مركز ضيف الغزال العالمي

In Memory of our Martyr Dhaif al-Ghazal Ashhaybi

Now is the time to set the record straight and reclaim our identities and our true morals and values. If any of you remember the martyr Dhaif al-Ghazal Ashhaybi who was tortured and killed by ruthless members of the Gathafi revolutionary committees than you may still remember that he wrote his own eulogy in anticipation of his abduction and murder.

Each paragraph that Dhaif wrote to ascertain his adherence to justice and truth begins with the phrase “record that I am a traitor and a coward” which he used to sarcastically address his tormentors who were responsible for maliciously turning our cherished religious and cultural values into disvalues. What Dhaif is saying in his farewell testimonial is that he is truly the opposite of all the epithets those executioners’ were hurling at him. The words I used in the title are my way of reclaiming the true values that Dhaif represented and pay homage to his patriotism and courage. Speaking of the assault on our belief system, who among us doesn’t remember how Gathafi schemed to constantly turn things upside down and inside out so as to keep us all in constant state of imbalance and confusion. He caused our belief system to constantly be in a perpetual state of flux thus causing our values, principles and certainties to ebb and flow in a constant state of agitation. From the very beginning Gathafi and others of his ilk commenced their onslaught on our moral standards so that we lose confidence in ourselves and those around us. When one shows courage in the face of the regime’s authoritarian control then that person is instantly labeled a coward and unpatriotic. Any speculation on the part of citizens concerning the present and the future of the country becomes a conspiracy to overthrow the regime and those involved are called conspirators and traitors who deserve to die. When people speak out against injustices they are accused of fomenting disorder and chaos for which they would be dragged to the gallows. He even once told them point blank that in the future they will be overrun by black Africans and will have no choice but to surrender to that fate since it is so clearly predicted in his green book “Blacks would predominate the world” so there in green and white. One time he even described Prophet Muhammad as a post man who was delivering messages for Allah (God). The Muslim Caliph (Prophet Muhammad’s Successor) Omar Ibn al-Khattab, who was known for his compassion and justice towards people, was once called a dictator by him. Gathafi’s tight control of every inch of Libya along with devising and imposing his own calendar including his own months was clearly meant to imply his control of both time and space. These are only few of the so many statements and incidents that were obviously designed to discredit the Libyans’ cultural and religious values so as to shake their trust and confidence in themselves and consequently create a vacuum which he then could conveniently fill in with his own absurd cultural and religious views. In keeping a life the tradition established by Dhaif al-Ghazal to oppose tyranny at any cost I want to offer a sequel to his immortal words directed at those who are nowadays involved in similar schemes to discredit our February 17th Revolution or our emerging revolutionary culture and values. Record that I am patriotic and brave,
When, I warn those who are filling the pages of websites including Libya Our Home and Almanara with lies, fabrications and innuendos in order to sow the seeds of confusion and discord that they are not fooling and body. You are but members of the Gathafi regimes’ fifth column and your mission is to spread rumors and suspicion. To the imposter who is feigning revolutionary zeal and stooping so low as to malign our hero Brigadier General Abd al-Fattah Yunis to the point of hinting at his being a double agent for Gathafi, my answer to you is we are on to you and if don’t keep your trap shut we will do that for you with a permanent tape, If you get my drift. Record that I am patriotic and brave,
To say what needs to be said about individuals and tribes who have been straddling the dividing line between the revolutionaries and the revolting (extremely offensive) criminals of the Gathafi regime. Two months have passed and you are still unsure as to which way you would like to turn. While you are still stuffing your face with Bazin and letting the hot red sauce and grease drip down your cheeks, elbows and chests, the blood of the Martyrs in Misrata, Ajdabiya, Yafran, Zawiya, Brega and Zintan continue to flow down their shattered bodies. At this point we should shout out in one voice and shatter the eerie silence with the resounding ultimatum “You are either with us or you are with the tyrant Gathafi” once and for all. Record that I am patriotic and brave,
