Sleep is a painless exercise in concentration, a wanderingthrough a house in search of an object, of someone who shoutsI'm here. Sleep is the silent ticking of a clock,The ceremony in sound and image(Alfred Schaffer)
Yesterday we did not speak a word at all. I could only cry in his arms.
"That would be fine, honey."
"No. You're lying!"
"I'm not lying!"
"They killed him! They killed him."
"Sshhh ... calm down, please."
"I can't. I'm not enjoying this obituary. I do not want to see his face smeared with blood. Tell me, is it really Gaddafi? Is there someone looks like Gaddafi and performs in a play on the video to trick the World's eyes?"
"Gah... you start wandering again."
"Let me like this. You can't stop me now."
At times like that, he knew the only thing he could do was listen to me, though maybe, he would regret having a pair of ears with normal hearing.
"Have you read all the news about his death?"
"Yes. And I feel sick."
"Why?"
"It's loaded with reps."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't say so, but they will say that. There's proclamation,"Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan called him as "mad dog of the Middle East," referring to the controversial political decisions. Gaddafi supported a number of revolutionary movements in various countries, including in Chad and Iran, as well as the Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia. He was also accused of sponsoring various Islamic militant groups. In 1986, President Reagan ordered the U.S. airstrikes on Libya's Gaddafi government for alleged involvement in the bombing of a nightclub in Germany that killed two U.S. soldiers. His adopted daughter was killed in a U.S. attack.
Only two years later, Libya was accused of masterminding the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the town of Lockerbie, Scotland. The incident killed 270 people. Gaddafi claimed responsibility for the attack in 2003 and agreed to pay compensation of more than two billion dollars to the families of the victims. In the same year, the Libyan leader agreed to condemn terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, paving the way for lifting the U.S. and European sanctions imposed after the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin, and Libya restored the diplomatic relations with America and European countries. The UN also lifted sanctions related to the Lockerbie bombing. He also reportedly funded the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship in 1985. Starting in February this year, Gaddafi struggled to maintain his power in the middle of a major revolt in his country. He was under the international pressure to resign, after he responded to a deadly uprising by force. Blah!"
"Honey, that's why there are NATO troops in Libya!"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Why is there no NATO in Syria? Ehehhe ...
" "Why are you laughing eehee .... Are you cynical?"
"No. It's a fact. You know it. Don't act like stupid! If you are the ruler of a country, you see your people acting strangely and then you just daydreaming? Would you just shut up if your office was stoned by the strange forces that they never been there for 42 years behind?"
"Hmmm..., of course not."
"Many versions of the news. There are the pros and some are very critical. What is certain is, less than a decade after taking control of the country at the age of 27, he created a government system called the" Jamahiriya", Arabic for" the state of the masses."
"Yes hon, and you know it. In theory, this system was run by a committee of the people, with Gaddafi as the title of "Leader and Guide of the Revolution". But in reality, ... what happened?
"What?"
"He opposed all the forms of dissent, and during his reign he became the target of several assassination attempts."
"No dahling, it's the version of your coverage. You also already know Gaddafi was a strong supporter of the ideology of Arab unity, Pan-Arabism, and he also led the efforts to unite African countries under the Pan-African ideology."
"Yups"
"Is there a slightly biased view of us?"
"Let it be. I love you because we have many differences. And I like it. Well, it's different."
"Of course. Unlike the Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak who surrendered, was tried, and sickly, and the Tunisia leader, Ben Ali, who fled abroad, Gaddafi has opted to stay in his own country, fought with his loyalists, and then killed pathetic. Tsk!"
"Are you enjoying this?"
"I've already told you. Not at all. I just want to learn the various reactions of nations on this news. At least, he fought until his death, and he never left Libya as predicted by some observers. He also doesn't commit suicide, but he is murdered. This is outrageous! They have no right to kill him. Someone must be responsible for this murder. I hope the UN must intervene to investigate this thoroughly. Gaddafi is not a terrorist. As long as he led Libya, the Libyan people lived in prosperity and affluent, it's not like the Egyptian revolution which was trigged by the Bread Story. So, it is normal if Gaddafi thought that the overthrow of his rule was a Western conspiracy, cause they didn't much like him. Do you remember the U.S. and Europe in the Times warned Libya with "The - regulation - can affect - the - relationship"? Ow yes, what is certain is, their rules will affect the relationship by creating a healthier nation and scare the devil's servants. I respect for Libya because Libya has stood bravely against the truth to humanity. Once more, do you remember what was said by Gaddafi in Nigeria at the AIDS conference in April 1999? He said, "Some say that it is the work of the CIA. Others say that it is the work of Mossad, they conduct the experiment to the children." At that time, the epidemic in Libya began after the WHO mission to immunize children in 1998. At that time, Gaddafi was true when he asked, "Who gives them this heinous task?" I tried to awaken some old memories in his brain.
