عبد الحفيظ غوقة المتحدث الرسمي باسم المجلس الوطني الانتقالي Abad al-Hafiz Ruqa Official speaker of the national assembly of transition.
Photos from Benghazi military air base:
كاميرا الجزيرة تدخل قاعدة بنينة الجوية في بنغازي بعد انحيازها إلى الثورة الشعبية [Photos taken] by Al-Jazeera on the arrival at the air base of Benghazi after [its staff] joined the people's uprising.
Benghazi runway protected by anti-aircraft gun:
Palace of the Gadafi family taken:
صور لكاميرا الجزيرة في قصر للقذافي بمدينة البيضاء تظهر سردابا محصنا ضد هجمات نووية Pictures taken by Al-Jazeera in Gadafi's palace in the town of al- Baida are showing a fortified atomic bunker in the souterrain.
Bunker facility for the control of electricity and water supply, the ventilation system and a particle filter, installed by a Swiss company that is using parts provided by a U.S. company in Michigan. The controlling facility has been tested only some weeks ago:
Gadafi's swimming pool:
..........
Who Makes The Machinery ?
Visitor to "blueprint news" who found this site on May 23, 2012.
An extraordinary week in the Arabic world, characterized by mass rallies, bloodshed and the fear of national leaders. The following news items have been taken from an Arabic language special published by Al-Jazeera on February 25. UPDATES for the following days have been embedded !
المنطقة العربية على صفيح ساخن
The Arabic Region on a Hot Iron Plate
LIBYA ليبيا
الخناق يضيق على القذافي Suffocation is hampering Gadafi.
المتظاهرون يسيطرون على معظم ليبيا Protesters controlling major part of Libya.
مقتل و إصابا العشرات في طرابلس Fierce fighting and dozens wounded in Tripolis.
Gadafi speaking to a few followers from above a fortified town gate.
Excited group of Libyan soldiers ap- proaching protesters near Benghazi.
UPDATE from February 27, 2011: صور لكاميرا الجزيرة في قصر للقذافي بمدينة البيضاء تظهر سردابا محصنا ضد هجمات نووية Pictures taken by Al-Jazeera in Gadafi's palace in the town of al-Baida are showing a fortified atomic bunker in the souterrain.
Ventilation and particle filter only recently tested:
UPDATE from February 26, 2011
تشييع قتلى الاشتباكات في مدينة مصراتة الليبية Public funeral of those killed in [an armed] conflict in the Libyan town of Misurata ["Masrata"]. [For further information on the cited armed conflict, please, refer to the February 25 blogspot.]
مظاهرة احتجاجية في العاصمة عمان Demonstration of protest in the capital of Amman.
مطالب بإصلاحات سياسية و اقتصادية Calls for political and economic reforms.
اتهام الحكومة بالاستبداد و الفساد The government is being accused of dictatorship and corruption.
IRAQ العراق
مقتل شخصين و إصابا 5 في الموصل People died, five were wounded in Mosul.
مظاهرات في بغداد و كركوك و مدن أخرى Demonstrations in Baghdad, Kirkuk and other towns.
BAHRAIN البحرين
الألاف في دوار اللؤلؤة للتظاهر ضد الحكومة Thousands on Pearl Square demonstrating against the government.
وزير الخارجية البحريني: يمكن طرح كافة القضايا على المائدة According to the foreign minister of Bahrain, it is possible to get rid of all problems at a [negotiating] table.
TUNISIA تونس
اعتصام يطالب بسقوط الحكومة الأنتقالية The government of transition needs to be saved from failure.
اتهام حكومة محمد الغنوشي بأنها امتداد للنظام السابق The government of Mahmud al-Ranushi is being accused of prolonging the former system.
UPDATE from February 27, 2011: الغنوشي يعلن استقالته من الحكومة التونسية و اتجاه لتكليف باجي قائد السيسي لخلافته Al-Ranushi declares his resignation from the Tunisian government [amidst] controversial tendencies [for the] political leader to follow.
EGYPT مصر
المتظاهرون يتمسكون بمطالب الثورة Protesters stick to their demands [made during] the uprising.
المتظاهرون يطالبون بمحاكمة مبارك و إقالة شفيق Protesters demanding the punishment of Mubarak and a pitiless treatment.
