Hacked Calls and Misrata Dues

September 20, 2011

I thank Brian Souter for the tip-off to this interesting story. It concerns an alleged phone conversation between Colonel Ahmed Bani, the NTC's military spokesman, and a rebel commander from Misrata, somehow interceptedand made into a Youtube video. (One person below describes it as "hacked.") A number of interesting things are said - there's reference to weapons and fighters from Qatar being kept in Beghazi instead of shared with Misrata, and the presence of American and French troops in Misrata and Tripoli. This as France's Sarkozy again warns that Gaddafi too, Libya's rightful ruler, can still "hire mercenaries," so foreign mercenary bombing must continue.

The partial transcription plus the video, with original audio, is available here: http://justpaste.it/luzbek. Brian also sent a short thread of Tweets among the people (including Luzbek who posted the video) who first discussed and put this together:

luzbek @electradiffusa @GreenLibya69 I'll try to make a translation of the phone-call as soon as possible
about 8 hours ago
luzbek @GreenLibya69 It's a dispute between a Misrati rebel leader and the NTC's Military spokesman, Ahmed Bani, showing rebel's lies & hypocrisy
about 8 hours ago in reply to GreenLibya69
luzbek For those who understand Arabic, this hacked phone call is Amazing!! youtu.be/6K3DoUZuHB8 via @MuammarLGaddafi
about 8 hours ago
MuammarLGaddafi Here is the phone call recording i promised you yesterday. Two rats fighting over ratisem youtube.com/watch?v=6K3DoU…
about 9 hours ago
Retweeted by luzbek
luzbek The clearer voice is from the Misrati, right? ST @MuammarLGaddafi: Here is the phone call recording i promised uyoutu.be/6K3DoUZuHB8
about 8 hours ago
luzbek @MuammarLGaddafi Am I hallucinating, or are they clearly admitting the crimes & mass graves were committed by Misrata's rebel brigade?
about 8 hours ago

Indeed, or so the provided translation says. Of special interest is the following retort from the Misrata commander on his people's track record in battle.

"Think about the armies we destroyed, Man, we destroyed 16 battalions in Misurata, there are MASS GRAVES of Gaddafi soldiers, but we are not supposed to talk about it. Who destroyed them? And you are talking about a National army?! Where is your National army of Benghazi? We are taking major casualties right now. Ambulances and planes are full of our casualties; hospitals are full of Misuratan rebels! Where is the help coming from Qatar? Where are the weapons coming from Qatar? You guys are excluding us from Libya like if we were Bangladesh. You are doing worse than Gaddafi, forgetting us and putting us apart”

To answer the bolded "who destroyed them?" ... er, their commanding officers, for "refusing to fire on demonstrators?" Or maybe NATO? Gravediggers for found soldier soup playing the victors? To some extent, that's probably so.

This helps illustrate one tension that seems to have been tautening behind the scenes. Misrata's special position, and the trauma of a prolonged siege those in Benghazi simply haven't experienced, have apparently poisoned them into hateful, twisted, and extremely needy people. They've been threatening to split off and make their own country, feeling unappreciated. The NTC might have been quelling such gripes when they went out of their way to promises Misratans a free hand in their ethnic cleansing of Tawergha, where mass graves were "discovered" and even talked about by rebels - Gaddafi's fault they said.

Also, looks like the media (David Enders) is just now talking about a "pro-Gaddafi"cemetery full of over 800 largely unidentified bodies sometimes just dumped there. Mass grave-relocation? Cemetery volunteer Hisham Embarika "said that justice for those who had committed crimes against Misrata would be left to Misratans, not to a national government. "Misrata will decide what to do," Embarika said."

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/18/124456/prisons-grow-as-rebels-pursue.html