But, to all my rhetorical questions, he just responded to them with took his clothes off. He went into our bedroom and changed his long-sleeved cotton shirt with rayon shirt and shorts.
"Look at China, hon! The Chinese government said that on Friday, 21 October 2011, Libya has opened a new history sheet, and called for the National Transition Council immediately initiated an inclusive political transition process."
"Hmmm ... what about the Russia reaction? What about Hugo Chavez reaction?"
He didn't answer my question, of course, because he knew it wasn't to be answered, but only to be given appropriate reaction. He only pinched my nose.
"Answer me, dahling. Is it true that the fall of Muammar Gaddafi is a victory for Libya people?"
"Hahaha .. you lead this conversation back to NATO again!"
"Sure! What exactly is the interest of NATO dropping Gaddafi? I can see how they utilized the grassroots and the jihadists who were anti-Gaddafi in Libya for the allied in dethrone Gaddafi from his power. To subvert the tyranny of Libya, or rather to gain the access to Libya's oil wealth and open the military bases in North Africa, the West formed a partnership with the people who actually have been killing NATO troops in Iraq and Afghanistan! Now what? What do you want to say, what? Behold, ... ehehhee
... admit it, dahliiiing...!" I kicked his legs, just slowly. He didn't return my kicks. But then he became my lecture with a dull sentence. Actually, to me, it was not bad, but it also didn't trace anything. I just really appreciated the thoughts of the one I loved."Honey, Gaddafi's death is a round of history that must be considered as a bitter lesson. It should be carefully reexamined regarding the movements of change and transformation in the region. His death has opened a new era in Libya which needs to resolve the political process by embracing all segments of society in unity and without allowing any room for personal ambition, and any feelings of resentment and revenge"
"Ehheheh ... dahling, are you an Egyptian? ... mwah!" his words made me kiss him, once, only briefly. He returned it twice. Mwah mwah!
"Hahahaa... honey, .... don't you understand by the term of "is opening a freeway"?" he answered my question with question, loosen the belt of his pants, took it off and put it just anywhere. At that time, he put it on the couch. That's one of his bad habits, but I'm getting used to.
"Well, it's not good for a relationship with one of those who fought in the civil war. Now after his death, Italy can repatriate the Libya illegal immigrants who entered Italy after February....
""Excuse me hon, ... are you the Berlusconi's agent? haha, Umberto Bossi! He, who without the support of Northern League party -- the anti-immigrant (Bossi) -- , then the Berlusconi's conservative coalition will collapse." he began to joke. I could only guess his joke's direction, but I found nothing inside it.
"The National League has voiced its desire aloud to evict the illegal immigrants, dahling. Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in Italy by boat from North Africa since people's resistance in most of Arab world has been ejecting the leaders. They reduced the military patrol and police in all the country's coast."
He glanced at my face for a moment and smiled with no detectable expression. In such expression, he didn't realize, someone was missing
"After his death, the EU has also urged the NTC to encourage the broad reconciliation in the country, and offered to help rebuild the country after war." he said. Well. thankfully. He's still talking in the corridor of the same topic.
"This is not the first time the U.S. do, dahling. The U.S. special forces collaborate with al-Qaida to topple the Muslim leaders who they dislike. The West ever actively utilized the Islamists militants to fight the Serbs in the war in Bosnia and Kosovo. And now, the West is playing a dangerous game with the extremists, in Libya. Thus, it's not impossible if situation in Libya will be like in Somalia when Somali dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in 1990 and the civil war continues until now. The scenario that will occur in Libya after Gaddafi is toppled is, the NATO will land its troops under the guise of peacekeeping forces in western Libya. Then, Salafi groups - which tends to be oriented on Al-Qaeda - trying to impose the Islamic law. If NATO does not include the al-Qaeda victory in this plan, the Western coalition will open a new front war without end under the pretext of war against terrorism. The US lunge and its allies in many countries often involve the local groups which are considered to have the same goals with the U.S., and after successfully achieve its objectives, the U.S. will turn against the group that has been exploited."
"From the beginning, Obama insisted that U.S. troops will not engage on the battlefield land. He emphasized the difference between situations in which military force was required, such as Afghanistan, and where the American interests were not directly affected." he said, but it sounded like to transfer our conversation to the TV's show in pantry.
"It's just to justify Obama's actions to perform "American investment in a relatively low cost" which enables the Libyan people to defeat Gaddafi, but the wider impact remains unclear." I pulled him back toward my previous sentence. "They can't do the same thing in Syria as they do in Libya and other Arab countries. Saudis and Jordan will eventually be faced also with greater demands for political reform and more respect the human rights and transparency."
"There's Obama's doctrine on the use of military force, hon."
"No, dahling. It's still difficult to apply a single model for all of the rise of Arab countries. They began to argue, debating whether they should take a role in getting rid of a dictator. But they soon realized that such policy is full of contradictions. Saudi government is a dictator. Are they going to do something and help to overthrow them? Is it not possible? Or it is possible?"
"I think the US is not only wishing. Obama said Libya was facing "a long and winding road" to the future with full democracy. But he said the U.S. and the international community remained committed to helping the Libya people."
"Yeah?"
He did not answer my "yeah" as usual. Yeah.
"It's funny. This is the Libyan revolution, isn't it?... and after the victory achieved by Gaddafi's death, why does Obama give a speech? Why does not the NTC officials give the victory speech? or somebody, anybody, ehehehee..."
He never knows it. Far in the bottom of my heart, I really don't want to laugh. I'm just trying to cover up the other sadness that I felt when Gaddafi had been caught, when he asked the rebels who arrested him, "What happen? What's up? What have I done?". Maybe he asked with a very confused expression or in despair. Have you ever imagined a situation when the people you know and you love over the years, then they turned into something else in action, far beyond the reach "as far as you know"? You still hope there's a speck of hope that can change it and will return it as before, but until your last breath, the expectations are not being granted, and you are still in confusion with the question "What happen?" when you're facing the death.
"Don't shoot,... don't shoot" said Khadafi to a number of NTC soldiers who dragged him from the drainage culvert. When caught, Gaddafi was covered in blood, he was injured while avoiding the NATO's attack a few minutes earlier. NATO launched their air strikes to the convoy of Gaddafi's entourage which fled to Sirte.
With his head covered in blood with nearly naked body, Gaddafi became the butt of soldiers who seemed satisfied with their victory. Someone put a gun. Someone grabbed his hair. Many times Gaddafi fell plummeted as he wiped his face covered in blood. Based on amateur video footage, Sky News captured Gaddafi speech to the soldiers who began to torment him. "What you do is not permitted by Islamic law. All you do is prohibited in Islam. Do you know the difference between right and wrong?"
It is unclear how Gaddafi has breathed his last breath. Someone mentioned that Gaddafi was shot in the stomach with a 9mm pistol. Some said Gaddafi was shot in the head and chest. There was also a mention that he was shot in an attack while the procession took place.
"They have no heart at all!" I screamed with this spectacle, this persecution.
"Honey, stop talking about this, please..." he immediately hugged me, because he knew where would my scream go and end.
"Don't they slightly remember his kindness to Libya while he was still in power? Why did they treat him as barbaric? They already possessed by the Victory Devil! Terrible! Don't they realize that after this achievement they must share the Victory Cake? Why are they cheering? This euphoria looks apprehensive. Is their knowledge of democracy on target to kill Gaddafi only? Poor Libyan! Dahling, listen to me. Exceeds the war, I believe in the destiny of death. You know since yesterday, I felt crowded even without a crowd, they, for an end to the revolution, here, in my mind. Now, you bear witness to my heart. They just put an end to his body, not his self-esteem. Gaddafi has the soul of patriots cherished by him to death. He never left Libya, but Libya abandoned him.
Let's see, what about Libya at the Europe's feet. Before the civil war, Libya is the largest oil producer in Africa, producing about 1.6 million barrels of black gold every month. That number dropped dramatically since the dispute in February 2011. Libya is now only produce at least 390 thousand barrels of oil per day.
After the death of Gaddafi, Libya maybe able to produce 600 thousand barrels of oil per day at the end of the year, and doubled to 1.6 million barrels of oil per day in the second half of next year.
Post-Gaddafi, the Libyan oil concession has been prepared several months earlier between foreign oil companies and the NTC. NTC as the controller of Libyan government has vowed to give rations to those countries who supported the anti-Gaddafi forces. In fact, there is a secret document which states that the NTC agreed to provide 35% of Libya oil to France in exchange for French support to the NTC camp. The rest would be given to the UK, Italy and several other states. This concession will be realized after the NTC forms of state institutions, such as the parliament.
And... do you know something, dahling? If you become a defector from a camp, you are a traitor to the camp that you leave behind. Do you feel you are a hero in your new camp? Instead, you are not. No one can be said to be a hero if he/she is just someone with a mental "save yourself" when he/she is in total desperation. Wherever he/she goes to save himself/herself, wherever he/she is today or tomorrow, a traitor will repeat the same betrayal as it was before. As a hero who is said to be a hero to death, then a traitor, too, is a traitor to death. You are just simply choose what you want to be. A hero or a loser?"
Up to this sentence, I saw he has prepared two glasses of soda drinks for us and put them near our bath-tube. Well, that's him.
"Dahliiiing .... you're not listening to me ..?"
"I always listen to you, honey ...." his voice echoed through the bathroom wall, "But you often forget about our weekend schedule ... hahahaha now I remind you!"
Bathing together at our weekend. Hmmm,... dear darling. I almost forgot it, there was still another schedule for us in the bathroom.
Up in the shower, I remembered the way of Muslims buried the corpse. They would bathe it first, and before it was buried in the ground, it would be prayed at the mosque.
"Do they also pray for his corpse?" I asked myself while soaping his back. "What kind of prayers offered by those to a corpse after they are satisfied to laugh at it? It is also reported that he will be buried at an undisclosed location. Why? Why are they so alienating him, even until he is dead? When he was alive, they were so eager to find his body, weren't they? Why now are they so eager to rid his body after death? No other words, the desired point of this is his death only. They do not need to make small talk with the unspoken desire, because the truth does not always come on the tongue, but in deeds. Why were they still searching for his body (as we are searching for a needle that falls when we are sewing, for example), whereas Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy on power? At that time, which could be done by him was only to convey his messages with a bad voice recording through Arrai TV to Libya people from his hiding place. Tripoli has been controlled, but they still kept pounding in all the cities where they thought it was still "the Gaddafi's assets", such as the Bani Walid and in his hometown of Sirte. Prior to his obituary, later today, Libyan news was always the news about crossfire between the NTC troops and Gaddafi loyalists, until gradually I was fed up with all of them. It was an appropriate action when civilians should be evacuated from there, or better they might as well be immigrants to the United States. If president Obama asked them, "Hey what are you all doing here?", then they could simply replied him with, "What are your troops doing in our country? So, don't be angry if we are here now"
"
...Hahahhaaa... shut up, honey. If you can't be silent, I'll lock lips with my lips.""Ehhehehe...
.. why didn't they prioritize their activities to attack the Sirte to the arrangement of new government? Did they think that as long as they have not found yet the Gaddafi's body (They - do - not - need - to - mince - words - with - the - statement - "Wanted Muammar Gaddafi Alive") then it meant that Libya couldn't be said to have existed,...hah? Or what? Tell me what, dahling. Or maybe, are they afraid of the revenge? It's funny! Don't they know that revenge is an abstraction of the invisible eyes of hate? It exists in the hearts of the avengers. They can hide his tomb to be visited, but maybe they can't prevent the resentment that still smoldering in the hearts of those who still love him and feel hurt by treatment of the persecutors." I kept wondering while I rubbed his back and his chest with soap. (Hairy back, Hairy chest, Hairy belly, I love you... sha nana nana ...) "Okay, we will discuss this again, but please, ... not now, "he said somewhat promising. That time was his turn to soap my back. Okay, after he promised, I believed it. While we soaped each other at our backs, we won't speak a word at all.
*****
(AzC - LA102011)
Arab Spring Has Been Swallowing U.S.$ 55 Billion
Revolution that sweeps in some Middle East countries this year is estimated to cost up to U.S. $ 55 billion. It is raised by Geopolicity consulting agency based on the data from the IMF. According to Geopolicity, the countries with the worst confrontations, such as Libya and Syria, bear the greatest economic cost. Then it is followed by Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, and Yemen.
The revolution's cost intended is the existence of approximately U.S.$ 20.6 billion that are deleted from the gross domestic product and their public financing. On the other hand, the remaining U.S. $53.5 billion is calculated from the drop in revenue and the cost of living increases.
The so-called Arab Spring revolution has driven up the price of oil which is one of the main motor of income in Middle Eastern countries. Brent oil prices (which at the beginning of the year around U.S. $ 90) is briefly surged above U.S. $ 120 before the present it is quiet in the range of U.S. $ 113 per barrel.
"As a result, the overall impact of Arab Spring is actually a positive, if it is viewed from its economic value," the report said. Mentioned, during this year's running, there are an additional approximately U.S. $ 38.9 billion on regional productivity.
Meanwhile, Libya is considered having the worst confrontation with fiscal depreciation of up to U.S. $ 6.5 billion or equivalent to 29% of its gross domestic product.
In Egypt, the broke down that occurs during the nine months has removed about 4.2% of the country's gross domestic product. Public spending soars to $ 5.5 billion, while public revenues drop $75 million.
As in Syria, where the protest is still ongoing throughout the year, its economic cost is still difficult to ascertain. However, preliminary estimates of the revolution movement in Syria has claimed the cost of approximately U.S.$ 6 billion or about 4.5% of its gross domestic product.
As in Saudi Arabia, the local government has issued a new policy of investment worth U.S. $30 billion to quell the public unrest and the spread of Arab Spring movement in there.
Notwithstanding that, the rise in oil prices and production capacity have pushed an additional U.S.$ 5 billion for nominal gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia.
*****
(AZ/e-LA1011)
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