Power sharing among all parties is needed in Egypt to prevent the military and Mubarak's former officials holding all the cards by dividing and conquering everyone else

Some claim the coup against elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was justified because he acted undemocratically. While Morsi did act undemocratically in some ways, this has been greatly exaggerated relating to the new constitution and his decree powers.

The new Interim President is Adly Mansour. Originally appointed a judge by Mubarak, in 2012 he over-turned a ban on former members of Mubarak’s dictatorship standing in elections (1).

He has re-appointed Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud as Chief Prosecutor.  Mahmoud was sacked by Morsi’s November 2012 decree for acquitting Mubarak and his security officials of ordering the killing of protesters. (2) – (5).

This may be the start of a counter-revolution following the military coup.

The fact that Morsi’s decree powers were primarily a response to Mubarak’s judiciary and prosecutors blocking  the conviction of those who ordered anti-Mubarak protesters killed,  along with constitutional reform, by trying to dissolve the elected parliament and assembly, has largely been ignored (6) – (9).

So have Morsi’s many concessions to, and repeated, mostly rejected, offers of negotiations with, the opposition National Salvation Front, which includes parties founded by former MPs from Mubarak’s NDP party and parties which have allied with them or granted them membership.(10) – (19).

The opposition mostly demanded Morsi accede to all its demands, including his resignation, before it would talk, even when, just before the coup, he offered a national coalition government (20) – (22).

His offer of parliamentary elections for April was rejected (23).

Morsi gave up most of his decree powers less than three weeks after assuming them,  maintaining only the referendum on the new constitution, the sacking of  the Chief Prosecutor ; and the retrial of Mubarak and his officials (24).

The new constitution was drawn up by a constituent assembly elected by the elected Egyptian parliament. The assembly was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Islamist Nour party because a majority of Egyptians voted for them (25) – (26). 

Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood are certainly not blameless. Brotherhood supporters, acting with their leaders’ approval, tortured confessions from people they suspected of being hired thugs sent to attack them. Though using plain clothes police or hired thugs to attack political opponents was a method used by Mubarak and by unknown forces (the military? Mubarak remnants?) since his overthrow, this doesn’t justify torture (27) – (29).

Islamic parties’ MPs drafted a law to reduce the minimum age of marriage for women to 13 and blamed women protesters for their own rape by mobs. The military are no protectors of women’s rights though, having beaten, stripped , tortured and killed female protesters and carried out “virginity tests” which amounted to sexual assault under military rule (though judges ruled these illegal) (30) – (35).

Protesters saw Morsi as betraying the “bread, freedom and social justice” demands of protesters by rationing publicly subsidised bread and cutting fuel price subsidies in order to secure an IMF loan, possibly in the belief that following Mubarak’s IMF approved economic and welfare policies would ensure US government support, preventing a military coup (36) – (39).

A lack of any attempt to reduce population growth has left Egypt with food and energy shortages which force it to import most of its food. The scandal over the meeting about the Ethiopian dam was similarly linked to impending water shortages (40) – (42).

While condemning Morsi’s economic mismanagement the opposition opposed and got him to reverse increased taxes on cigarettes and alcohol which were conditions for an IMF loan (43)

The secular opposition rightly condemned Morsi’s alliance with extreme Islamists. He appointed a member of the former terrorist group Gaama Islamiya, which carried out the Luxor massacre of western tourists in 1997, as governor of Luxor. The group’s leader threatened to “sever the heads” of anti-Morsi protesters. Morsi and the Brotherhood also spoke at rallies with extreme Sunni clerics who condemned Shia as infidels, and called Egyptians to armed Jihad in Syria (44) – (46).  

Some clerics said opposing Morsi was punishable by death under Islam, though he thanked others who denied this (47).

Murders of Shia and Christians followed. However Morsi condemned the killings and ordered the police to bring those responsible to justice. Sectarian murders also happened under Mubarak and military rule, including the notorious Maspero massacre of Christians by the military in October 2011. So the coup is not protecting minorities (48) – (50).

