THE LIONS OF LIBYA

Libyan opposition flag with tags generated from (http://feb17.info/). By Mohammed Shamma.*

February 17, 2011. It was Libya’s turn to rise against the sociopath that has been ruling them for the past 42 years, Qaddafi’s time is almost over, and soon, insha’Allah, he will be joining his brothers Bin Ali and Mubarak in the trash bin of history.

The day of the Libyan uprising has arrived.

Just like Egypt and Tunisia and most of the world, well into the 20th century, Libya was under occupation, only unlike Egypt and Tunisia, it was occupied by Italy. Before WWII, one man stood to challenge this occupation, his name was Omar Al-Mukhtar, or as he was came to be known: The Lion of the Desert. His name and his actions caused Mussolini such pain that he initiated a bloody and brutal campaign in order to capture and execute him. Eventually he did. In 1931, Al-Mukhtar was wounded in battle and captured; he was later tried and hanged within three days. His people were threatened with severe punishment if they mourned him. In 1947 the Italians left, never to return. Omar Al-Mukhtar on Wikipedia Arabic and English.

The Shaykh of Martyrs, the Lion of the Desert. Omar Al-Mukhtar.

His last words echo in these troubled times that Libya is facing, they echo in the voices of the men and women revolting against their oppressor since 1969, Qaddafi:

We do not surrender. We win or we die. And this is not the end; you will have to fight the next generation and the generations that come after it. As for me, I will outlive my executioner.

نحن لا نستسلم… ننتصر أو نموت…. وهذه ليست النهاية… بل سيكون عليكم أن تحاربوا الجيل القادم والاجيال التي تليه… اما أنا… فإن عمري سيكون أطول من عمر شانقي – عمر المختار شيخ الشهداء و أسد الصحراء

The Libyan protests was planned for the 17th of February, 2011, and as customary with all Arab leaders, there’s a zero-tolerance policy for any dissidence or public disapprovals. The only difference between Qaddafi and the other Arab rulers is that he is a megalomaniac sociopath. He is not, however, as silly or thoroughly distracted as he would like people to believe, even if he provided comical relief in summits. Like all good sociopaths, he is very calculating and without a shred of remorse. For over 40 years, him and his family, and close associates have plundered Libya, the black gold pot of Africa, and managed to forcibly convince his people that he’s doing it all for them. He has been known for his treachery since the day his name was known in the political circles.

He deposed of the much loved king of Libya, King Idris I who ruled Libya since 1951. There was no logical reason for the coup, except that massive oil reserves were discovered in 1959, and that was too good to pass.

A protester holds a poster depicting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as he stands over a lamp post in Benghazi city. REUTERS/ASMAA WAGUIH. www.totallycoolpix.com

Qaddafi took pages out of Italian General Rodolfo Graziani’s book on how to crush a revolution, and raised him hell. He hired mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa to fight the rebels; they attacked homes, raped and killed the women, and killed children. He unleashed his air force on rebel cities, and pounded them with artillery. The military officers who refused to kill their own country men and women were summarily executed. No mercy and no quarter.

An anti-government protester prays in a state security building taken over by anti-government protesters in Benghazi city, Libya, February 23, 2011. REUTERS/ASMAA WAGUIH. www.totallycoolpix.com.

Still the grandchildren of Al-Mukhtar fought on, never bowing down, choosing to die as free men and living as slaves to Qaddafi and his family.

Everyone expected the Libyan uprising would have been done by now, but the fact is, we underestimated Qaddafi’s insatiable lust for power and his arrogance. He will wipe out the population of Libya if he has to before he gives up his thrown. And the only way Libya will be free again, is for some brave man to find a way to kill him and rid the world of his evil.

A rebel fighter walks past a burning vehicle belonging to forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi after an air strike by coalition forces, along a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah March 20, 2011. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic. www.totallycoolpix.com.

The Arab nations were supposed to go in and put an end to his lunacy, not the NATO. We know what our Libyan brothers and sisters are going through, all the NATO wants is to secure the oil for Europe and the USA, and for that we apologize.

As with Egypt and Tunis before them, this is not the end. It might take longer in Libya, but that rabid dog will fall eventually, and there’s no force on earth that can stop that insha’Allah, and he will go to the trash bin of history like all the ones like him went before him, and Libya will be free once again.

This is a photographic record of the revolution, intense moments that were captured, that words can never do justice.

The Big Picture:

February 25, 2011 – Libya: Unrest and uncertainty

Totally Cool Pix:

February 24, 2011 – The Libyan Protests
February 28, 2011 – The Libyan Protests Part 2
March 16, 2011 – The Libyan Refugee Crisis
March 21, 2011 – Libya: Operation Odyssey Dawn
April 07, 2011 – Libyan War: The Battle For Brega

 

Al-Jazeera Libya Live Blog

* Attribution
Some rights reserved by Mohammed Shamma

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