This is the dark time, my love,
All round the land brown beetles crawl about
The shining sun is hidden in the sky
Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow
This is the dark time, my love,
It is the season of oppression, dark metal, and tears.
It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery
Everywhere, the faces of men are strained and anxious
Who comes walking in the dark night time?
Whose boot of steel tramps down the slender grass
It is the man of death, my love, the stranger invader
Watching you sleep and aiming at your dream.
Martin Carter
All of the good that Muammar Qaddafi did for his people, and the immeasurable contribution he made to the oppressed peoples of the world is catalogued everywhere for those who have eyes to see. NATO’s war crimes are also catalogued – they went viral, so even in the absence of a court where NATO and their mercenaries can be tried, millions of people worldwide watched, at their computers and TV screens, the horrific war crimes that unfolded in Sirte and elsewhere in Libya. The verdicts are in. The question is what can be done about it?
The world was quite literally watching and still can watch, anytime they care to google the litany of obscene crimes committed, when a coalition of the most powerful nations on this earth, backed up by the vast majority of Arab and African misleaders, deployed the most sophisticated arsenal of weaponry in the history of the world against a small bastion of African resistance. In the now famous cities of Sirte and Bani Walid, Colonel Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi led his people in a courageous battle which lasted for months. The battles of Sirte and Bani Walid have surely earned their place in the annals of African history.
At his side were his son, Mutassim Qaddafi and Libya’s Minister of Defense, and one of the leaders of the 1969 Al Fateh revolution, Major General Abu-Bakr Yunis Jaber. Decades ago, he and the young Muammar were in the same class at the Military Academy in Benghazi and were co founders of the Free Officers’ Movement which overthrew King Idris.
Both men, spiritual heirs of Omar Al Mukhtar’s armed resistance against the Italian invaders in 1911, were in their 70s. Having to witness such a savage attack on them and not being able to do anything to defend them against NATO’s jackals, was traumatizing.
The core group of revolutionaries, who led the Al Fateh revolution in 1969 in their twenties, all now in their late 60s and 70s, chose to stay at their posts and fight alongside the people, despite having received many offers for safe passage out of Libya.
A Picture Tells a 1000 Words
This picture of Sirte, after NATO’s bombardment, is worth more than a thousand words when it comes to understanding what actually took place in this once beautiful and prosperous African city. And all in the name of ‘protecting civilians’ – clearly with the exception of civilians loyal to Muammar Qaddafi and the Al Fateh revolution. We salute all of those who fought to defend Al Fateh and the Pan African project in Sirte, Bani Walid and throughout Libya. They are the real Jihadists – the true Pan-African Army.
Julius Malema, ANC Youth Leader, in reference to the North Atlantic Tribes, asked the question – why are these people so bloodthirsty? He pointed out that they did not seem to understand anything other than war.
It is no surprise that Julius Malema has been banned by Jacob Zuma’s ANC. Zuma is one of those African misleaders who signed Qaddafi’s death warrant, when South Africa, along with Nigeria and French controlled Gabon, all temporary members of the so-called Security Council at the time, agreed to the implementation of a ‘No Fly Zone’, which unleashed the demons of war.
Let us not imagine that they did not know what would ensue – the entire world has just witnessed the destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a painful blow to many Africans in Africa and throughout the world. We remembered Nelson Mandela’s now famous speech, when on the world stage he called Muammar Qaddafi ‘one of the great freedom fighters of the 20th century’ and he publicly thanked the Brother Leader and the people of Libya for the material and moral support provided to the ANC when, as Mandela put it – their ‘backs were up against the wall’. The half hearted attempts by the AU to take the necessary action to defend Libya was shameful and demoralizing.
There was a time…
Some of it in my lifetime, when we had visionary, principled and courageous African leaders – Shaka Zulu, Queen Nzingha, Cetshwayo, Dedan Kimathi, Julius Nyerere, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah, Jamal Abdul Nasser, Marien Ngouabi, Ahmed Ben Bella, Samora Machel, Thomas Sankara, Murtala Muhammad, Laurent Kabila to name but a few. Had leaders such as these been in power today, NATO could not have gotten away with invading Libya. The fact is, with few exceptions, the current bunch of African leaders, many of them put in place by the forces of white supremacy were just not up to the job.
Those who are misleading Africa today – ‘who the cap fit let them wear it’ – have paid a dear price. What is coming our way will be punishment for such a colossal betrayal. And sadly, we will all suffer for their sins.