The military has its own extremist allies. In December 2011 Abdel Moneim Kato, a retired general then on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, said protesters should be “burnt in Hitler’s ovens”, though he was later fined for this (51) – (52).

A Wall Street Journal editorial recently claimed that Egyptians would be “lucky” if their military rulers turned out to be like “Pinochet” and “hired free market reformers and midwifed a transition to democracy”. In fact Pinochet had thousands tortured and murdered and ruled as a dictator without any elections for 15 years till 1988 and planned to stay on till 1997 if he hadn’t lost a referendum (53).

While all Egyptians understandably try to avoid getting on the wrong side of the men with guns, tanks and jet fighters ; and both the Islamic parties and their secular opponents have tried to get the decisive support of the military as kingmakers, it shouldn’t be forgotten that since Mubarak fell, and even before Morsi was elected, the military has been responsible for much of the jailing, killing and torture of protesters ; even jailing some for years merely for criticising it (54).

The military may aim to prevent civil war, but maintaining their own power and influence is probably an additional motive. The coup hasn’t prevented pro and anti Morsi protesters killing one another ; and the military was already killing pro-Morsi protesters with live ammunition before the 50 deaths on July 9th, though not all protesters on either side are peaceful ; a minority being armed with clubs or knives (55) – (60).

While some pro-Morsi protesters armed with petrol bombs and at least one man firing a pistol seem to have been present when the military killed over 50 and wounded over 400 of the Muslim Brotherhood protesters camped outside the building where they’ve imprisoned the deposed President, and 3 soldiers and policemen were killed, this may have been an over-reaction, like armed police and the military using live ammunition on protesters, some of whom were violent, under both Mubarak and military rule (61) .

Being elected shouldn’t be a blank cheque used by governments to do whatever they want without listening to all their citizens, but military coups against elected governments are undemocratic.

Zogby polls found support for Morsi and the Brotherhood fell to 27% by May, and most Egyptians opposed the new constitution, but 56% of Egyptians were against the army taking power even temporarily (62) – (63).

However opinions can change quickly and polling results differ greatly depending on the question asked : in March Pew Polling found 52% having a positive view of Morsi and 53% viewing the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party positively (64).

The secular opposition condemned Morsi for military repression, for instance his decree which granted the military the power to arrest and try civilians until the constitutional referendum. Will it now repeat this and hand the military all the cards?

While there may be some former members of the NDP that the secular opposition to Mubarak can work with, a power sharing government of all parties might be a way to prevent the military and Mubarak’s old guard continuing to return real power to their own hands by playing their divided opponents off against each other.

(1) = BBC News 04 Jul 2013 ‘Profile: Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23176293

(2) = Al Ahram Online 04 Jul 2013 ‘Prosecutor-general sacked by Morsi reinstated’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75698/Egypt/Politics-/Prosecutorgeneral-sacked-by-Morsi-reinstated.aspx

(3) = Amnesty International 02 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt: Mubarak verdict fails to deliver full justice’,  http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/egypt-mubarak-2012-06-02 ; ‘However, the acquittal of all the other defendants, including senior security officials, leaves many still waiting for full justice…Six senior security officials, including former head of the now-disbanded State Security Investigations service (SSI), were acquitted…Corruption charges against two of Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, and his business associate Hussein Salem, who was tried in absentia, were dropped.’

(4) = VOA News 08 Jun 2013 ‘Anger Erupts in Egypt Over Mubarak Retrial’, http://www.voanews.com/content/anger-erupts-in-egypt-over-mubarak-trial/1677958.html ‘Anger erupted Saturday in the Egyptian court retrying ousted president Hosni Mubarak for complicity in the killings of hundreds of protesters, after a judge barred the participation of lawyers representing families of those killed.’

(5) = BBC News 22 Nov 2012 ‘Egypt's President Mursi assumes sweeping powers’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20451208 ; 3^rd para ‘President Mursi also sacked the chief prosecutor and ordered the retrial of people accused of attacking protesters when ex-President Mubarak held office.’

