassadors who stepped down during 2011 protests

In "a sign of growing cracks within the government",[86] several officials began resigning their positions starting on 20 February, largely in protest of the Libyan army's "excessive use of force".

Ministers

Ambassadors

Contrary to previous reports, the Ambassador of Libya to Great Britain has not resigned.[93]

Responses

Domestic

In an interview with Adnkronos, Prince Idris al-Senussi, a pretender to the Libyan throne, announced he was ready to return to the country once change had been initiated.[97]

Supranational

United Nations On 18 February, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the violence employed by security forces in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen. Pillay specifically cited Libya for its use of live ammunition against protesters.[98]

European Union The High Representative of the European Union for External Policy, Catherine Ashton has condemned the crackdown of protests by Libyan authorities and pushed back any threat of Tripoli towards the EU. "The European Union is extremely concerned about the events unfolding in Libya and the reported deaths of a very high number of demonstrators. The EU urges the authorities to exercise restraint and calm and to immediately refrain from further use of violence against peaceful demonstrators. The legitimate aspirations and demands of the people for reform must be addressed through open and meaningful Libya-led dialogue. (...) We have heard threats, we hear people saying you should do this, you should do that, but in the end the EU will do what is right," Ashton replied concerning threats Libya delivered to the rotating Hungarian presidency of the EU, stating that Tripoli would end co-operation on blocking irregular immigration into the EU if Brussels did not side with Gaddafi.[99] The full statement can be accessed here:[100]

International

Canada Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has condemned crackdowns on "innocent protesters", and called on the Libyan security forces "to respect the human rights of demonstrators and uphold their commitment to freedom of speech and the right to assembly." Cannon also told any Canadians that are in Libya to avoid areas where protests and other gatherings are occurring or may occur.[101]

Czech Republic The Czech Republic had a tepid reaction to calls for support of democratic change in Libya. The Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg said the EU should not "get involved too much": "If Gaddafi falls, [well] there are bigger catastrophes in the world [than that]. It's no use for anyone if we intervene there loudly, just to prove our own importance."[99][102]

France French EU affairs minister Laurent Wauquiez described the repression as "completely unacceptable".[99]

Germany German's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle demanded the end of violence, while Germany's state secretary for EU affairs Werner Hoyer declared: "We are watching with great concern and indignation the violence used by state authorities in Libya and in other states.".[99] Germany issued a travel warning for Libya.[103]

Italy On February 19, Silvio Berlusconi declared his worries about the regional instability, adding "I haven't yet heard from Gaddafi. The situation is evolving and so I don't feel I should disturb anyone." His foreign minister Franco Frattini added on February 21: "Italy as you know is the closest neighbour of both Tunisia and Libya so we are extremely concerned about the repercussions on the migratory situation in the southern Mediterranean". Frattini spoke of the "possibility of a reform of the constitution that could be taken up soon by the People's Congress,"[99]

Luxembourg Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn saying he is "not afraid" of "a dictator who shoots at his own people".[99]

Malta On February 21, the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that Malta was closely watching events in Libya and condemned all forms of violence and bloodshed. Speaking at the Auberge de Castille, Dr Gonzi said the evolving situation was discussed at a Cabinet meeting and Malta hoped that the best would come out of this situation for Libya and the region and that Libya's territorial integrity was respected.[104] Meanwhile a noisy protest against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continued, with a crowd of some 250 Libyans calling on the ambassador to resign and for the Libyan embassy in Malta to replace the current Libyan flag with the old Libyan Monarchy flag.[105]

United Kingdom The UK announced that in light of the unrest it has decided to revoke some arms export licenses stating that "licenses will not be issued when officials judge that there is a risk that the exports may provoke regional or internal conflicts or be used to facilitate internal repression".[106] UK Prime Minister David Cameron slammed Tripoli's response to the protests as "unacceptable, counter-productive and wrong." His foreign secretary, William Hague, stated that "The United Kingdom condemns what the Libyan government has been doing ... and we look to other countries to do the same".[99]

United States US President Barack Obama said that he was "deeply concerned" by the violence. [107] Later, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stated that "Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed"[108]. The State Department has also ordered all family members of U.S. Embassy employees and non-emergency personnel to leave Libya.[109]

Other

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Sunni Muslim cleric and the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, issued a fatwa on 21 February ordering to assassinate Gaddafi, saying "whoever in the Libyan army is able to shoot a bullet at Mr. Gaddafi should do so."[110]

Regional financial stock market indices fell on 20 February on concern of spreading instability.[111]

Media

Libya's state television made no mention of the anti-government protests in the eastern provinces of the country, and continued with its usual programming until 17 February.[112] During the morning news bulletin on 16 February, state TV repeatedly showed demonstrations in support of Colonel Gaddafi, which were about 200 to 300 strong and allegedly "from across the country". At one point a crowd could be heard chanting anti-Al Jazeera TV slogans. The Quatarie TV channel had started broadcasting footage from a pro-Gaddafi demonstration live from Sirte, Gaddafi's home town, that numbered 1,000. State TV also showed live coverage of a speech by Gaddafi from the previous evening, in which he denounced both the United States and their alleged "Zionist" allies in front of a cheering crowd on 16 February.[112] It also began broadcasting images of burning buildings and cars in what viewers said was the first time government media had acknowledged the growing unrest in the east, which it suggested was spreading to the point that the government had no choice but to address it directly, possibly even with force of arms on the 20th.[51] Gadhafi was shown with his supporters during a rally in Nalut on 19 February.[51]

Libya's privately owned and London-based electronic newspaper al-Yawm, which reports favourably on Gaddafi's son, Sayf-al-Islam, was the only Libyan source of any kind to freely report on the anti-Gaddafi protests in both the cities of Benghazi and Al Bayda. The paper usually carries balanced, un-opinionated reporting published a total of 16 articles on the anti-Gaddafi regime protests, quoting allegedly tapped "trustworthy" sources in Benghazi and Al-Baydam, and carried no reports on the pro-Gaddafi demonstrations in Tripoli.[23][113] 4 protesters were killed in Al-Baydam, the Al-Yawm paper said, as a crowd (attempted to storm the Internal Security Building, set fire two cars and the burnt down headquarters of the local traffic police on the 16th.[23]

According to the state-owned Al-Shams and Al-Jamahiriya newspapers, mobile phone users were sent a text message warning them against taking to the streets on 17 February as a result of "directives from the state security service", which is the body that monitors and controls the country's two mobile telecommunications networks.[112] The front page of Al-Jamahiriya was dedicated to pro-Gaddafi demonstrations and his timely public appearance at the Ahly football Club in Tripoli the day before, while state-owned Al-Shams led exclusively with coverage of this event.[23] It later added that additional security forces had been bussed in to "control" the situation and that they had "out-of-town" accents "and foreign agents".[23]

Quryna, which was previously part of Sayf-al-Islam's Al-Ghad Media Corporation, has now been taken over by the state in 2010, carried an upbeat report about order being restored in Benghazi. One article reported on the families of "17 February 2006 martyrs" who met Col. Gaddafi and condemned the protests.[23]

Domestically, BBC News reported on 18 February, that the "leading pro-government newspaper" Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar has adopted a seemingly uncompromising stance towards the protests, stating:

"Any risk from these minuscule groups [protesters] - this people and the noble revolutionary power will violently and thunderously respond, ...

The people's power, the Jamahiriya [system of rule], the revolution, and Colonel Gaddafi are all red lines and those who try to cross or come near these lines are suicidal and playing with fire."[33]

State TV broadcast images of Colonel Gaddafi paying a brief visit to Tripoli's Green Square, early on 18 February, during which time supporters chanted pro-government slogans.[33] BBC News reported that "diplomats reported the use of heavy weapons in Benghazi", on 18 February. The government imposed a near total news blackout, and foreign reporters are banned from the country.[114] The British newspaper Independent Online reported on 20 February that at least one state-run newspaper Al-Zahf Alakhdar blamed the protests on Zionism.[115]

References

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  9. ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (20 February 2011). "Libyan Forces Again Fire on Residents at Funerals". New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Silver, Nate (31 January 2011). "Egypt, Oil and Democracy".
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Further reading

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