The murder of Muammar Qaddafi plunged us into despair. We mourned his death as sons mourn their father – he called us his sons and we responded as such because we understood his sincerity.
Those who worked with Qaddafi can testify that the Brother Leader’s efforts were motivated by a strong and uncompromising faith in God, his deep love for humanity and a sincere desire to assist all those engaged in the struggle to end injustice and oppression. If anyone epitomized Che’s famous quote, it was our brother: ‘Revolutionaries are first human beings, and at the risk of sounding utterly ridiculous, revolution is based upon supreme feelings of love’
Those among the leadership of Al Fateh who were not murdered, were captured. Dr Ahmed Ibrahim, one of the foremost exponents of the Third Universal Theory, an intellectual warrior and committed Pan-Africanist, was captured while defending Sirte. The uncle of Moussa Ibrahim, who over the past months became known as the spokesperson for the legitimate government of Libya, he is currently being held in Misurata, and his son, Yurub Ibrahim, has also been arrested. The well known Islamic scholar Sheik Khaled Tantoush, has been abducted from his home in Sirte and is also being held in Misurata. These elderly men are being subjected to constant taunting, beatings and torture and their condition is deteriorating rapidly. Global campaigns have been launched to demand the protection under international law and conventions, regarding prisoners of war, for high profile prisoners Saif-al Islam Qaddafi, Abdullah Senussi, Ahmed Ibrahim, Khaled Tantoush and the thousands of prisoners held by the NTC. (see websites Libya SOS, Libya 360 and Mathaba.net for ways you can assist the campaign and video footage of how these elderly prisoners are being treated).
In addition to loyalty to the Leader, and defense of their country against foreign invaders, having black skin and asserting one’s Africanity has become a crime in the new Libya. Ethnic cleansing is continuing unabated. Every day Black Africans from Libya and other parts of Africa are hunted down. Thousands have been brutally tortured and executed. Rape of Black women is a favored weapon of NATO’s Islamists. Many of the female bodies found show signs of rape, beatings and torture. Large numbers of Black Africans make up the ranks of the Green Resistance.
NATO’s Living Hell
One Tripoli resident, who cannot be named, told me:
‘Everyone is terrified of the NTC and their armed gangs. We have seen with our own eyes what they are capable of – they are animals. All around us people are being rounded up and imprisoned. We have no way of knowing how many have been murdered. Anyone who is associated with Qaddafi or suspected of loyalty to him is at risk. Even people who have worked for people who are known supporters of the leader have been rounded up and tortured. I personally know of many persons who were just working for people associated with the leader who have been taken away and never seen again. If you are black you are an immediate suspect – these rebels call black Libyans ‘abd’ means slave and they are rounding them up just because they are black – it is making me sick and ashamed.
What these rebels have done to their own people is disgusting – some of the acts of torture I can’t even speak about. There has been a lot of rape. I wept when I learned of what these animals did to the leader’s female body guards – they are not human and that is why there is so much fear. Any known Qaddafi loyalists who have not been able to get out of Libya have to stay underground. Libyans are afraid to talk to other Libyans – anyone could be an informer. It feels like the last days are upon us – Libya has been turned into a living hell.’
There is now a complete whiteout by the corporate media regarding all news from Libya. And of course, although a genocide is unfolding right before our eyes, there will be
no outcry from the UN, Amnesty International or that euphemistic chorus known as ‘the
international community’, that bleats on ad nauseum about ’democracy, human rights and the rule of law’? No time or motive for outcry – having shared the spoils, they have already moved on to their next victims – Syria and Iran.
Demons Unleashed
To do their dirty work, NATO employed the most barbaric marauders they could find. These Islamist mercenaries are programmed, sadistic fighters – they have been on the battlefields in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya. They have been hired many times over by NATO, who characteristically plays all sides, and that is why they need to sprinkle stimulant powders on their food – to keep them in killing mode.
Shouting Allahu Akhbar, like robots, they go from town to town, city to city, ransacking, beating, torturing, raping and murdering, and then, in their crazed state, with inflated feelings of omnipotence, they actually take footage of themselves committing heinous war crimes and post them on youtube.