(6) = Egypt Independent 22 Nov 2012 ‘Morsy issues new constitutional declaration’,
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/morsy-issues-new-constitutional-declaration

(7) = BBC News 14 Jun 2012 ‘Egypt supreme court calls for parliament to be dissolved’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18439530

(8) = NYT 02 Dec 2012 ‘Egyptian Court Postpones Ruling on Constitutional Assembly’,
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/middleeast/egypt-morsi-constitution-vote.html

(9) = CNN 23 Nov 2012 ‘Egypt's Morsy says courts can't overturn him’,
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/22/world/meast/egypt-morsy-powers/index.html

(10) = BBC News 08 Jun 2012 ‘Egypt parties end deadlock over constitutional panel’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18360403   (reports on how Morsi added trade unionists, Coptic Christian church representatives and other appointees to the assembly drafting the constitution after the non-Islamist opposition boycotted it. However there were accusations that the new appointments included too many Islamists too)

(11) = BBC News 09 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt crisis: Morsi offers concession in decree annulment’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20655412

(12) = BBC News 23 Feb 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi changes parliamentary elections date’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21559455

(13) = BBC News 07 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt opposition rejects President Morsi's call for talks’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20642080

(14) = AP / Time World 10 Dec 2012 ‘Gunmen Attack Egyptian Opposition Protesters’, http://world.time.com/2012/12/10/egypts-military-takes-over-security-ahead-of-vote/ ; 9^th to 10^th paragraphs ‘Cracks in the opposition’s unity first appeared last weekend when one of its leading figures, veteran opposition politician Ayman Nour, accepted an invitation by Morsi to attend a “national dialogue” meeting. On Monday, another key opposition figure, El-Sayed Badawi of the Wafd party, met Morsi at the presidential palace. The opposition has said it would not talk to Morsi until he shelves the draft constitution and postpones the referendum.’

(15) = BBC News 28 Jan 2013 ‘Egypt opposition rejects Mohammed Morsi dialogue call’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21234543

(16) = France 24 27 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt opposition rejects dialogue with Morsi’,
http://www.france24.com/en/20130627-egypt-opposition-rejects-dialogue-with-morsi

(17) = Wall Street Journal 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egyptians Open Door to Mubarak's Allies’,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324260204578587872719316196.html ; see 4^th, 17^th, 19^th , 20^th paragraphs ‘Mohammed Abul Ghar, the head of Egypt's secular-leaning Social Democratic Party and a leader in the National Salvation Front, the leading opposition group to Mr. Morsi…After Mr. Morsi claimed authority over Egypt's judiciary in November, many of the young secular activists behind the revolution against Mr. Mubarak made common cause with Mr. Shafiq's supporters and other NDP loyalists… The party decided to accept former NDP members who weren't close to Mr. Mubarak and whose records were clean of corruption allegations… Gamal al Zini, a former NDP parliamentarian from the Nile Delta city of Damiet, said he has had regular meetings with local youth activists, Tamarod leaders and members of Mr. ElBaradei's Constitution Party since May..’

(18) = Egypt Independent 20 Feb 2013 ‘Former NDP members to form new party’,
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/former-ndp-members-form-new-party

(19) = Ahram Online 11 Feb 2011 ‘NDP Offshoots’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/33/104/26897/Elections-/Political-Parties/NDP-Offshoots.aspx

(20) = Al Jazeera 03 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi offers consensus government’,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/20137394753443155.html

(21) = Israel National News 03 Jul 2013 ‘Morsi Offers to Form Interim Coalition Government’, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/169573#.UdY3aW3K5bM

(22) = ABC 04 Jul 2013 ‘Morsi aide says coup underway in Egypt after president defies army deadline to quit’, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-04/tensions-high-in-egypt-as-army-deadline-expires/4798284 , 11^th – 14^th paras, ‘In a last-ditch statement before the deadline passed at 1.00am (AEST), the presidency said a coalition government should be part of a solution to the country's political standoff. Mr Morsi reiterated his call for a national dialogue and the formation of a panel to amend the country's controversial Islamist-drafted constitution….Opposition parties refused to negotiate with him and met instead with the commander of the armed forces.’