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Here are the daily news from Libya as they appeared in the late evening news program on Al-Jazeera Arabic TV, February 24, 2011, posted by Ulysses at 11:28 pm GMT:
مصادر للجزيرة في الزاوية:عناصر من الجيش يلتحقون بالمتظاهرين و يفتحون مخازن الذخيرة
Al-Jazeera's sources at al-Zaouia (*) are saying that essential elements of the army are joining the protesters and are opening the army depots. * al-Zaouia = Small town west of Tripolis.
الرابطة الليبية لحقوق الإنسان: لدى مجلس حقوق الإنسان ملفات كاملة لإدانة نظام القذافي
The Libyan association for human rights says their organisation is keeping complete dossiers to accuse the Gadafi regime.
أ.ف.ب عن مصدر رسمي : سويسرا تجمد أرصدة محتملة للقذافي و المقربين منه
AFP [= Agence France Press] is the official source [of the following]: Switzerland will freeze the eventual assets of Gadafi and his family.
قتيلا 16 على الأقل في مواجهات متواصلة في الزاوية غرب طرابلس
At least 16 died in enduring confrontations in al-Zaouia west of Tripolis.
أحمد قذاف الدم الممثل الشخصي للقذافي يقدم استقالته
Ahmed Gadaf al-Dam, personal representative of Gadafi, has resigned.
رائد بسلاح الجو الليبي يدعو الطيارين الليبين للنزول في مطار مصراته بعد سيطرة الثوار عليه
A commander of the Libyan air force calls for Libyan pilots to land on the airstrip of Misurata (*) to get the rebels there under control. * Misurata = Town of the coastal region, east of Homs and Tripolis.
صحفي للجزيرة: كتائب القذافي تشن عمليات كر و فر على الزاوية و أسرنا العديد من عناصرها
Reported by Al-Jazeera: Units [loyal to] Gadafi are launching operations of attack and retreat on al-Zaouia and [ethnic] families [or: tribal clans] with their numerous members. Comment: By the way, after having read the Arabic writing of the dictator's name, I came to think that the accurate transcription to be used in Western media should be GADAFI rather than Gaddafi (Al-Jazeera) or anything else. Nevertheless, I don't intend to correct the writing I used in my older blogspots or in my videos. He isn't worth such additional work any longer.
Screenshot from Al-Jazeera Arabic TV on February 23
Ghaddafi's son trying to warn and intimidate the people of Libya on behalf of his father only a few days ago. [Photo]
"The Italian minister of foreign affairs says that Eastern Libya is not any longer under the control of the Libyan government." [Arabic footnote white on red]
"Libyan military units of the Green Mountain region openly announce their participation in the revolt of the people." [Arabic footnote white on blue]
Summary of News on February 23, 2011:
- Benghazi folks celebrating their victory while shooting is going on.
- Commanding Libyan general in Tobruk declares he has broken with the regime.
- The country seems to be split between regions where the army is taking sides in favour of protesters and such parts where private militias are chasing enemies of the system on behalf of Ghaddafi who cannot trust his own army any longer.
- There are rumours that Ghaddafi might intend to blow up Libyan oil wells.
- Former minister of justice says there is evidence that Ghaddafi was directly involved in the Lockerbie incident.
And whoso defendeth himself after he hath suffered wrong - for such, there is no way (of blame) against them. (41) The way (of blame) is only against those who oppress mankind, and wrongfully rebel in the earth. For such there is a painful doom. (42)
Defiant Gaddafi speech shows he would rather die "a martyr" than leave the country while blaming drugged and drunken youths as well as foreign spies to be behind what he calls an "international conspiracy" to damage the Libyan revolution which he is decided to defend by any means that is needed. He aggressively insists that "these rats" will "beg for mercy but not receive it". Gaddafi is now said trying to open talks with tribal leaders who are considered to be very influential among the people.
Closed door meeting of UN Security Council on Libya. Disturbing differences between statements of Libya's UN ambassador who is still pro-government and his deputy who openly demanded Gaddafi's resign the day before when several Libyan diplomats all over the world resigned from their posts.
Arab League holds emergency meeting in Kairo.
