COLONEL Gadaffi has sent a special appeal to the UN Security Council to halt the huge attacks on Sirte.
In a message, attributed to the Syria-based Al-Ra’y TV, Gadaffi said: ‘Brothers, members of the UN Security Council, greetings:
‘Terrorism and destruction exercised by NATO on the Sirte area is beyond description and has no match in past history of wars. If Sirte is isolated from the rest of the world to be facing these atrocities, the world bears the duty of not being isolated from it.
‘You must bear your international responsibility and intervene immediately to stop this crime.’
Musa Ibrahim, the Libyan government spokesman, also broadcasted a statement over the same TV station on January 14.
Ibrahim sent greetings ‘To the free and noble people who are backing the Libyan popular resistance against the crusader, colonialist and criminal West and their agents, the armed gangs appointed by NATO – the evil world alliance – in order to destroy the country, steal its wealth and carry out its world imperialist plan in North Africa.’
Ibrahim said that Al-Gadaffi supporters ‘continue to be steadfast and continue to resist. We continue to score daily victories everywhere in this pure land, the land of the Arab, Muslim and free Libya. In recent days NATO and its gangs had been defeated several times in the Sirte and Bani Walid battle fronts as well as inside the usurped areas of our pure land.
‘These criminals have lost hundreds and hundreds of their fighters. No less than 250 of their fighters have been killed at the gates of Bani Walid, and hundreds have been killed at the gates of Sirte.’
He said he would ‘reassure the viewers that the popular resistance forces and the armed people’s forces have regrouped and are capable of crushing all attempts to enter the mujahid cities under the umbrella of the crusader alliance. I also say that we will be able – with God’s permission – to enter the usurped cities and liberate them.’
Ibrahim listed a number of checkpoints of ‘NATO revolutionaries’ in Tripoli which, he said, were attacked by resistance groups using light weapons, and that similar attacks were carried out by pro-Gadaffi fighters in Al-Zawiyah and Zlitan.
He accused NATO of continuing its air strikes ‘against these steadfast cities. This is clear evidence of the invalidity of their claim that they protect civilians. This unveils the whole colonialist plan against Libya. Why are they carrying out air strikes against peaceful cities?’
He also said that NATO, ‘this evil alliance, continues to carry out strikes against residential areas without pity or humanity’ adding that NATO ‘takes advantage’ of the fact that roads and telephone lines in Bani Walid and Sirte were cut off ‘in order to kill without anybody witnessing their crimes.
But we say that Allah, praise the Lord, is a witness Who sees everything and He will help us to triumph and defeat this enemy.’
Ibrahim warned that the battle ‘is not over. We are prepared to engage in a holy jihad for years to come if needed. We are completely convinced that this battle will soon be concluded in favour of justice. They will not be in peace in Libya. We will turn Libya into complete hell, God willing.’
He urged Libyans not to cooperate with the gangs and urged them to ‘engage in passive resistance, or what is called civil disobedience’. He said such an attitude would ‘support the mujahidin fighters on the battle fronts and would support the armed people’s forces in regaining the whole of Libya, God willing’.
He added that Gadaffi’s supporters would ‘lead the torch of the struggle, even if that would last for years, till justice triumphs and the British, French and the Italian plan in Libya fails. History will record that this generation has rescued Libya and rescued the whole region from the colonialist and imperialist plan to tarnish the image, religion and the Arab identity of the nation and turn it into a mere military base.’
Ibrahim accuses NATO of plotting to establish its military and intelligence presence in various regions of Libya in order to mange the country and ‘threaten the national interests of Egypt, Algeria and Africa.
‘After being the bastion of resistance, steadfastness and confrontation, Libya will become a dagger in the side of Arab nationalism and a dagger in the side of Africa. We will not allow this to happen despite the defeatism of many Arabs and the defeatism of the so-called intellectuals and elite, despite the fact that they are ignorant and they could not even understand the plot, and stood against us.
‘However, the hearts of free Arabs and the hearts of free Libyans and Africans will continue to beat till we achieve victory, God willing.’
He also accused NATO and the so-called National Transitional Council (NTC) of cutting off the power and water from Sirte and Bani Walid, and preventing basic goods reaching the cities in ‘an immoral attempt to starve whole regions in order to force them to surrender. However, we are always capable of acting wisely and we are able to provide these regions with what they need.’
Ibrahim saluted pro-Gadaffi fighters, ‘my brothers and relatives in Sirte, in steadfast Bani Walid and in all the Fezzan areas in southern Libya. I reassure Arab viewers and ask them not to believe the news. Vast and whole regions in Libya are still under the legitimate control of the Libyan state.’
He said he expected to ‘soon regain steadfast Tripoli and the rest of the cities. We do not simply fight for the sake of fighting. We are engaged in jihad in order to triumph, we are planning for the victory and we are thinking about the post-victory.
‘If we are martyred on our way to victory we will praise God because this is a blessing and the highest status of relationship with God, praise the Lord, and this is an utmost glory. Those who survive will, God willing, enjoy the fruits of victory.’
Ibrahim spoke of a conflict among the NATO coalition partners over who is going to obtain the ‘lion’s share of the Libyan oil. After Libyan oil has been benefiting Libyans for 42 years, they now want to pillage it.’
He also spoke of a ‘very serious issue, which is the partition of Libya without drawing borders, because they cannot come directly and partition Libya. But what are they doing now? Now they are speaking about Amazigh (Berber) Libya with its language, culture, heritage, songs, flag and its religious doctrine so that they can establish for them a kind of state in Al-Jabal al-Gharbi.
‘What do they want? They follow a religious doctrine which is different from the Sunni doctrine or the Maliki School of thought. They have a different language. They have land and they want to build for them schools and universities. They want to revive for them, from the dead, their songs and heritage and to write their language with a script, while in fact their language has no script, and turn them into a completely separate cultural identity.
‘Then they come to the Barqah region to revive that first pre-Islamic zeal, the so-called Barqawi identity.’ He said the same thing had been planned for Fezzan and Tripoli. He argued that the long-term plan was to divide Libya.
Ibrahim then ‘reassured’ the supporters that ‘the leaders of the Libyan resistance and jihad still exist. The supreme leader of this jihad, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, is in excellent health and his morale is high. Everyone embraces this sacred jihad till victory, God willing.
‘I’ll try to maintain contact with you, with Al-Ra’y TV and its viewers in a continuous way. . . We will return to our homes and liberate them. Libya, God willing, will be the graveyard of this colonial plan and the graveyard of this international conspiracy against Arab nationalism and Islam.’