As the people bury their dead, they defiantly whisper, ‘Allah, Muammar, Libya and nothing else’. Amidst the screams that can be heard deep into the night, a shell shocked population tries to understand what happened to them, and struggles to come to terms with the obscene end inflicted on a man they loved. Now they must try to find a way to confront the ‘brave new world’ that has been imposed upon them by this foreign invasion. In an instant, they have been transported back in time to when Europeans last occupied their country.
Green Resistance – It is only a matter of time…
The war in Libya is far from over. The corporate media continues the lie that Libya has been ‘liberated’ and that life there has ‘returned to normal’. In truth, chaos reigns. Rumours about NATO’s plans to carve up the country are rife and Libya remains engulfed in warfare.
People are being systematically hunted down. Truck loads of bodies are being carted away, as the now feuding armed gangs, each with their own command structure, and none adhering to anything the NTC says, introduces the only policy they ever had – exterminate Qaddafi and all those loyal to him. That numbers in the millions and they are stopping at nothing to track them down.
The Green resistance referred to as the Libyan Liberation Army (LLA) or the Libyan Liberation Front (LLF) is regrouping and growing stronger by the day. Street battles are commonplace, explosions can be heard all over Tripoli and in other regions, and NATO’s mercenaries are facing fierce resistance.
Libya’s powerful Warfalla Tribe, comprising more than a million Libyans, have stated that ‘they are thirsting for revenge’, many of them having fought in the battle of Bani Walid.
‘It does not matter how long it takes, we will rise again as sure as the sun rises. It is only a matter of time. It may not be today – we are a patient people. Right now, many of us have to lay low while the leaders regroup and put certain things in place so that we can take our resistance to the next level, but we know our time will come and we are only waiting for the word to take up our arms.
We have to be organized and this takes time, especially under the present conditions of occupation. Our people are being tortured and raped and murdered for supporting the leader and defending their revolution. We have had to leave our homes and watch these dogs destroy them and steal everything from us. But our day will come – we can never forget the crimes committed against us by NATO and these murdering thieves who call themselves revolutionaries and Muslims.
What I have seen with my own two eyes is unbelievable – people committing the cruelest acts – crimes against humanity while they cry out Allahu Akhbar. They are like drugged people. We have uncovered mass graves of Qaddafi loyalists – with their hands tied behind their backs – all executed. I want to tell them that every person they tortured, every person murdered, every woman they raped, every home they destroyed and looted and everything they did to our dear leader and his family will be avenged.
This is not the first time this has happened to us Libyans – this is exactly what happened to us when the Italians occupied our land – thanks to the leader we are a very educated people now – we know our history and our heroes. The NTC has already taken the picture of Omar Al Mukhtar off the Libyan dinar but it does not matter – they can destroy every picture of Omar Al Mukhtar and the leader, because the story of his bravery and the bravery of his son Muammar Qaddafi is in our hearts – these men can never die – and this gives us the belief and certainty that we will overcome these thieves again – believe me, it is only a matter of time.’
A Frenzied Phase
The invasion of Libya and the murder of Muammar Qaddafi ushered in what can be described as the empire’s ‘frenzied phase’. Capitalism and imperialism are taking their last hideous gasps, and in this phase we will see their evil laid bare. NATO will continue to become ever more brazen with its ‘shock and horror’ tactics, believing that they are unstoppable and invincible, as once did Rome. In other words, with the imperialists in panic mode, we can expect their behavior to become all the more barbaric, savage and uncivilized, as has been prophesied.
The Twilight Zone – Vampires of Empire
The additional dimension in this new phase is that capitalism, White supremacy’s socio-economic system, has entered a period of unprecedented crisis – it is on its last legs and the system is turning in on itself. The vampires of empire do indeed ‘suck the blood of the sufferer’. They are desperate now and quite literally don’t care if they are seen to be dripping in our blood. Their global economic arrangement is crumbling faster than they can hold their next summit, and we cannot be caught off guard.
We have watched Europe and the US forestall their collapse for a number of years, to the point where they are frantic and fast running out of ideas. As fast as they share the spoils of one war – they need another to quench their insatiable appetite for plunder. Our trouble is, that many of us are too slow to follow the visionary leadership in their midst. Had African leaders shared the vision, united and worked together toward a United States of Africa as Qaddafi pleaded, the world would have been a very different place today. Muammar Qaddafi and the Libyan revolution were on the verge of bringing about a total shift in the global balance of power, and giving Africa its rightful place in the world. We have never been so close to reasserting African power. He was truly a Lion of Africa.
A Ruthless Enemy – Know Them
The North Atlantic Tribes are an extremely ruthless enemy. It is necessary to study and understand their mentality in order to build an effective resistance. Indisputably, there is good and bad in every race. However, also indisputably, the historical and cultural continuum known as Europe has specificities that no other group on the face of this earth has demonstrated. Their will to dominate, consume and destroy is unparalleled.
Marimba Ani, in her seminal work, Yurugu, An Afrikan-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior, offers an incisive analysis of the European mindset. In her words:
‘All modes of European behavior and dominant styles of action act to increase and ensure material control…The power ideology that defines the total culture keeps it off- balance. The culture itself – always ‘progressing’, never ‘progressed’ – is unidirectional, one dimensional, fanatical, and atrophied; a culture that must consume others. But ultimately this ideology is incoherent; it literally lacks human meaning. It is the compulsiveness, the drive, the insatiable appetite of the culture that are its distinguishing features…it is as well-constructed as a power machine can be…For success it has sacrificed ‘soul’. What is left is profane. Aesthetically, and in terms of self-image, it identifies as white. Europe is the cultural home of a people who identify as one race; i.e., banding together for survival and destruction of others. They would destroy each other if there were not others to destroy. They fear and hate blackness, which they associate with spiritual power – a power which they can neither possess, create nor control.’
In White Racism: A Psychohistory, Joel Kovel describes this drive to conquer and destroy as a ‘cosmic yearning’, ‘a bottomless longing’.
Samuel Huntington, author of the Clash of Civilizations reminds us of something that we should never forget: ‘The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence.’
That is the reason why the enemy gets so agitated when we organize armed resistance, because they know how powerful organized violence can be.
The invasion of Libya and the murder of Qaddafi is what happened to a nation and its leader when they give up their program to develop ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and opted for a path of peaceful coexistence. In an interview at the beginning of the war, Saif Qaddafi admitted that Libya had been caught ‘unprepared for war’, having not even upgraded their conventional weaponry. No nation will ever make that fatal mistake again. The North Atlantic Tribes can never be trusted. Deterrents of any kind are better than no deterrents at all.
The North Atlantic Tribes have mastered the art of war and perfected weaponry like no other peoples in history. They are the quintessential warlords.
In order to carry out this regrab, in their desperate and frenzied attempt to hasten their plunder of Africa and the global south’s wealth, it is imperative for the imperialists to get rid of all revolutionary nationalist regimes that might stand in their way, and ensure that compliant regimes are firmly in place. We must prepare ourselves for what is to come. In his last message, the Brother Leader warned us to ‘hold down our corners’ because if they get past Libya they are coming for all of us. The challenge in this phase is to find ways to cope with the Empire’s collapse and to strengthen our resistance in order to confront the frantic and barbaric behavior which will inevitably characterize their demise.
Their House is Burning – Not Ours
At a global economic summit in 2009, former President of Brazil, Lula Da Silva, when commenting on the global economic crisis, stated, ‘This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by the irrational behavior of people who were white and blue-eyed, who before the crisis looked like they knew everything about economics, but now have demonstrated they know nothing about economics’ He added, ‘The part of humanity that is responsible should be the part that pays for the crisis.’
Too many of us are still, as Malcolm X put it, ‘house negroes’. The house negro lived in the master’s house and when the master’s house was burning, he said ‘we house burning’. If the master was sick, the house negro said ‘we sick’. And then there was the field negro. When he saw the master’s house burning he said ‘Let it burn’.
In Africa, South America, the Caribbean and throughout the global south, we have been in crisis for centuries as a result of the imperialists endless thirst for domination, plunder and war. It is the master’s house that is burning this time. And we say – ‘let it burn’. The demise of this empire is a welcome thing. We don’t need to concern ourselves with bringing Babylon down, for it is surely crumbling – politically, economically, ideologically and morally, due to its own internal contradictions. In the meantime, as Muammar Qaddafi urged, ‘we must build the new as the old crumbles around us’. Only then can we be ready. It is not the end of the world – it is the end of their world.
By Gerald A. Perreira
30 November 2011
Gerald A. Perreira is a founding member of the Guyanese organizations Joint Initiative for Human Advancement and Dignity and Black Consciousness Movement Guyana (BCMG). He lived in Libya for many years, served in the Green March, an international battalion for the defense of the Al Fateh revolution and was an executive member of the World Mathaba based in Tripoli.