Because of exposing those who hide behind slogans and false pretences rather than uphold true beliefs and strong convictions. The culprits in this case are none other than the twin Palestinian mercenaries Abd al-Bari Atwan, editor in chief of the London based Arabic News paper al-Quds al-Arabi and Ahmed Jibril, leader of the PFLP-GC (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command). Atwan, who is understandably nervous about the fate of his benefactor Muammar Gathafi, is characterizing the war in Libya as being between the east of Libya (Cyrenaica) under the command of al-Qaeda insurgents and the west of Libya (Tripolitania) under the command of Gaddafi and his loyal brigades. He, in an obvious coordination with the Gathafi propagandists is throwing al-Qaeda into the mix for dramatic effect. Jibril, who has been lining his pockets with the colonel’s cash is said to have at least one thousand of his guerrillas fighting alongside the Gathafi forces. This is how you repay the Libyan people for their sacrifices on behalf of the Palestinian people. You obviously believe that the blood of Palestinians is dear to you but not the blood of Libyans. Shame on you both and rest assured that you have done a huge disservice to your cause and your people. Record that I am patriotic and brave,
For strongly adhering to the Arabic motto “al-sadiqwaqt al-shiddah” which is equivalent to the English motto “friend in need is friend indeed”. Apart from Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) whose valiant efforts on behalf of the Libyan people will forever be remembered, most members of the Arab League have been sticking their heads in the sand as ostriches do to avoid confrontation. While the regimes of the failing Boutaflika of Algerian and the flailing Bashar al-Assad of Syrian have betrayed the Libyan people by siding with the tyrant Gathafi, other members of the Arab league have either been issuing half hearted declarations and vague statement or maintaining an almost conspiratorial silence towards the ordeal of the Libyan people. Unlike NATO member states and the EU (European Union) member states which have shown to be truly friends indeed most members of the Arab League have shown, since the imposition of the no fly zone over Libya, to be friends only when they are in need of Libya’s economic assistance or to bankroll their tattered and teetering regimes. Record that I am patriotic and brave,
For continuing to exert pressure on the African regimes which are partners in the genocide being perpetrated against my people in Libya. Once the revolution emerges victorious, the first order of business on the agenda of the democratic Libya state should be repaying these countries for the crimes they were involved in. We could do so by using all the diplomatic means available to us or by presenting detailed accounts of their war crimes to the ICJ (International Court of Justice). Leaders including Abd al-Aziz Boutaflika of Algeria, IdrissDeby of Chad, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic (get real) Republic of the Congo, MahamadouIssoufou of Niger, AmadouToumaniToure of Mali, BlaiseCompaore of Burkina Faso and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania should all be held accountable just as Charles Taylor of Liberia and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia were held accountable for planning and carrying out genocides against civilians. Their trials should become precedence in international law to serve as deterrent for aiding and abetting acts of mass murder. They, by their willful participation in a reign of terror should become automatically accessories to murder and therefore forfeit their diplomatic immunities and subject to trial by the international community. We could also enlist the cooperation of national and international financial institutions and experts to repossess Libya’s investments abroad and legally demand the refunding of billions of dollars that were misappropriated by the Gathafi regime to secure the loyalties of African governments and officials whose mercenaries are now aiming weapons purchased by Libyan money at our chests. May Allah (God) bestow his mercy and blessing on Dhaif al-Ghazal and bring solace and comfort to his bereaved mother SalminAshhaybi and the rest of his family. Dhaif’s legacy is a lesson in ultimate courage for he, like a David, stood up to the might of a Goliath and confronted him with powerful words reminiscent of the words that Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab used to reprimand Omar Ibn al-‘Aase for his ruthless treatment of a powerless citizen, “since when do you enslave people when their mothers born them as free men?). Daif, who knew full well that saying the truth to a despotic regime could only lead to a certain death, continues “call me a traitor and a coward if I resign myself to the fear of living a dreadful, embittered and perturbed life intermingled with mountains of stern warnings, rocks of intimidation and arrows of threats”.*

* Quote from the text of Daif al-