(23) = BBC News 23 Feb 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi changes parliamentary elections date’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21559455

(24) = BBC News 09 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt crisis: Morsi offers concession in decree annulment’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20655412

(25) = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituent_Assembly_of_Egypt (includes mainstream sources)

(26) = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_parliamentary_election,_2011%23Combined_results

(27) = HRW 12 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt: Investigate Brotherhood’s Abuse of Protesters’, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/12/egypt-investigate-brotherhood-s-abuse-protesters

(28) = ‘From Plebiscite to Contest? Egypt’s Presidential Election’, http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/mena/egypt0905/egypt0905.pdf (see page 5 ‘Government Harassment’)

(29) = BBC News 07 Mar 2011 ‘Egypt protesters attacked by 'armed civilians' in Cairo’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12661270

(30) = Observer 30 Mar 2013 ‘How Egypt's radical rulers crush the lives and hopes of women’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/31/egypt-cairo-women-rights-revolution

(31) = Al Ahram 11 Feb 2013 ‘Shura MPs fault protesters for Tahrir Square rapes, sexual harassment’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/64552/Egypt/Politics-/Shura-MPs-fault-protesters-for-Tahrir-Square-rapes.aspx

(32) = Amnesty International UK 23 Dec 2011 ‘Egypt: 'shocking' violence against women protesters must not be repeated’, http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=19876

(33) = Egypt women protesters forced to take 'virginity tests' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12854391 ; 2^rd to 4^th paragraphs read ‘Amnesty International …says at least 18 female protesters were arrested after army officers cleared Tahrir Square on 9 March. It says they were then beaten, given electric shocks and strip searched.’

(34) = Guardian 27 Dec 2011 ‘'Virginity tests' on Egypt protesters are illegal, says judge’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/27/virginity-tests-egypt-protesters-illegal

(35) = The National (UAE) 21 Dec 2011 ‘Egyptian military apologises for assaults on women protesters’, http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/egyptian-military-apologises-for-assaults-on-women-protesters#ixzz2YWH5VOmZ ; see 5^th, second last and last paragraphs  ‘military police chasing young men and women through Tahrir Square and nearby streets, beating them with clubs and sticks. The latest crackdown has killed at least 12 people, all protesters, according to the ministry of health…doctors working …in Tahrir Square, say …between 14 and 18…But some female activists here say Mrs Clinton's focus on violence against women does a disservice to some of the larger abuses against the protest movement. "Clinton is missing the bigger picture..said Menna Alaa, 18, an Egyptian female blogger …"… the army is killing protesters - man, woman, child. They are not making distinctions"’

(36) = Global Post 20 Mar 2013 ‘Egypt bread protests begin after rationing announced’, http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130320/cairo-egypt-bread-protests-rationing-fuel-shortage

(37) = Al Ahram 20 Dec 2012 ‘It’s still bread, freedom and social justice’, http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/631/30/It%E2%80%99s-still-bread,-freedom-and-social-justice.aspx

(38) = guardian.co.uk 19 Mar 2013 ‘Bakers become latest victims of Egypt subsidy cuts’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/bakers-egyptian-subsidy-cuts

(39) = guardian.co.uk 01 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt's presidency defies threat of military coup’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/egypts-presidency-defies-threat-military-coup

(40) = guardian.co.uk 06 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's gathering economic gloom leaves millions facing food shortages’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/jun/06/egypt-economic-gloom-food-shortages

(41) = ‘Egypt's new age of unrest is a taste of things to come’ by Dr Nafeez Ahmed, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/earth-insight/2013/jul/04/egypt-muslim-brotherhood-morsi-unrest-protests

(42) = Guardian Weekly 18 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt sees Ethiopian damn as risk to water supply’,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/18/egypt-ethiopia-dam-blue-nile

(43) = guardian.co.uk 11 Dec 2012 ‘Egypt's IMF loan deal postponed after Mohamed Morsi scraps tax increases’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/11/egypt-imf-loan-delay-morsi

(44) = guardian.co.uk 17 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Mohamed Morsi appoints hardline Islamist to govern Luxor’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/morsi-appoints-islamist-governor-luxor

(45) = AP / ABC News 28 Jun 2013 ‘Violence Flares in Egypt Before Weekend Rallies’, http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypts-opposition-criticizes-presidents-speech-19513846?page=3

(46) = Wall Street Journal 24 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi And His Party Criticized After Killings’, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323998604578565510237185012.html

(47) = AP / Seattle Times 19 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt top cleric: Protests against Morsi permitted’,
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2021218905_apmlegypt.html

(48) = Human Rights Watch 27 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt: Lynching of Shia Follows Months of Hate Speech’, http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/27/egypt-lynching-shia-follows-months-hate-speech

(49) = Al Ahram 24 Jun 2013 ‘Egypt's Morsi, Qandil denounce Shia killings’,
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/74813.aspx

(50) = HRW 25 Oct 2011 ‘Egypt: Don’t Cover Up Military Killing of Copt Protesters’,
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/25/egypt-don-t-cover-military-killing-copt-protesters

(51) = Egypt Independent 19 Dec 2011 ‘Politicians criticize 'Hitler' statements made by army official’,  http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/politicians-criticize-hitler-statements-made-army-official

(52) = Egypt Independent 28 Feb 2012 ‘Court imposes LE10,000 fine on SCAF member for 'Hitler's ovens' comment’, http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/court-imposes-le10000-fine-scaf-member-hitlers-ovens-comment

(53) = WSJ 04 Jul 2013 ‘After the Coup in Cairo’, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324399404578583932317286550.html#articleTabs=article (see last paragraph)

(54) = Amnesty International 22 Nov 2011 ‘Egypt: Military rulers have 'crushed' hopes of 25 January protesters’, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/egypt-military-rulers-have-crushed-hopes-25-january-protesters-2011-11-22

(55) = Financial Times 06 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt counts its dead after day of violence’,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c61c72c-e54a-11e2-ad1a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2YOQLQWHZ , ‘Egypt was on Saturday recovering from a day of violence and mayhem after street battles between thousands of supporters and opponents of its ousted president raged across the country on Friday. At least least 35 people have been killed and 1,404 injured in the last 48 hours according to the health ministry....’

(56) = BBC News 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt unrest: Morsi marchers die as army fires’,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23202096

(57) = Sky News 05 Jul 2013 ‘Egypt Coup: Morsi Protests Turn Deadly’,
http://news.sky.com/story/1111961/egypt-coup-morsi-protests-turn-deadly

(58) = Reuters 29 Jun 2013 ‘Fearing bloodshed, rival Cairo protests steel selves for Sunday’, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/29/us-egypt-protests-violence-idUSBRE95S0H820130629

(59) = Washington Post 02 Jul 2013 ‘Throngs rally in Egypt’,
http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-02/news/40309890_1_morsi-supporters-islamist-leader-muslim-brotherhood ; 2^nd paragraph ‘Thousands of Morsi supporters, many of them from his Muslim Brotherhood party, filled another Cairo thoroughfare with their own chants of support. Some brandished wooden clubs, canes, and metal pipes, ready to defend themselves’

(60) = Reuters 06 Jul 2013 ‘Protests rage across Egypt as Islamists vow further violence’, http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Pro-and-anti-Morsi-protests-rage-across-Egypt-leaving-at-least-24-dead-318904

(61) = The New Yorker 08 Jul 2013 ‘After the Shooting In Cairo’, http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/07/after-the-shooting-in-cairo.html

(62) = Zogby Research Services Jun 2013 ‘AFTER TAHRIR: Egyptians Assess Their Government, Their Institutions, and Their Future’ , http://www.aaiusa.org/page/-/Polls/EgyptianAttitudesTowardMB_%20June2013.pdf (see pages 10, 11,19 and 23 by numbers at foot of pages, or 12,13, 21 and 25 by PDF page counter)

(63) = Independent Media Review Analysis 18 Jun 2013 ‘Zogby poll of Egyptians: Morsi bad-do not want army take over’, http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=61307

(64) =  Wall Street Journal 17 May 2013 ‘Poll Shows Muslim Brotherhood Maintaining Support Despite Egypt’s Travails’, http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2013/05/17/poll-shows-muslim-brotherhood-maintaining-support-despite-egypts-travails/

Libya - rebels lynchings of black people and real or suspected Gaddafi supporters - NATO should use it's influence to try to end them

Lynchings of real or suspected Gaddafi fighters and supporters by rebels have happened throughout the war and have included racist lynchings and even beheadings of black Libyans and migrant workers. They may be continuing now they’ve taken Tripoli, even though NATO special forces and the CIA are on the ground with the rebels there.

Human Rights Watch reported in July that rebel forces lynched many black migrant workers as suspected mercenaries and dragged 20 Gaddafi officials from their homes and hung them in Al Baida, a town near Misrata (1). (Gaddafi’s forces are similarly reported to have continued to kill pro-rebel and anti-Gaddafi demonstrators.(2))

More recent reports from western journalists in Tripoli show the same is happening to black men found by rebel forces there, some of whom may have been fighting for Gaddafi, others probably just being migrant workers (The ICRC reports that Libyan hospitals have been understaffed since the fighting broke out as they were mainly staffed by migrant workers, many of whom have since fled (3)).

The Independent recently published the following from Kim Semgupta in Tripoli

‘At the Maghrabi Arab Village, built for expatriates working in the petroleum industry, two young black men squatted on the ground, terrified, their hands tied behind their backs, guns held to their heads. I was told by one of the rebels that they were Mohammed Salou Mohammed, and Zait Abidan Ali, from Chad. Both had confessed to being snipers working for Colonel Gaddafi. Did they really admit to that? The fighter, looking uncomfortable, insisted that was indeed the case. Zait Abidan Ali started to say they just worked at the place. He was kicked in the chest by a fat man in torn British Army fatigues who said he was a commander and ordered me to leave.

The repeated cases of men from sub-Saharan Africa being lynched by rebels on the pretext that they were regime mercenaries has been one of the most disturbing aspects of the revolution. My colleagues and I had witnessed some of these killings while with the rebel forces in eastern Libya. Human-rights groups had protested and the opposition administration, the Transitional National Council (TNC), had promised action. As the men were led away, another fighter, Nasr Al-Sabri, said: "I am sorry about this, but this is a difficult time and people are angry. We have lost people to snipers in the last few days. But I will try to make sure that these men are dealt with properly. This is unusual, you can see how glad the people of Tripoli are to see us."’ (4)

Racist killings of black people - both migrant workers black Libyans - have been common in Libya for a long time. In 2000 Libyans attacked migrant workers on a large scale, killing at least 135 of them (5).

The Grendel report’ blog has posted apparent evidence from Dutch TV reports and other videos of rebels in Benghazi beating and even beheading black men.

Rebels from the Shabab rebel youth movement also told Semgupta that “We shall hang all of them together when we catch him.” (them meaning either Gaddafi and his sons or possibly all Gaddafi supporters, as happened in Al Baida). When Semgupta pointed out that there was no death penalty by law in Libya the rebel answered “there is man’s law and then there is God’s law” suggesting summary execution under some rebels’ interpretation of Sharia law (6).

The fact that the rebels include many defectors from the regime might mean their influence reduces revenge killings of real and suspected Gaddafi supporters or it might not.

We know for certain that NATO has CIA along with British SAS and other intelligence agents and military special forces advising and training the rebels and identifying targets for airstrikes, along with Egyptian as well as Qatari and UAE special forces who may even be fighting (as they will look Arab or Libyan to foreign journalists) (7) – (14).

 Historically from Nicaragua to Afghanistan such “advisers” have often fought in combat or given the orders to native units they were commanding in reality. That – and NATO airstrikes supporting rebel forces during combat - mean NATO governments and militaries are so heavily involved in the ground war that they have a responsibility to ensure the rebels do not continue to summarily execute real or suspected Gaddafi supporters.

In Afghanistan, as in Iraq, the US frequently operates units of native paramilitary special forces or militias trained and led by American officers, who carry out summary executions in night raids. This allows them to say that “the trigger pullers” were not American. (15) ( also see this blog post – scrolling down to sub-heading ‘Night Raids , the El Salvador Option from Iraq to Afghanistan and Bagram as the new Guantanamo’ – for sources scroll down to Sources under same sub-heading lower down the post. Some links to Times articles may not work since the Times has introduced payments system. )

Using mercenaries (euphemistically termed ‘private security contractors’) who are former special forces from their own militaries to train and give orders from a higher level to UAE, Qatari and Egyptian special forces leading units of Libyan rebels, may be giving NATO three levels of ‘plausible deniability’ on their involvement on the ground in Libya (16) – (18).

NATO governments have tried to pretend that the only threat to civilians comes from Gaddafi’s forces, but NATO airstrikes and rebel lynchings are killing civilians and prisoners of war too.

Of course NATO can't have complete control over rebel forces who have sometimes ignored the orders of their own leaders, but they could try to use their influence.

(1) = Independent 16 Jul 2011 ‘Opposition fighters are losing battles – but winning the war’,http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/opposition-fighters-are-losing-battles-ndash-but-winning-the-war-2314575.html ; After the uprising there were repeated instances of lynchings of black men. The excuse at the time was that the men were mercenaries hired by Colonel Gaddafi. But many were innocent migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa. Extra-judicial killings of regime officials also followed the revolution. At al-Baida, near Tobruk, for instance, 20 officials were dragged from their homes and hanged….The cases of abuse had been listed belatedly in a report published by Human Rights Watch. But no one has been investigated or prosecuted in opposition-held areas. And members of the provisional administration admit this is extremely unlikely to happen. There has been no demand from Western countries for an inquiry. 

(2) = HRW 18 Aug 2011 ‘Libya: 10 Protesters Apparently Executed’,http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/08/18/libya-10-protesters-apparently-executed ; Libyan government forces appear to have executed 10 protesters following an anti-government demonstration in the town of Bani Walid on May 28, 2011

(3) = Reuters 10 Aug 2011 ‘Hospitals, medical staff targeted in wars, ICRC says’,http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/us-violence-idUSTRE7791F620110810

(4) = Independent 23 Aug 2011 ‘'He called us rats, but he is the one hiding. We shall hang them all together…'’, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/he-called-us-rats-but-he-is-the-one-hiding-we-shall-hang-them-all-together-2342147.html

(5) = Independent 24 Feb 2011 ‘Is Al-Jazeera TV complicit in the latest vilification of Libya’s Blacks?’, http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/02/24/is-al-jazeerah-tv-complicit-in-the-latest-vilification-of-libyas-blacks/ ; ‘In 2000 about 5,200 Ghanaians fled Libya after racist violence against blacks that left more than 135 dead and many more seriously injured. George Auther, one of the victims, was quoted as saying, “The problem is, the Libyans don’t like blacks.”……….There have since been many reported cases of racist violence against black Africans in Libya. On 16 February 2010 the UN Human Rights Council issued a written statement asking Libya to “end its practices of racial discrimination against black Africans, particularly its racial persecution of two million black African migrant workers.”

(6) = See (4) above

(7) = BBC News 06 Mar 2011 ‘Libya unrest: SAS members 'captured near Benghazi'’,http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12658054

(8) = NYT 30 Mar 2011 ‘C.I.A. Agents in Libya Aid Airstrikes and Meet Rebels’,http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/world/africa/31intel.html

(9) = Guardian 31 Mar 2011 ‘Libya: SAS veterans helping Nato identify Gaddafi targets in Misrata’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/31/libya-sas-veterans-misrata-rebels ; Former SAS soldiers and other western employees of private security companies are helping Nato identify targets in the Libyan port city of Misrata, the scene of heavy fighting between Muammar Gaddafi's forces and rebels, well-placed sources have told the Guardian.

(10) = Al Jazeera 03 Apr 2011 ‘Libyan rebels 'receive foreign training'’,http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201142172443133798.html ; US and Egyptian special forces have reportedly been providing covert training to rebel fighters in the battle for Libya, Al Jazeera has been told….An unnamed rebel source related how he had undergone training in military techniques at a "secret facility" in eastern Libya.

(11) = Bloomberg Businessweek 03 Apr 2011 ‘NATO Escalates Libya Campaign After Rebels Criticize Mission’,http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-06/nato-escalates-libya-campaign-after-rebels-criticize-mission.html

(12) = Washington Post 22 Aug 2011 ‘Allies guided rebel ‘pincer’ assault on Tripoli’,http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/allies-guided-rebel-pincer-assault-on-tripoli/2011/08/22/gIQAeAMaWJ_story.html; British, French and Qatari Special Forces have been operating on the ground in Libya for some time and helped the rebels develop and coordinate the pincer strategy, officials said. At the same time, CIA operatives inside the country — along with intercepted communications between Libyan government officials — provided a deeper understanding of how badly Gaddafi’s command structure had crumbled, according to U.S. officials.

(13) = Independent 23 Aug 2011 ‘Rebels claim the victory – but did the Brits win it?’,http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rebels-claim-the-victory-ndash-but-did-the-brits-win-it-2342152.html

(14) = Guardian.co.uk 23 Aug 2011 ‘Libya: battle for Tripoli – live blog – 5.50pm’,http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/23/libya-battle-for-tripoli-live-blog#block-11 ; ‘Defence expert Robert Fox is telling the BBC special forces from Qatar and the UAE, with US, British and French training, are responsible for the successful attack on Tripoli. "It has been a genuine Arab coalition ... I think it was the Qataris that led them through the breach." He said William Hague was "dissembling" in his comments just now.’

(15) = Times 26 Feb 2010 ‘Hunt down the spy behind deaths of our children, say Afghan night raid survivors’,http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/afghanistan/article1843938.ece

(16) = Guardian 23 Aug 2011 ‘SAS troopers help co-ordinate rebel attacks in Libya’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/23/sas-troopers-help-coordinate-rebels

(17) = See (10) above

(18) = See (14) above

Iraq style sanctions on Libya - planned or already in place?

Some NATO country politicians have called for Iraq style sanctions on Libya through an “oil for food” programme of the kind that was imposed on Iraq from 1991 to 2003, leading to the resignations of UN officials Dennis Halliday and Hans Von Sponeck due to the huge numbers of civilians killed by it due to lack of food and medical supplies. Defecting Libyan diplomats have told them in no uncertain terms that there is no need for that and they don’t want it (1) – (2).

Colum Lynch of Foreign Policy magazine reports that according to former UK Foreign Office official Carne Ross and other experts even the sanctions already implemented may have similar effects to the Iraq oil for food programme – particularly the Asset freeze on the Libyan Central Bank, the Libyan Investment Authority, Libya's sovereign wealth fund, and the Libyan National Oil Corporation. These will make it very hard for Libya to export oil – and the vast majority of Libya’s national income comes from oil exports. In the long term, if the sanctions continue, that means ordinary Libyans suffering food and medicine shortages the way Iraqis did - and many dying as a result. (3).

So UN Security Council resolution 1973 contradicts itself by authorising economic warfare which will result in huge numbers of civilian deaths if continued in the long term, while authorising military intervention by air to protect civilians from military attack (4).

(1) = Reuters 09 Mar 2011 ‘U.N. split on Libya no-fly zone; oil escrow mulled’,http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/09/us-libya-un-idUSTRE7285VI20110309

(2) = Guardian 29 Nov 2001 ‘The hostage nation : Former UN relief chiefs Hans von Sponeck and Denis Halliday speak out against an attack on Iraq’, http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,608578,00.html

(3) = Foreign Policy 23 Mar 2011 ‘Is a Libyan oil-for-food program on the way?’, http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/23/is_a_libyan_oil_for_food_program_on_the_way

(4) = UN Security Council Resolution 1973 (2011),http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N11/268/39/PDF/N1126839.pdf?OpenElement