At a State Department press conference, U.S. spokesman Crowley gave moderate comments about Libya while stating that repatriation of U.S. citizens from the airports controlled by Libyan government had first priority in the current state of urgency. At the same time, Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry expressed his opinion on violence in Libya as follows: "The Qadhafi government's use of deadly force against its own people should mean the end of the regime itself. It's beyond depictable, and I hope we are wit- nessing its last hours in power. Libyans should have the opportunity to choose leaders who respect their basic rights." The White House like the Department of State offer condolences for the victims of "appalling violence".
Libyan naval ship floating in the waters of Malta, possibly intending to defect like the pilots of two military jets the day before. Pilots said they refused to bomb protesting citizens at Benghazi.
Recent reports say that foreign pilots and other mercenaries are deployed by the government to bomb or shoot protesting citizens. Some people are said to have been burnt alive by mercenaries.
Libyan soldiers in Tobruk announced that Libyan government is not in control of the region any longer.
According to Italy, marine oil terminals in Libya hold operations.
Lots of foreigners are leaving the country. Rescue operations are being prepared in the United States, in Egypt, Korea and in the Netherlands. Egyptian citizens in Libya are under pressure as the Libyan government is blaming Egypt for inciting unrest in its country.
Ghaddafi speech on February 22, 2011:
Comment by Ulysses: Such must have behaved the German "Fuehrer" Adolf Hitler in his bunker during his very last days in 1945.
Britain's Tony Blair and Libya's Ghadafi shaking hands.
While Tripolis and Benghazi are facing a bloody revolt against Libya's president Ghadafi, there is still Libyan oil flowing to the European Union. As 79% of Libyan crude oil is being delivered to Europe, such making Libya the No. 3 oil supplier for the EU after Norway and Russia, Europe's politicians are interested in good relations with Muhamar El-Ghadafi. The former godfather of Arabic terrorism, once punished by an international boycott on behalf of the U.S., since then turned into an "honourable" business partner whose "oily handshake" pleased many European politicians until now.
Percentage of total Libyan oil export to European countries:
Shortened video of Al-Jazeera's latest evening news: - Another day of unrest in Yemen, Bahrain and Libya. - The Libyan oil connection (see above). - Iranian naval ships passing the Egyptian Suez canal on their way to Syria for a purported arms delivery. Israel protesting.
UPDATE from Feb. 19, 2011: Evening News on Al-Jazeera ( Shortened Arabic version with English subtitles; الثورات في ليبيا و اليمن )
Historic Unrest in the Arab world
Today, it seems that rebellion in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen reached a point of no return, a final breach of the dyke, that will sooner or later lead to replacement of the actual leadership. Whatever time it might take to achieve the peoples' goal of freedom, democracy and an end to corruption, now, the predicted development received its final impulse in all of those countries: Huge numbers of dead and wounded civilians from the streets of Manama can't be forgotten quickly enough to enable Bahrain's ruling family a return to "business as usual". As to Libya and Yemen, the rebellion has already lasted too long and required too many victims that a kind of status quo could be reached again.
One hour ago, I recorded a news special on the Arabic channel of Al-Jazeera which has everything in it to describe how the Arabic world is driving into a chaos that, we hope, might finally generate a new era of freedom and democracy.
When traditional structures of power finally broke away in Tunisia and Egypt, opposition groups of other Arabic nations took the initiative to give vent to their anger.
The Algerian opposition had already taken to the streets when the Tunisian revolution just began and nobody even imagined that Egypt's citizens, by starting their own revolution from scratch, would bring about enough manpower on the streets of Kairo, Alexandria and Suez as to overtake the Algerians in their fight for freedom and democracy.
And now, the virus of protest has even infected the people of Bahrain, that tiny Arabic nation living on an island which has already become known as the "biggest U.S. aircraft carrier" because of its U.S. naval base. A deeply rooted mistrust against the ruling family has now driven the people into an open resistance. Public unrest first showed up only three days ago. Latest news: The Bahrain military deployed lots of tanks to support police forces. Then, both, police and military obviously succeeded in cracking down on the demonstrators to restore "silence and order" once again, but who knows for how long that fragile peace will last while problems still remain unsolved....
Bahrain's foreign minister, a member of the ruling Khalifa family. Protesters in Manama.
A similar situation emerged in Yemen where protests against the Yemenite president are already lasting six days. Lots of protesting students and other demonstrators meet with pro-government protesters.
The Yemenite president and protesters on the streets of Aden in Southern Yemen.
Protesters on the streets of Yemen's capital Sanaa. From here, the uprising spread to all over Yemen.
Even Libya under the rule of its notorious president Ghadafi and Sudan, ruled by its despotic president Basher, are on the list of ideal candidates for the next revolutions to come.
Libyan opposition volunteers and pro-government groups fighting each other on the streets of Benghasi and elsewhere. Some of them tearing down pictures of president Ghadafi while others are showing their support for the "leader of the Libyan revolution". We already knew that such pro- government groups existed, ready to interfere in case that ordinary people might take to the streets. How else, Ghadafi could have politically survived during all those years when he was either marked as one of those grey figures behind Arabic terrorism in the so-called Lockerbie incident, or when he surprised his Arabic fellow-statesmen once and again with his peculiar statements on how to solve regional problems ? During all those years of economic boycott on behalf of the U.S. that temporarily drove his oil producing country into poverty, people in Libya had already been fed up with their leader's style of ruling the country and the way of life led by Ghadafi's family clan.
The below picture is showing organized pro-government protesters.
During yesterday's uprising, heavy shooting has been reported that left demonstrators severely wounded or dead. Hours later, the flames of revolution reached other important towns of Libya according to Al-Jazeera. Up to now, it is still difficult to get enough and reliable pictures out of Libya.
Al-Jazeera's Arabic subtitle to the above picture: "Two died and tens were wounded in Benghazi when Libyan security clashed with protesters the day before demonstrations (took place) against the (political) system in Libya."
Not to speak of Iraq and Jordan, both countries being closely linked together because of a common history under the rule of the Hashemite dynasty. By the way, the border between Egypt and the Gaza strip is still closed. That might change within the days to come, such enabling Palestinian habitants of Gaza to get in some aid.
قيادات الثورة طالبت المجلس العسكري بوضع دستور جديد يمهد لجمهورية برلمانية Leaders of the revolution demanding from the military council the establishment of a new constitution intended to prepare for a parliamentary republic.
خطوات أولى لتنظيم الانتقال بمصر
First Steps on the Way to Transition in Egypt
عين المجلس العسكري الأعلى الذي يدير مصر مؤقتا مساء أمس رئيسا للجنة صياغة التعديلات الدستورية التي يتوقع استفتاء الشعب عليها خلال شهرين، بما يمهد لإرساء حكم مدني ديمقراطي, وأقال مسؤولين أمنيين بارزين على خلفية إطلاق النار على المتظاهرين
The supreme military council for the administration of Egypt yesterday evening determined the president of the commission (in charge) to provide constitutional reforms (within a certain time) that should be subject to a plebiscite within two months, such facilitating the firm establishment of civil and democratic administration. The dismissal of former security (officers) responsible for the shooting of protesters (was announced as well).
Yemen: Students taking to the streets on February 12, 2011.
Today, the resignation of the Egyptian president Mubarak finally took place after almost 30 years of despotic rule and many days of nationwide uprise. In the end, it was the military that put an end to the presidency of Mubarak in order to keep the Republic of Egypt together amidst of turmoil.
Whatever political currents within the Egyptian people might now begin to compete for legal power after the revolution, all foreign nations regarded as partners of Egypt, even though for different reasons, will have to face an independent country that will be less likely to follow the route of appeasement, a feature that made Egypt under the Mubarak administration such a valuable ally when it came to close all eyes on Israel's militant policy towards the Palestinians and their wish to establish an independent state of Palestine.
And if the flame of revolution was spreading from Tunis and Cairo to other nations of the Arabic world, the behaviour of Israel, seen by the Arabs (and not only by them) as the top aggressor in the Middle East, might finally lead to an anti- Israeli alliance based on the common will of the Arabic peoples and tribes and powerful enough to reduce Israel in its regional influence and perhaps in its borders as well...
As can already been seen in Algeria where public turmoil began at about the same time as in Tunisia, this point of view is not too far from reality. Even influential jews within the U.S.A. might then be unable to stop the predicted development under a President Obama who is decided to accept the spreading of democracy whereever it appears.
Al-Jazeera reporting live from Cairo after the resignation of president Mubarak:
When Algerian citizens took to the streets in December 2010, at a time when the Tunisian people already demanded an end to the long- lasting dictatorship of their president Ben Ali, the Egyptian revolution was not yet in sight:
