Gadhafi's downfall revives bitter dispute over Lockerbie bomber

In 2009, Scotland freed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, shown in 1992, because doctors gave him three months to live.

(CNN) -- Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are demanding that Libya's new rulers extradite convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.

U.S. Sens. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, Charles Schumer, D-New York, and Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, have been among those demanding al-Megrahi be sent to the United States for trial. So has Mitt Romney, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president.

Several British members of Parliament have called for his return to Greenock prison in Scotland.

Al-Megrahi was released from the jail on compassionate grounds in 2009 after serving eight years of a 27-year sentence for his involvement in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988. All 259 passengers and crew aboard the plane, plus 11 people in the Scottish border town of Lockerbie, were killed.

Al-Megrahi is suffering from prostate cancer and at the time of his release was given just three months to live. But two years later he is still alive and was last known to be living in Tripoli, now largely under rebel control. Recent images have shown him in a wheelchair.

Lockerbie families: Prosecute Gadhafi

2010: Is Lockerbie bomber innocent?

His former doctors say he appears to be receiving a hormone therapy treatment that has changed his prognosis and extended his life.

In a statement Monday, Schumer said: "As a transitional government takes hold in Libya, it should seek to undo the injustice of al-Megrahi's release by returning him to the jail cell where he belongs."

Mitt Romney echoed those words, saying: "I call on this new government to arrest and extradite the mastermind behind the bombing of Pan Am 103, Abdel Basset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, so justice can finally be done."

There has been no formal response from the National Transitional Council, but one of its representatives has previously suggested that any decision on al-Megrahi's future would have to wait for an elected government in Libya. On the NTC's own timetable that would be almost two years away.

British officials say the decision to release al-Megrahi was made by the judicial authorities in Scotland and the U.K. government cannot intervene.

The Scottish government continues to defend al-Megrahi's release, saying it was made in good faith and was based on the best medical advice at the time. The U.S. government was strongly critical of the decision at the time, and has remained so.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has in the past criticized al-Megrahi's release as a "terrible mistake." His deputy, Nick Clegg, said recently that he would like to see him "back in jail behind bars. That's where he belongs." But both men acknowledge the serious legal complexities that would make it difficult to secure his return to Scotland.

"Megrahi was convicted in a Scottish court under Scottish law,'' a Foreign Office spokesman told CNN."He could be returned under the terms of his release, but this is matter for the relevant judicial authorities and it is not something that the British government can interfere with.''

The Scottish authority responsible for ensuring al-Megrahi abides by the terms of his release says it has been able to maintain contact with him during the recent conflict, "and he continues to abide by the terms of his release license."

Scottish media quote the East Renfrewshire local authority, which has jurisdiction over his case, as saying that it is trying to find out where al-Megrahi now is. He is obliged to notify the authority if he changes address.

Any attempt by the United States to have al-Megrahi extradited would face substantial hurdles. The first and most obvious is that his current whereabouts are uncertain amid a chaotic situation in Tripoli. In addition the NTC would likely suggest that it has more pressing concerns than finding him -- and it might also be reluctant to be seen doing America's bidding.

Dean Boyd, spokesman for the National Security Division at the Justice Department, also notes that the U.S. has no extradition treaty with Libya and that at present there is no functioning government.

However, there remains a pending indictment against al-Megrahi and others in federal district court and the Justice Department says it remains committed to prosecuting anyone involved in the Lockerbie bombing, which remains an open investigation.

Along with several others, al-Megrahi was indicted in 1991 by a grand jury, which alleged that he and others "did unlawfully, willfully and knowingly, conspire, combine and agree together and with others to commit terrorist acts" against the U.S. and its citizens.

An official at the Justice Department said the indictment was not superseded by al-Megrahi's conviction by a court of three Scottish judges established in the Hague to try him and an alleged co-conspirator.

Even so, legal sources say the possibility of al-Megrahi being flown to the U.S. at the behest of the rebel leadership is remote. One option, according to one diplomat familiar with the case, would be some form of detention for al-Megrahi in Libya. Given his close association with the Gadhafi regime, that might even be a form of protection, the diplomat said.

[Source : cnn]

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Bagaimana Pesepakbola Muslim Eropa Menghadapi Ramadhan

Diperkirakan satu miliar orang di dunia saat ini menjalankan ibadah puasa di bulan Ramadhan. Para pesepakbola Muslim di seluruh penjuru dunia pun ikut menjalankan rukun Islam ketiga itu.

Dengan kewajiban menjalankan ibadah puasa tersebut, tak terhindarkan lagi jika ibadah di bulan Ramadhan juga ikut memengaruhi rutinitas mereka.

Yang kemudian jadi pertanyaan adalah bagaimana pesepakbola Muslim mengkondisikan diri dengan rutinitas latihan dan bermain dalam karir sepakbola mereka, dan bagaimana industri sepakbola beradaptasi kepada kebutuhan pemain tersebut saat ini?

Pertanyaan ini sepertinya bisa ditanyakan kepada sejumlah pemain terkenal di Eropa yang beragama Islam. Karim Benzema, Mesut ozil, Hamit Altintop, Samir Nasri, Abou Diaby, Frederic Kanoute dan Nicolas Anelka adalah beberapa pemain Muslim yang saat ini masih menjalankan kewajiban mereka sebagai umat Islam.

Beberapa dari mereka tetap menjalankan ibadah selama sebulan penuh, termasuk di hari ketika mereka memiliki kewajiban berlatih dan bermain. Tapi tak sedikit juga pemain yang mencari dispensasi karena alasan berpuasa dan mencari hari pengganti untuk menunaikan kewajiban mereka itu.

Di Inggris, puasa menjadi ujian tersendiri. Untuk tidak makan dan minum saja, Muslim harus melakoninya mulai pukul 05.00 pagi hingga 21.00 malam. Itu artinya pemain di Eropa harus berpuasa hingga hampir 16 jam.

Bandingkan dengan di Asia, terutama di Indonesia yang kurang lebih tidak makan dan minum selama 13-14 jam. Menurut Nick Worth, direktur medis klub Al Jazira di Abu Dhabi, puasa, apakah itu akan memberatkan pesepakbola atau malah meringankan, tergantung pada niat dari pemain itu sendiri.

"Semua tergantung pada fokus individu itu sendiri. Karena keyakinan seorang Muslim menjadi dasar dari kehidupan mereka di waktu yang penting. Keyakinan mereka menjadi yang utama dibanding sepakbola," tuturnya.

Ditambahkannya untuk bisa tetap kuat berpuasa, pemain harus menjaga pentingnya mengkonsumsi air dan nutrisi sebelum melakukan aktivitas fisik. Bagi Amr Zaki, berpuasa adalah kewajiban seorang Muslim dan jika tidak dalam kondisi sakit atau bepergian, dia akan tetap berusaha menjalankannya.

"Ketika saya berada di Inggris, saya sangat berniat untuk bisa berpuasa sepanjang waktu dan tetap berdoa dan juga membaca Alquran di waktu luang saya. Saya berpuasa setiap hari dan saya tak merasa performa saya jadi terganggu. Malah saya merasa jauh lebih kuat. Saya sudah banyak menjalani pertandingan di mana saya tetap berpuasa," ungkapnya.

Amr Zaki bahkan lebih memilih tidak dimainkan jika diminta untuk tidak berpuasa hanya karena kekhawatiran pada kondisi kesehatannya. "Manajer saya di Wigan Steve Bruce pernah mengatakan kepada saya bahwa dia memahami keputusan saya untuk tetap berpuasa, tapi dia tak bisa membolehkan saya bermain saat berpuasa," ujar Zaki.

"Dia meminta saya untuk memilih. Saya memilih untuk tetap berpuasa, tapi kemudian saya bermain di sejumlah pertandingan tanpa memberi tahunya saya sedang berpuasa dan saya tetap bermain bagus tanpa ada masalah," tegasnya.

Apa yang dilakukan Steve Bruce, dengan memahami keputusan pemain tetap berpuasa saat bertanding mendapat pujian. Tapi tidak dengan Jose Mourinho, yang malah mempertanyakan keputusan Sulley Ali Muntari menjalankan kewajiban umat Islam pada 2009.

Mourinho pada waktu itu mengatakan, "Muntari punya masalah yang berkaitan dengan Ramadhan, mungkin dengan kondisi cuaca yang panas, situasinya tidak bagus untuknya menjalankan puasa."

"Ramadhan tidak datang di momen yang ideal bagi pemain untuk bisa memainkan pertandingan sepakbola," ujarnya.

Karena pernyataannya itu, Mourinho mendapat kritik tajam dari komunitas Muslim di Italia. Terlepas dari hal itu, ada juga pemain yang lebih memilik fleksibel dalam menjalankan ibadah puasa. Ahmed Mido Hossam, mantan striker Tottenham Hotspur dan Roma misalnya, yang memilih tidak berpuasa saat menjalani pertandingan.

"Di Inggris, saya menjalankan puasa saat Ramadhan kecuali saat pertandingan, tapi sebelum saya melakukannya, saya sudah meminta nasihat apakah saya bisa melakukannya. Mereka mengatakan boleh saja tidak berpuasa saat pertandingan, asal saya membayarnya di hari lain di luar Ramadhan," cerita Hossam.

Sementara Mesut Ozil memilih untuk tidak berpuasa saat berlatih, apalagi bermain. "Karena tuntutan pekerjaan, saya tak bisa menjalankan ibadah di bulan Ramadhan dengan benar. Saya hanya berpuasa di hari yang memungkinkan untuk melakukannya, ketika saya memiliki hari bebas. Tapi selain dari itu tidak mungkin, karena Anda harus minum dan makan dalam jumlah banyak untuk bisa mendapatkan kondisi fisik yang bagus," ungkapnya.

Namun apa yang diyakini Ozil itu tidak diamini oleh seorang Imam yang berada di London, yang juga merupakan anggota dari Muslim Council of Britain, Ajmal Masroor.

"Memang ada pengecualian untuk tidak berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan, saat sakit atau bepergian. Tapi jika seorang pesepakbola mengatakan saya tak bisa memenuhi tuntutan profesionalitas kewajiban saya saat puasa, saya tak menganggapnya mereka memiliki alasan yang tepat. Petugas pemadam kebakaran tetap harus berpuasa, demikian juga petugas polisi, guru dan lainnya lagi, karena inilah salah satu tantangan yang harus dijalani," paparnya.

Akan tetapi, sambungnya, apabila ada even seperti Olimpiade yang datang saat Ramadhan, yang mungkin kesempatan sekali seumur hidup bagi seorang atlet, atau Piala Dunia, maka pengecualian bisa diambil.

"Jika seorang pesepakbola berpenghasilan 100 ribu poundsterling per minggu mengatakan berpuasa akan mengancam karirnya, maka hal itu tidak bisa dijadikan alasan, karena pada hakikatnya sebulan berpuasa dan beribadah bisa menjadi hal yang sangat menguntungkan bagi pemain tersebut," lanjut Masroor.

"Saya rasa, jika kita memang mengadopsi banyak budaya, memposisikan diri sebagai manusia multikultural, maka klub dan pelatih harus bisa beradaptasi dengan Ramadhan untuk pemain Muslim mereka," pungkasnya.

[Source : goal.com]

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Luxury, horror lurk in Gadhafi family compound

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Moammar Gadhafi told his people he lived modestly during his nearly 42-year rule over Libya, often sleeping in a Bedouin tent.

Even if that was true for the leader, it certainly wasn't for his sons.

At a seaside compound in western Tripoli, the Gadhafi boys enjoyed a decadent lifestyle that his people could only dream about, while perpetrating unspeakable horrors on the staff that served their every whim.

CNN visited the seaside homes Sunday.

The first house we entered was apparently the "party" beach condo with an oversized door that led into sleek, modern, black-and-white rooms. It had been ransacked by the rebels, but still it was spectacular, with panoramic ocean views and plenty of evidence of the hedonism for which Hannibal Gadhafi -- one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons -- is famous.

Discarded bottles of Johnny Walker Blue Label Scotch and Laurent Perrier pink champagne cases littered the floor. Much of the electronic equipment had been plundered, but instruction manuals remained for high end Harman/Kardon stereo components. Cabinets designed to hold two huge TV screens could still be seen.

The bedroom held a circular bed, while the in-suite bathroom was complete with sunken Jacuzzi tub lined with plastic white flowers. Outside, a hot tub, a bar and a barbecue area adjoined the private beach.

Another villa contained a white baby grand piano and more expensive stereo equipment. Next door was a huge swimming pool and diving complex, a gym, a steam room and a sauna faced in white marble. In other house.

We came upon rebels furtively dividing up a huge stash of alcohol. They seemed edgy and tense -- this is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and alcohol was supposedly banned under the Gadhafi regime.

We filmed them quixotically studying the labels of Cristal champagne and fine St. Emilion Bordeaux, apparently not realizing each bottle is worth hundreds of dollars.

As we were about to leave, one of the staff told us there was a nanny who worked for Hannibal Gadhafi who might speak to us. He said she'd been burnt by Hannibal's wife, Aline.

I thought he meant perhaps a cigarette stubbed out on her arm. Nothing prepared me for the moment I walked into the room to see Shweyga Mullah.

At first I thought she was wearing a hat and something over her face. Then the awful realization dawned that her entire scalp and face were covered in red wounds and scabs, a mosaic of injuries that rendered her face into a grotesque patchwork.

Even though the burns were inflicted three months ago, she was clearly still in considerable pain. But she told us her story calmly.

She'd been the nanny to Hannibal's little son and daughter.

The 30-year-old came to Libya from her native Ethiopia a year ago. At first things seemed OK, but then six months into her employment she said she was burned by Aline.

Three months later the same thing happened again, this time much more seriously.

In soft tones, she explained how Aline lost her temper when her daughter wouldn't stop crying and Mullah refused to beat the child.

"She took me to a bathroom. She tied my hands behind my back, and tied my feet. She taped my mouth, and she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this," she said, imitating the vessel of scalding hot water being poured over her head.

She peeled back the garment draped carefully over her body. Her chest, torso and legs are all mottled with scars -- some old, some still red, raw and weeping. As she spoke, clear liquid oozed from one nasty open wound on her head.

After one attack, "There were maggots coming out of my head, because she had hidden me, and no one had seen me," Mullah said.

Eventually, a guard found her and took her to a hospital, where she received some treatment.

But when Aline Gadhafi found out about the kind actions of her co-worker, he was threatened with imprisonment, if he dared to help her again.

"When she did all this to me, for three days, she wouldn't let me sleep," Mullah said. "I stood outside in the cold, with no food. She would say to staff, 'If anyone gives her food, I'll do the same to you.' I had no water -- nothing."

Her colleague, a man from Bangladesh who didn't want to give his name, says he was also regularly beaten and slashed with knives. He corroborated Mullah's account and says the family's dogs were treated considerably better than the staff.

Mullah was forced to watch as the dogs ate and she was left to go hungry, he said.

It seems to sum up how the workers at the beachside complex were viewed by the Gadhafi family.

"I worked a whole year they didn't give me one penny," Mullah said. "Now I want to go to the hospital. I have no money. I have nothing."

She starts sobbing gently -- an utterly pitiful scene.

[Source : cnn]

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'Algojo' Qaddafi Ternyata Seorang Gadis Berusia 19 Tahun

TRIPOLI - Bermata coklat dan berbibir merah muda, Nisreen Mansour al Forgani layak menjadi fotomodel. Namun, gadis berusia 19 tahun ini memilih profesi yang berbeda: menjadi eksekutor tahanan di bawah rezim Muammar Qaddafi.

Di bawah pengawasan ketat militer, Nisreen kini terbaring lemah di Rumah Sakit Militer Matiga, Tripoli. Saat menerima wartawan Daily Mail, ia mengaku telah menembak mati 11 tahanan dalam sehari, saat Tripoli jatuh ke tangan pemberontak. "Mereka bilang pada saya, kalau saya tak membunuhnya, maka mereka yang akan membunuh saya," ujarnya.

Ia mengaku membunuh para tahanan dari jarak beberapa meter saja.

Nisreen adalah salah satu dari ribuan gadis yang direkrut rezim Qaddafi untuk menjadi bagian dari korp milisi perempuan. Ia kini menjadi tahanan pemberontak dan ini diakuinya 'sangat menakutkan'.

Nisreen mengklaim - dan dokter dan bahkan beberapa pejuang pemberontak percaya padanya - bahwa ia terpaksa menjadi algojo di bawah tekanan besar. Dia juga mengatakan bahwa dia mengalami pelecehan seksual oleh tokoh-tokoh militer senior, salah satunya adalah komandan brigade elit Tripoli yang bertugas melindungi Qaddafi sendiri. "Saya katakan kepada mereka [para pemberontak] apa yang saya lakukan," katanya. 'Mereka marah. Saya tidak tahu apa yang akan terjadi pada saya sekarang. "

Ia menyatakan, keluarganya sama sekali tak mendukung rezim Qaddafi. Namun, dalam kondisi seperti sekarang, tulis Daily Mail, sangat sulit untuk menverifikasi omongannya.

Ia menyatakan, dirinya adalah produk keluarga berantakan. Orang tuanya bercerai saat ia masih kecil, dan ia tak pernah suka dengan istri baru ayahnya. Ia menjadi lebih dekat dengan ibunya setelah itu.

Salah satu sahabat ibunya adalah pimpinan Popular Guard, milisi perempuan bentukan rezim Qaddafi. Namanya Fatma al Dreby. Dialah yang membawa Nisreen menjadi milisi.

"Ada seribuan wanita muda yang masuk bersamaan dengan saya," katanya, yang kemudian mengikuti pelatihan di sebuah kamp di Tripoli. Di kamp itu, Nisreen dilatik menjadi penembak jitu.

Selesai pelatihan, mereka menjadi satu brigade tersendiri, di antara 77 brigade yang ada. Ia ditematkan di pos di Bab Al-Azizya, tak jauh dari kediaman Qaddafi.

Dari Fatma pula, Nisreen belajar menjadi 'bengis'. Ia ingat salah satu doktrin sahabat ibunya itu, "Andaipun kau mendengar ibumu melontarkan pernyataan yang melawan Qaddafi, maka kaupun harus membunuhnya."

Selama menjadi anggota milisi, ia kerap dianiaya. "Jika mengungkapkan ketidaksukaan pada pimpinan, maka ia akan memukul dan mengunci saya dalam ruangan. Ia juga selalu menyatakan, jika pemberontak datang, maka mereka akan ramai-ramai memperkosa kami."

Ia juga mengaku menjadi alat gratifikasi seks. Suatu hari, ia dikunci di sebuah ruangan oleh Fatma, dan tak lama kemudian komandan Brigade 77, Mansour Dau, datang dan memperkosanya. Fatmalah yang menerima imbalan dari 'jasa'-nya.

Ia mengalami beberap kali perkosaan. Terakhir, anak Mansour bernama Ibrahim yang memperkosanya.

[Source : dailymail]

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Hurricane Irene's remnants bring flood of misery to New England

New York City and New Jersey officials express relief, but farther north, rescuers scramble to help people caught in widespread flooding.

New Yorkers wade on South Street in Lower Manhattan, where Hurricane Irene -- weakened to a tropical storm by the time it reached the city -- sent water over a sea wall on the East River.

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The Southern states that first felt the lash of Hurricane Irene exhaled and heavily populated New Jersey and New York City cautiously began a return to routine, but the pain was just beginning for parts of upstate New York and New England, where rivers leaped their banks and raged through towns, trapping an unknown number of people in floods.

In Vermont, where soil was already saturated from a wet spring and soaking rains, rescue teams stymied by torrential floodwaters were unable to reach stranded residents in towns along the Winooski River, including the capital, Montpelier.

"We didn't know where the storm was going to hit," Mark Bosma of Vermont Emergency Management said Sunday evening from the state operations center in Waterbury, where floodwater lapped outside. "Evacuations beforehand just weren't possible."

Across eight states, at least 22 people died in storm-related accidents over the weekend; car crashes and toppling trees were mostly to blame. In Harrisburg, Pa., a man at a party who decided to sleep outside with a group of friends died when a tree fell on his tent, police said. A 20-year old woman swept away in the Deerfield River in southern Vermont was presumed dead.

Up to 4 million customers, fairly evenly scattered along the storm's path from North Carolina to Maine, still lacked power Sunday. It will take days — possibly more than a week — to restore all the power, authorities said.

Thousands of travelers remained stranded after an estimated 11,238 flights were canceled, including nearly 1,000 that were scheduled for Monday, according to FlightAware.com. The three major airports near New York City — John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark — were not expected to reopen until 6 a.m. Monday.

The economic toll from Irene is expected to be hefty, with insured and uninsured damages totaling from $5 billion to $7 billion, according to Jose Miranda of Eqecat Inc., a catastrophic risk management firm in Oakland.

At the White House, President Obama offered his "thoughts and prayers" to victims, vowed the federal government's emergency response would continue and cautioned that Irene, while downgraded to a tropical storm, remained dangerous.

"I want people to understand that this is not over," he said Sunday, flanked by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in the coming days as rivers swell past their banks."

Earlier in the day, National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read warned that New Hampshire and Vermont would probably experience "record flooding." Hours later, his prediction seemed apt.

"I've never seen flooding like this, especially this widespread," said Capt. Ray Keefe of the Vermont State Police, who described the flooding as "epic."

"We've lost a lot of homes; hundreds of roads, bridges have been washed away," Keefe said. "This has been a real tough one."

And late Sunday, it looked as if it could get tougher. Green Mountain Power warned it might need to release extra water from Marshfield Reservoir to save the dam, which would flood Montpelier again, the Associated Press reported.

In the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York, National Guard troops and rescue crews rushed to reach stranded citizens after floodwaters washed away bridges and made roads impassable, said Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden.

In Prattsville, a town of about 300 in the Catskill Mountains, floodwaters stranded scores of people, including about 20 marooned on the second floor of a motel. Troops used elevated Humvees to plow through the floodwaters, while rescue crews used helicopters to reach the mountain communities, Groden said.

In New York City, where emptied streets imparted a surreal touch over the weekend, the devastating flooding feared by some did not materialize. The curved edge of Lower Manhattan was soaked, but most damage in the city was confined to uprooted trees and wind-torn awnings.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg lifted evacuation orders Sunday afternoon. Authorities reopened closed tunnels and bridges and were taking steps to restart the city's subway system Monday morning.

Limited bus service began Sunday afternoon, and the heavily traveled PATH train system linking Manhattan and New Jersey was scheduled to resume service Monday afternoon. But, Bloomberg said Sunday, "It's safe to say it's going to be a tough commute tomorrow."

[Source : framework.latimes.com]

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U.S. CEOs, Athletes And Citizens Owe Steve Jobs Major Thanks

Though his ongoing illness made last week’s resignation less than surprising, the departure of Apple’s Steve Jobs from the innovator’s executive suite was and will remain big news. With good reason.

Jobs’ success speaks to the wonders of capitalism, a system built on incentives. Under capitalism, those who do the most to remove unease from the lives of others are rewarded handsomely, and Jobs’ billions attest to all that his success meant for others.

After that, a grand thanks is owed to Jobs by chief executives, professional athletes, and U.S. citizens more broadly. If this is doubted, read on.

Considering chief executives, Jobs’ brilliance as the head of Apple has redefined the upside possibilities for those in possession of the incredibly unique skills required to oversee companies. Thanks to the stupendous rise of Apple shares on Jobs’ watch since he returned in 1997, skilled CEOs will be able to command even greater salaries as a result.

Indeed, what’s perhaps not been stressed enough in the myriad testimonials to Jobs since his announcement is how very little he’s been paid by the corporation he’s so identified with. But for those who don’t know, Jobs returned to a near bankrupt Apple in 1997, yet upon his resignation the technology innovator was worth $350 billion.

Paid $1/year in salary, the vast majority of Jobs’ compensation came in the shares of the technology giant itself. Jobs’ Apple shares are worth $2.1 billion, but when we consider how very much his return meant to a company formerly on its back, Apple’s board short-changed him by a mile.

Commentators and politicians who perhaps should know better regularly decry CEO pay, but Jobs’ staggering success with Apple shows how very meaningful a skilled chief is to any corporation. They’re sometimes the difference between bankruptcy and immense wealth creation, though in Jobs’ case it’s doubtful that the CEO-pay ankle biters will be heard uttering the simple truth that in terms of his Apple pay, Jobs was exploited. Others will say not everyone is Steve Jobs, and that CEO pay should reflect just that, but then when he returned to Apple in 1997, Steve Jobs wasn’t Steve Jobs as Forbes contributor Nick Schulz has so articulately pointed out last week. Author of quite a few stupendous failures, Jobs arrived at Apple with questionable bona fides such that his pay package was doubtless deemed too generous by some.

Looking ahead, all economic acts are a speculation, and this applies to CEO compensation plans. Jobs has once again raised the bar of possibility when it comes to the impact corporate chiefs can have on company valuations, and the vital few with the rare skill set necessary to build and operate companies will be compensated handsomely as a result.

Some will earn their pay, some will of course underperform, and then some, like Jobs, will be vastly undercompensated. Needless to say, Jobs’ brilliant success is a reminder of how very important the man or woman running the show is to business prosperity.

Looking at professional athletes, in an indirect way what Jobs accomplished will accrue to them too. Much as a top quality CEO can profoundly change the fortunes of a founding company, thus making their arrival hard to put a price on, so can athletes, and for that matter, coaches.

[Source : forbes.com]

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Teen girl paralyzed, 10 others wounded after shooting at party advertised as 'Drama free' online

A Queens party advertised on Facebook and Twitter as "Drama Free" turned into a shooting gallery early Saturday.

Eleven young people were shot, including a teenage girl left paralyzed, when a gunman opened fire into the crowd.

About 100 people were packed into the backyard of the single-family home on Inwood St. in South Jamaica shortly before 1 a.m., when the shooter sneaked up a back alleyway and opened fire into the yard through a chain link fence.

Police said six males ages 15 to 23, and five women, ages 15 to 21, were shot, with bullets hitting them in their arms, legs, hands and feet.

A 15-year-old girl, not immediately identified, was shot in the back, and police said the bullet severed her spine.

The wounded were taken to three area hospitals, and all were reported in stable condition.

"Everything was all smooth, and then the shots started coming through the gate, and everybody started running," said Allan Dawkins, 23, who said he threw the party for a younger sister, Florence Dudney, who was moving to Washington

Dawkins advertised the party on Twitter and Facebook, as "Free Food, Free Drinks, Live Video, photos, Drama Free."

He said he initially charged "$3 for dudes, $1 for females, but after a while we just stopped.

"IDs were being checked and everybody was being searched through the front," he said. "So he [the shooter] probably came in, seen somebody he had issues with, went home and got his gun."

Dawkins said when the shooting stopped, the wounded 15-year-old girl, a friend of his sister he knows as "Frenchie," was lying face down in the yard.

"A lot of people didn't know they were hit," he said. "One guy made it to the boulevard [Rockaway], and that's four blocks away. The only person who knew she was hit was the girl, and one guy."

A young girl standing with a group outside the house yesterday said, "nobody in the backyard realized those were shots until the third or fourth one went off. People in front of the house started running in all directions right away, but those in the backyard didn't. I can't understand why."

Police said they recovered several 9-mm. bullet casings from the scene.

[Source : nydailynews.com]

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Obama:memperingatkan ancaman Irene belum berakhir

Presiden Amerika Serikat, Barack Obama, memperingatkan badai tropis Irene yang kini bergerak menuju Kanada masih mengakibatkan bahaya besar yaitu banjir dan putusnya aliran listrik.

"Banyak warga Amerika yang masih berada dalam bahaya besar banjir dan pemutusan aliran listrik yang bisa menjadi lebih buruk saat sungai-sungai meluap beberapa hari ke depan," kata Obama dalam pidatonya yang disiarkan televisi.

Obama menekankan kepada warganya bahwa meski kekuatan Irene berkurang namun bahaya belum sama sekali berakhir.

"Upaya-upaya penanggulangan bencana tengah berlangsung dan saya serukan agar warga di lokasi bencana tetap mengikuti petunjuk para petugas di lapangan," tambah Obama.

Obama menegaskan bahwa dampak bencana ini akan terasa hingga beberapa waktu lamanya dan upaya pemulihan bisa berlangsung dalam jangka waktu lama.

Menuju Kanada

Pada Minggu (28/8), kecepatan Irene sudah menurun hingga 80km per jam. Dengan kecepatan yang lambat ini, Irene diperkirakan menghantam Kanada pada Senin (29/8).

Sementara itu wartawan BBC di New York, Steve Kingstone, melaporkan badai Irene yang menghantam New York mengakibatkan kerugian hingga miliaran dolar Amerika.

Meski kerusakan akibat hantaman Irene tidak separah yang dibayangkan, tambah Kingstone, tetap saja bencana ini mengakibatkan luka mendalam bagi warga New York.

Pemerintah New York sendiri sudah mencabut perintah evakuasi 370.000 warganya dan berharap layanan kereta bawah tanah sudah bisa beroperasi kembali.

Selain itu, Bursa Efek New York juga diharapkan dapat beroperasi seperti biasa awal pekan ini.

Badai Irene sejauh ini sudah menewaskan 18 orang dan suplai listrik untuk lebih dari tiga juta orang di New Jersey, Connecticut, dan New York sempat putus.

[Source : detiknews.com]

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SELAMAT IEDUL FITRI 1432 H

Memaafkan memang tidak mudah. Tetapi memaafkan bisa menenangkan kita. Sebaliknya, membalas dendam belum tentu menghilangkan kebencian. Mungkin justru akan tumbuh rasa bersalah di dalam diri kita karena setelah pembalasan dendam itu kita merasa sama jahatnya dengan mereka yang telah membuat kita menderita. Menjelang Idul Fitri 1432H, mari kita buka pintu maaf. Tak ada ruginya memaafkan orang lain, bahkan kita mendapatkan manfaat yang tiada terkira. Bukan sekadar lipservice, tetapi IKHLAS dari lubuk hati. Agar Idul Fitri nanti menjadi moment kemenangan kita di Hadapan Ilahi.



http://tjuk emet. blogspot.com

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Kontroversi Moratorium PNS. Rhenald Kasali: Moratorium Bukan Solusi

Selama ini pengeluaran negara banyak terkuras untuk gaji pegawai (PNS). dalam APBN 2012 saja alokasi anggaran untuk belanja pegawai mencapai Rp 215,7 triliun. Angka ini meningkat Rp 32,9 trilliun atau 18 % dari pagu APBN sebelumnya (2011), yang besarnya Rp 182,9 triliun.

Beban APBN makin berat, sebab pemerintah juga merencanakan menaikkan gaji pokok PNS, TNI, Polri dan pensiunan rata-rata 10 % pada 2012. Selain itu pemerintah tetap memberikan gaji dan pensiun bulan ke-13 bagi PNS, TNI, Polri dan pensiunan.

Kondisi ini semakin parah ketika pertumbuhan ekonomi di sejumlah daerah tidak mengalami pertumbuhan. Sehingga beban pemerintah daerah lebih banyak terserap untuk belanja pegawai. Bukan untuk belanja modal.

Akibatnya banyak pemda yang mengalami kebangkrutan lantaran anggarannya habis untuk bayar gaji pegawainya. Data Forum Indonesia untuk Transparansi Anggaran (FITRA) mengungkapkan ada 124 Pemerintah Daerah yang terancam bangkrut gara-gara PNS.

Untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut tercetuslah sebuah gagasan untuk melakukan moratorium atau penghentian penerimaan PNS. Langkah ini diharapkan bisa mengirit anggaran yang selama ini jumlahnya selangit.

Tapi persoalannya, apakah cara ini bisa benar-benar menghemat anggaran negara. Atau justru berdampak lain terhadap daerah atau masyarakatnya?

Berikut petikan wawancara Deden Gunawan dari detik+ dengan Ketua Program Pascasarjana Ilmu Manajemen Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia Rhenald Kasali :

Pemerintah mewacanakan akan melakukan moratorium penerimaan PNS. Apakah cara ini akan efektif menghemat APBN?

Saya rasa moratorium bukan sebuah solusi untuk menghemat anggaran. Sebab yang jadi persoalan adalah ketidakefektifan dalam penyerapan belanja negara untuk belanja pegawai. Akibat anggaran lebih banyak dialokasikan untuk para PNS yang tidak produktif. Sementara untuk PNS yang produktif sangat minim.

Harusnya diteliti dulu di bagian mana banyak terserap anggaran belanja pegawai. Setelah dipetakan, pemerintah kemudian memangkasnya di pos yang kurang produktif tersebut.

Ketimpangan inilah yang membuat pengeluaran dan pemasukan negara dari kinerja pemerintahan tidak seimbang. Dana lebih banyak untuk belanja pegawai dibanding pemasukan. Jadi moratorium itu harus dianalisa dulu secara seksama supaya tidak kontraproduktif.

Berarti moratorium PNS itu tidak akan berpengaruh terhadap penghematan anggaran negara?

Saya rasa tidak. Sebab perekrutan PNS baru sangat penting sebagai upaya penyegaran. Yang jadi masalah itu justru atasannya PNS yang kerjanya sudah tidak produktif lagi.

Kalau regenerasi sangat penting karena tenaga-tenaga muda sangat dibutuhkan. Mereka lebih menguasai teknologi atau IT sehingga bisa meningkatkan produktivitas. Sementara PNS yang sudah tua selain gagap teknologi juga banyak yang tidak produktif lagi.

Rusaknya PNS itu sebenarnya mulai terjadi sejak era reformasi. Di era ini banyak PNS yang bersifat tenaga kontrak untuk administrasi. Cara ini dilakukan untuk mem-backup pimpinan PNS yang tidak produktif Harusnya yang perlu dibenahi para pimpinan yang tidak produktif ini. Sementara PNS muda yang melek IT dan belum terkontaminasi dipromosikan jabatannya.

Jadi menurut saya moratorium itu kurang efektif menghemat anggaran. Malah bisa menimbulkan masalah lain.

Apa masalah lain yang akan timbul dari moratorium tersebut?

Masalah akan timbal dari dua sisi, yakni internal dan eksternal. Untuk internal, jika tidak ada penerimaan PNS baru bisa berakibat tidak adanya regenerasi. Padahal faktor usia bisa menentukan produktivitas.

Sedangkan dari eksternal, dikhawatirkan akan terjadi gelombang politik yang akan dimainkan oleh para politisi. Sebab kalangan muda sangat potensial untuk digerakan demi kepentingan politis.

Jadi moratorium itu tidak perlu dilakukan?

Memang ada baiknya tidak menerima PNS. Tapi kalau tidak sama sekali akan menimbulkan risiko yang juga lebih besar. Jadi sebenarnya yang perlu dilakukan pemerintah adalah perampingan dengan memperhatikan downsizing dan right-sizing di tiap-tiap pos pemerintahan.

Dari pengamatan atau kajian bapak sebenarnya apa yang menjadi penyebab borosnya anggaran belanja pegawai?

Penyebab borosnya anggaran belanja pegawai karena sistem penggajiannya yang tidak beres. Gaji PNS kecil sementara variable income diberikan kepada pejabat yang pegang posisi.

Jadi patokan income berpatokan pada proyek. Dalam setiap pemberian proyek ada income-nya. Jadi anggaran itu lebih banyak tersebar untuk proyek-proyek pegawai.

Misalnya, ketika membangun suatu jembatan pegawainya disertakan untuk survei, guru dilibatkan untuk sertifikasi, pejabat jalan-jalan ke luar negeri lihat pameran dengan alasan survei. Yang ikutan banyak, setidaknya 10-40 orang. Mereka diberi fasilitas dan uang saku yang tidak sedikit.

Kegiatan-kegiatan inilah yang membuat anggaran membengkak. Jadi bukan karena gaji mereka anggaran belanja pegawai jadi besar. Tapi belanja untuk kegiatan yang tidak perlu yang membuat anggaran membengkak.

Jadi apa solusi untuk menghemat anggaran dari belanja pegawai?

Kalau wacana moratorium itu memang diperlukan. Tapi itu sebatas shock therapy saja sehingga masyarakat tidak menggantungkan cita-cita dengan menjadi PNS saja.

Namun yang juga harus dilakukan mengukur dampak politisnya. Sebab anak-anak muda ini merupakan target pemilih potensial. Mereka akan jadi incaran politisi yang berebut jabatan.

Selama ini ada anggapan di masyarakat bahwa menjadi PNS merupakan kebanggaan keluarga. Bagaimana untuk merubahnya?

Memang tidak dipungkiri di sejumlah daerah yang tidak ada kegiatan ekonominya, banyak anak muda yang berupaya menjadi PNS. Alasannya, kalau tidak jadi PNS tidak bergengsi. Padahal paradigma itu sebuah kemunduran.

Contohnya saja di Sumatera Barat, saat ini banyak anak mudanya yang tidak lagi tertarik untuk merantau. Mereka lebih banyak berharap menjadi PNS. Sehingga sekarang ini sangat jarang anak-anak muda di sana yang mau berdagang atau usaha lain. Akibatnya mereka menjadi beban negara.

Contoh lainnya di Pulau Buru. Di sana sebenarnya punya potensi untuk bisnis. Misalnya lobster, pangan. Tapi karena tidak dikelola dan dirangsang dengan baik, para pemuda di sana lebih memilih bersaing ikut Pilkada atau menjadi tim sukses dari para calon Pilkada.

Berarti peran Pemda sangat dibutuhkan untuk mengubah paradigma jadi PNS sebagai tujuan?

Betul. Harusnya menggalakkan program-program entrepreneurship. Misalnya lewat dinas pertanian, peternakan , perikanan, maupun pertambangan.

Masing-masing Pemda harus menggalakkan kegiatan entrepreneur di daerah masing-masing. Sehingga masyarakat usia kerja bisa tertarik berusaha dibanding jadi PNS.

Dengan cara seperti itu diharapkan kaum muda bisa menjadi entrepreneur yang bisa menggerakkan kegiatan ekonomi di daerahnya masing-masing. Kalau sudah begini, pelan-pelan belanja pemerintah untuk pegawai berkurang. Malah bisa jadi gaji PNS akan besar karena sudah jarang yang minat jadi PNS karena lebih memilih berbisnis.

Saat ini selain moratorium, pemerintah sudah menjalankan program pensiun dini di sejumlah instansi. Kira-kira mana yang lebih efektif untuk penghematan anggaran?

Kalau saya lebih setuju diterapkan pensiun dini. Sebab dampak politiknya dapat diukur. Selain itu dengan pensiun dini bisa menyaring PNS yang kurang produktif dan terkontaminasi, tidak disiplin, ketinggalam teknologi, cacat moral.

Kalau perlu dirangsang supaya PNS yang sudah tua tapi tidak produktif ditawarkan uang pensiun yang tinggi. Cara seperti ini jauh lebih efektif dibanding melakukan moratorium PNS.

[Source : detik.com]

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Giant rat killed by pitchfork in Marcy Houses is believed to be Gambian pouched rat

Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera was photographed with this giant rat at the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn.

It sounds like an urban legend: giant mutant-looking rats roaming a city housing project.

Only there's a picture.

A photo making the rounds shows Housing Authority worker Jose Rivera minutes after he speared the humongous rodent with a pitchfork at the Marcy Houses.

It's covered in white fur and looks well-fed. It appears to be about three feet long, including its hideously dangling tail.

And Rivera, 48, says it's not the only one. He insists that while he was filling a rat hole last week, three came running out - but he was only able to nail one.

"I hit it one time and it was still moving," Rivera said. "I hit it another time and that's when it died. I'm not scared of rats but I was scared of being bitten."

Naomi Colon, head of the Marcy Houses Tenant Association, said there have been sightings of the outsize rat for at least six years.

"The residents have told me that they've seen it running around with other rats. She lived with them. She ran into the same hole they ran in."

Animal experts who viewed the picture identified the animal as a Gambian pouched rat, which is a fairly common pet rat.

They're nocturnal, can grow to three feet and four pounds or more, and live seven or eight years.

Imports have been banned since 2003, when they were blamed for a monkeypox outbreak that sickened 100 people in the United States.

Dr. Paul Calle, director of zoological health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said the Marcy Houses specimen was probably an escaped or discarded pet who decided to join the regular rat race.

"They are a very social animal and live in big groups in the wild. Our Norway rats are the closest big rodents it could accompany," he said.

They can even be trained to sniff out landmines or even tuberculosis. "They're pretty remarkable animals," Calle said.

Tenants fear that the Gambian rat has been breeding with the Norway rats and spawning a super-breed of rodents - but zoo officials say not to worry.

The imported rat probably wouldn't mate with local rats, and it couldn't reproduce if it did, because each is from a different genus, Calle said.

Residents say that while the monster-sized rat may be the stuff of horror movies, the run-of-the-mill rats are an even bigger nightmare at the project where Jay-Z grew up.

"Even the cats are afraid of the rats. They get together and gang up on the cats, said resident Stephanie Davis, 44.

Pam Davis, 43, added, "They're here day and night. We don't dodge bullets. We dodge rats.They're so big, they should charge them rent."

[Source : nydailynews.com]

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“Khawatim Mubarakah” dan Perkembangan Mengejutkan

SUASANA Ramadhan tahun 1432 H di dunia Arab berbeda dari tahun-tahun sebelumnya atau paling tidak dalam rentang waktu 30 hingga 40 tahun belakangan ini. Pasalnya Ramadhan kali ini berlangsung pada saat sejumlah negara Arab menghadapi tuntutan perubahan dan sebagian lainnya mengalami bentrokan berdarah bahkan perang saudara besar yang memporak-porandakan hasil pembangunan yang telah diusahakan puluhan tahun lamanya hanya dalam hitungan beberapa hari saja.

Meskipun sebagian kecil saja dunia Arab yang sedang menghadapi "badai" revolusi tuntutan perubahan, namun hembusan angin perubahan tersebut tetap terasa di seantero kawasan, terutama setelah dua negara Arab, Tunisia dan Mesir sukses menjatuhkan rejim berkuasa. Karenanya tidak berlebihan bila suasana Ramadhan di dunia Arab tahun ini diwarnai perubahan dan tuntutan perubahan yang masih berlangsung yang dikenal dengan Al-Rabie Al-Arabi (musim semi di Arab).

Barangkali yang menyebabkan hembusan angin perubahan itu terasa di seantero dunia Arab yang memanjang dari Maroko di Samudera Atlantik di barat hingga negara-negara Teluk Jazirah Arab di timur, karena salah satu negara Arab yang berhasil membukukan perubahan adalah Mesir. Negeri Lembah Nil ini merupakan negara Arab terbesar dan sebagai salah satu tulang punggung utama yang setiap perubahan yang terjadi di dalamnya akan berpengaruh terhadap hampir semua dunia Arab.

Ada dugaan sebelumnya bahwa selama bulan suci tersebut terlebih lagi pada 10 hari terakhir yang dikenal pula dengan sebutan ``khawatim mubarakah`` (hari-hari terakhir penuh berkah), tuntutan, bentrokan dan perang akan sedikit mengendor. Atau dengan kata lain, selama bulan suci ini akan terjadi semacam raahah qashirah (istirahat sejenak) atau break sebelum dilanjutkan pasca Ramdhan.

Dugaan tersebut beralasan sebab pada khawatim mubarakah bulan Ramadhan tersebut kaum Muslimin pada umumnya dan di dunia Arab khususnya disibukkan dengan ritual 10 malam terakhir Ramadhan. Pada fase ketiga atau terakhir Ramadhan itu, biasanya mesjid-mesjid besar mengadakan shalat malam berjamaah yang disebut qiyamul lail (biasanya 8 rakaat ditambah witir 3 rakaat) dimulai dari pukul 02.00-03.00 dilanjutkan dengan azan pertama guna membangunkan para soimin (yang melaksanakan puasa) untuk santap sahur.

Bagi mesjid yang melaksanakan qiyamul leil pada 10 malam terakhir, pada saat shalat tarawih, tidak ditutup dengan shalat witir namun ditunda hingga pelaksanaan qiyamul leil tersebut. Hal itu sejalan dengan tuntutan Baginda Nabi Shallallahu `Alaihi Wassallam agar menjadikan shalat witir yang rakaatnya ganjil, sebagai penutup dari shalat malam.

Pada saat qiyamul leil itu akan terdengar kumandang ayat-ayat suci al-Qur`an yang dibacakan dengan merdu oleh para imam yang saling bersahutan dari satu mesjid ke mesjid lainnya. Bagi mereka yang sedang terlelap tidur bisa terjaga oleh suara merdu bacaan para imam itu sehingga sebagian dari mereka akan ringan melangkahkan kaki ikut qiyamul leil atau sekedar terjaga mendengarkan kumandang bacaan merdu para imam.

Namun sekedar diketahui, sebagian besar warga Arab betah melek sampai sahur dan shalat subuh sehingga mereka biasanya mulai tidur setelah shalat subuh. Sejalan dengan kebiasaan ini, maka kehidupan keseharian di kota-kota besar mulai beroperasi setelah shalat zuhur kecuali instansi pemerintah yang mulai beroperasi pada pukul 10 pagi meskipun kadang-kadang lebih sering para karyawan datang pada pukul 11.00 atau bahkan lebih karena mereka kurang tidur.

Pada 10 malam terakhir itu pula, di hampir seluruh negeri Arab dilaksanakan peringatan Nuzulul Qur`an pada malam 27 yang dikenal pula dengan peringatan Lailatul Qadr (malam kemuliaan). Terpilihnya malam 27 Ramadhan sebagai malam ganjil sebagai salah satu malam turunnya malam kemuliaan tersebut sesuai sabda Rasulullah yang menganjurkan kaum Muslimin untuk taharri (menunggu dan mencari) malam kemuliaan tersebut pada 10 malam terakhir terutama pada malam-malam ganjil.

Singkatnya, suasana bulan suci Ramadhan terutama pada malam ``khawatim mubarakah`` ketika kaum Muslimin lebih menfokuskan pada pelaksanaan ritual Ramdhan termasuk ibadah I`tikaf menyebabkan banyak pihak menduga sebagai raahah qashirah kubu revolusi sebelum dilanjutkan setelah bulan puasa. Meskipun dalam sejarah, banyak kemenangan melawan kaum kafir dibukukan pasukan Muslim pada bulan Ramadhan, namun konteksnya beda sebab revolusi sekarang adalah revolusi menuntut perubahan di kalangan intern Muslim.

Menggembirakan dan mengejutkan

Namun dugaan tersebut ternyata meleset, sebab pada khawatim mubarakah itulah terjadi perkembangan menggembirakan bagi mayoritas publik Arab pendukung perubahan status quo sekaligus perkembangan mengejutkan karena tidak terduga sebelumnya. Tentunya yang dimaksud dengan perkembangan mengejutkan disini adalah keberhasilan kubu revolusi Libya menduduki ibu kota Tripoli sekaligus menguasai kompleks Bab Al-Aziziya yang menjadi simbul kekuasaan rejim Muammar Qadhafi selama 42 tahun lebih.

Banyak analis dan pengamat Arab yang setengah tidak percaya dengan perkembangan mengejutkan tersebut sehingga mereka menyebutnya sebagai kejatuhan rejim Kaddafi yang sangat cepat dan mengejutkan. Pasalnya selama lebih dari 7 bulan perang saudara, kubu revolusi terkesan sangat sulit untuk sekedar mendekat ke ibu kota Tripoli meskipun mendapat payungan serangan udara dari pesawat-pesawat tempur canggih NATO.

Sejak Ahad malam (21/08/2011) yang bertepatan juga dengan awal malam pertama khawatim mubarakah pasukan kubu revolusi dilaporkan berhasil masuk ke ibu kota Tripoli tanpa menghadapi perlawanan berarti karena banyak personil dari kataib (battalion) Kaddafi yang menyerah atau menolak berperang dan mengganti pakaian mereka dengan pakaian sipil apalagi setelah terdengar berita penangkapan Saiful Islam Kaddafi yang ternyata tidak benar.

Sebenarnya tulisan ini sengaja penulis tunda selama tiga hari sekedar untuk memastikan orang kuat Libya itu bersama anak-anaknya benar-benar telah diketahui tempat persembunyiannya atau telah ditangkap kubu revolusi. Namun ternyata setelah 3 hari sejak kubu revolusi menguasai Tripoli termasuk Bab Al-Aziziya, tidak ada kejelasan tempat persembunyian sang penguasa yang pernah menjuluki dirinya malikul muluk Afriqiya (raja diraja Afrika) itu.

Tidak ada pula kejelasan apakah mereka masih tetap berada di Libya atau telah melarikan diri mengungsi ke negara lain yang siap menerimanya sebagai tempat suaka atau pengasingan. Siapa tahu sebelum tulisan ini sampai kepada pembaca segalanya telah jelas. Namun yang sudah jelas adalah, kekuasaan rejim yang melebihi kekuasaan raja itu sudah dipastikan berakhir setelah lebih dari 90 % wilayah Libya berada dibawah kontrol kubu revolusi.

Berbagai upaya untuk mempertahankan sisa-sisa kekuasaannya termasuk lewat propaganda media yang masih setia mempublikasikan pernyataan sang raja diraja Afrika itu tampaknya hanya sia-sia belaka. Pada Rabu dini hari milsanya, melalui sebuah radio lokal di Tripoli, Kaddafi mengatakan, pengunduran diri dari markasnya itu merupakan "langkah taktis" setelah kompleks tersebut diratakan dengan tanah oleh serangan udara NATO dan pasukan pemberontak.

Propaganda seperti itu sah-sah saja sehingga mengingatkan kita kepada mantan Menteri Penerangan Iraq, Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf yang menyampaikan pernyataan ``pepesan kosong`` tentang kehebatan tentara Irak saat menghadapi invasi AS. Secara terpisah, seorang juru bicara Khadafy, Moussa Ibrahim, juga melakukan propaganda sama dengan mengatakan, pemimpin Libya itu siap melawan pemberontak yang telah merebut Tripoli, yang bisa berlangsung berbulan-bulan, bahkan bertahun-tahun dan Kaddafi bersumpah akan mengubah Libya menjadi "gunung berapi, lava, dan api".

Bagi para pendukung perubahan di dunia Arab, kejatuhan Kaddafi sangat berpengaruh terhadap tuntutan perubahan di negeri Arab lainnya yang masih bergolak seperti di Yaman dan Suriah. Pasalnya, tuntutan perubahan yang sejatinya berjalan damai berubah menjadi bentrokan berdarah bahkan perang saudara besar yang selanjutnya sangat disayangkan menjadi model bagi negara lain yang mengalami tuntutan yang sama.

“Hari ini kita saksikan pemimpin ketiga telah jatuh, besok kita akan mendengar lagi yang keempat lalu yang kelima. Tidak adanya perlawanan berarti saat kubu revolusi memasuki Tripoli menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas rakyat memang menginginkan perubahan,`` papar Jawad Al-Bashiti, salah seorang analis Arab, dalam artikelnya di harian Arabonline, Selasa (23/08/2011).

Mengingat hingga tulisan ini diturunkan belum ada kejelasan tentang keberadaannya, sedikitnya ada tiga skenario tentang keberadaan Kaddafi yang menamakan dirinya juga ``amid zu`ama el-arab`` (ketua para pemimpin Arab) itu. Skenario pertama adalah, ia kemungkinan telah melarikan diri ke wilayah Siert, yang dikenal sebagai basis dukungan terkuat Kaddafi atau pindah ke Sabha dan Wahah el-Kafra, tempat kelahiran dan pusat kabilahnya.

Sedangkan skenario kedua, ia telah mengungsi ke salah satu negara Afrika yang pernah mendapat bantuan ``jor-joran`` dari Kaddafi, sebab tidak mungkin ia akan disambut di Arab Saudi seperti pendahulunya mantan Presiden Tunsia, Zainal Abidin Ben Ali. Sementara skenario ketiga adalah mengikuti jejak mendiang Saddam Hussein yang tetap memilih berada di tempat sambil mengorganisir kembali kekuatan untuk melakukan perang gerilya melawan kubu revolusi.

Sulit memastikan skenario yang pasti dari ketiga skenario diatas, namun banyak pihak lebih menguatkan kemungkinakan dua skenario pertama yakni melarikan diri ke kabilahnya atau mengungsi ke salah satu negara Afrika.

"Sulit kita mempercayai Kaddafi akan siap bertempur hingga titik darah penghabisan," kata salah seorang analis Arab.

Melihat perkembangan Libya saat ini, tidak berarti kejatuhan raja diraja Afrika itu akan sendirinya mengakhiri konflik di negeri pahlawan Omar Mukhtar itu. Yang paling mengkhawatirkan justeru kondisi negeri itu pasca rejim Kaddafi yang lebih berat dan pelik karena faksi-faksi dalam tubuh kubu revolusi memiliki orientasi yang sangat berbeda, meskipun ditengarai didominasi oleh kelompok Islamis, dan akan kita bahas dalam tulisan mendatang insya Allah.

Berakhirnya tabu

Sebenarnya ada perkembangan sangat penting dan menggembirakan yang jauh lebih bermakna di tengah hingar bingar dentuman senjata di Libya. Tak lain yang dimaksud penulis adalah berakhirnya ``tabu Israel`` di Mesir setelah lebih dari 30 tahun masa kekuasaan diktator Mubarak demikian semena-mena mempermalukan Mesir tanpa sedikitpuna rakyat negeri itu dapat melakukan reaksi.

Seorang anak muda Mesir melakukan aksi heroik pada hari Ahad pagi (21/8) yang kemudian mendapat julukan rujul ankabut alias spiderman. Ia memanjat ke lantai 15 sebuah gedung tempat kedutaan besar (Kedubes) Israel di Kairo, lalu mencopot bendera Israel yang terpasang di balkon dan menggantinya dengan bendera Mesir.

Ahmed el-Shahhat, nama pemuda itu, menuturkan bahwa ia berhasil menyelinap sehingga terhindar dari pantauan aparat keamanan Mesir yang berjaga-jaga di sekeliling gedung itu. Aparat keamanan tak kuasa menghentikan Al-Shahhat ketika pemuda itu sudah memanjat dinding gedung, hingga mencapai balkon kedutaan besar Israel dan mengganti bendera Israel dengan bendera Mesir lalu bendera zionis itu dibuang ke bawah yang disambut ratusan pendemo dibawah lalu membakarnya.
Itulah gambaran singkat salah satu reaksi atas terbunuhnya lima polisi perbatasan

Mesir oleh serangan Israel pada Kamis (18/8) lalu di gurun Sinai. Sebelumnya kabinet Mesir memutuskan penarikan Dubes Mesir di Tel Aviv dan tuntutan permintaan maaf resmi Israel, namun keputusan penarikan Dubes dilaporkan diurungkan sehingga cukup dengan tuntutan permintaan maaf dan penyelidikan bersama atas insiden tersebut.

Insiden perobekan dan pembakaran bendera zionis itu oleh si rujul ankabut tidak bisa disebut masalah sederhana yakni sekedar reaksi seorang pemuda Mesir yang murka terhadap kematian lima polisi Mesir yang ditembak pasukan Israel di dalam wilayah Mesir itu. Tapi peristiwa tersebut merupakan serial bersambung dari serial perubahan di negeri Nil itu pasca rezim Mubarak yang dikenal sebagai sekutu strategis Israel di Arab.

Kubu revolusi di Mesir telah sampai kepada tuntutan berikutnya yang terkait dengan kebijakan luar negeri terutama yang berhubungan dengan masa depan hubungan dengan Israel. Sejak penandatangan perjanjian Camp David pada 1979 hingga tiga dekade lebih masa kekuasaan Mubarak, sangat tabu bagi rakyat Mesir untuk mencoba mengungkit hubungan negerinya dengan negeri zionis itu.

Saat ini semua telah berubah, tabu itu telah berakhir, siapapun yang berkuasa di negeri Piramida itu harus mendasarkan kebijakan luar negerinya pada aspirasi rakyat yang kebetulan telah muak dengan kesemenaan-menaan Israel memalukan Mesir selama ini akibat dari perjanjian Camp David itu. Kesemenaan-menaan itu, tidak bisa lagi hanya ditanggapi lewat pernyataan kecaman semata seperti yang biasa dilakukan pada masa rejim sebelumnya.

Perjanjian yang menyebabkan Mesir terpuruk dari perannya sebagai negara Arab terbesar dipastikan akan terus digugat. Amr Moussa, misalnya salah satu tokoh yang berpeluang besar sebagai Presiden Mesir mendatang, termasuk yang sudah mulai menggugat ketika ia menyatakan di hadapan jama’ah mesjid Al- Rifa’i Mesir bahwa perjanjian Camp David sudah tidak layak dipertahankan.

Mantan Sekjen Liga Arab itu, sebagaimana dilansir situs almesryoon.com (24/11) menilai bahwa kesepakatan Camp David telah berakhir, dan perlu untuk ditinjau ulang semua isinya, dengan dibolehkannya keberadaan militer Mesir di seluruh wilayah Sinai serta wilayah-wilayah perbatasannya hingga memungkinkan pihak militer menjaga keamanan dan menguasai kondisi Sinai. Moussa juga tidak lupa mengingatkan para pemimpin zionis bahwa bahwa Mesir berada di zaman perubahan sehingga zionis tidak bisa bermain-main dengan kehormatan Mesir.

Serial perubahan tersebut diharapkan terus dipertahankan para pemimpin Negri Nil itu mendatang, dengan mengacu kepada dukungan rakyat bukan atas pertimbangan sikap negara-negara besar sekutu Israel terutama AS. Perubahan sikap Mesir itu adalah salah satu indikasi suksesnya perubahan di dunia Arab, bukan hanya sekedar ganti penguasa semata. Khawatim Mubarakah bagi semua.*

[Source : hidayatullah.com]

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Meminta Maaf Lewat Berbagai Cara

Hari raya Idul Fitri identik dengan kembalinya fitri atau sucinya jiwa-jiwa para muslim. Penyucian diri ini dilakukan atas permohonan maaf dan taubat seikhlas-ikhlasnya kepada Tuhan, serta juga meminta maaf pada orang lain atas segala khilaf yang telah terbuat.

Termasuk juga pada rekan kerja yang selama ini sumbangsihnya telah lama terlibat dalam sebagian perjalanan karir kita. Tak jarang pula ia justru menjadi sasaran kekesalan dan amarah kita karena miskomunikasi atau salah mengerti. Maka dari itu jangan lupakan rekan kerja, atasan, maupun bawahan Anda dalam daftar permohonan maaf Anda.

Dewasa ini begitu banyak pilihan “sarana” yang digunakan untuk menyampaikan permohonan maaf tersebut. Baik dengan menemuinya langsung, ataupun dengan mengirimkan pesan.

Bertemu langsung
Sebenarnya cara ini adalah cara yang paling utama dan memiliki paling banyak keutamaan dalam meminta maaf. Dengan bertemu langsung, kontak mata terjadi, kesungguhan hati pun turut terpancarkan. Kontak fisik seperti dengan bersalaman, berpelukan pun akan melumerkan kekakuan yang selama ini ada. Dosa-dosa diantara keduanya pun rontok kemudian. Namun, banyaknya rekan dan karena waktu yang terbatas, menjadikan kita tak mungkin untuk menjangkau semuanya. Maka, siasati saja, agar Anda bisa meminta maaf secara langsung pada orang-orang yang paling penting dalam hidup Anda.

Kartu Ucapan
Ada masanya kartu ucapan Lebaran sempat membanjiri pusat perbelanjaan. Dengan tampilan yang lucu, indah, dan ada pula yang mewah, setiap orang bisa memilih sendiri bentuk kartu ucapan yang seperti apa yang akan dikirimkan kepada temannya.

Pada hari ini, setelah teknologi kian canggih dengan sarana mengirim pesannya, kartu ucapan pun kian ditinggalkan. Nah, Anda juga bisa mengirimkan kartu ucapan pada orang-orang yang dahulu sering Anda habiskan waktu bersamanya. Seperti sahabat-sahabat semasa kecil atau semasa sekolah. Kartu ucapan ini tentunya akan memberikan kejutan tersendiri diantara derasnya pesan lewat ponsel.

Telepon
Dengan telepon, maka terjalinlah pembicaraan hangat dari dua orang. Menggunakan telepon bisa digunakan untuk orang-orang yang juga dekat dengan kita namun terpisah jarak yang cukup jauh. Misalnya rekan-rekan kerja yang biasanya selalu bersama-sama dengan kita setiap hari di kantor.

Pesan, dan Jangan “Broadcast Messenger”
SMS bisa digunakan untuk mengirimkan pesan kepada orang-orang yang tidak terlalu sering Anda habiskan waktu dengannya. Seperti rekan kerja beda divisi.

Hindari penggunaan “Broadcast Messenger”, karena memberi kesan Anda hanya main-main dan hanya ingin cepat dalam minta maaf. Mengirim permohonan maaf dengan cara ini justru mencitrakan diri Anda yang terlalu semu dan tak mengerti arti meminta maaf. Sebaiknya kirimkan satu per satu.

Agar pesan pun terasa begitu dekat, selalu sisipkan nama si penerima di awal pesan. Seperti “Assalamualaikum wr wb Rani yang ceria dan baik hatinya. Setelah lewati sebulan penuh penyucian diri, tibalah kita pada hari kemenangan, Idul Fitri…dst”. Semua orang akan merasa tersanjung saat namanya disebut, apalagi ditambah dengan sedikit pujian.

Anda juga bisa kirimkan email untuk klien-klien Anda yang jumlahnya begitu banyak, sehingga sulit untuk dikirimkan satu per satu lewat pesan.

Namun pada dasarnya, permohonan maaf ini seharusnya konsisten dilakukan bahkan di luar bulan Ramadhan pula. Yang terpenting adalah hati yang selalu menerima maaf saat ada orang yang melukai kita, dan hati yang selalu memohonkan maaf saat ada yang terluka akibat ulah kita.

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Pertimbangan Penting Sebelum Memutuskan Kerja di Kota Besar

Pesona daerah ibukota negara, DKI Jakarta memang selalu silaukan mata siapa saja. Bagaimana tidak, gedung-gedung tinggi dibangun dimana-mana, bahkan pusat perbelanjaan semakin menjamur saling bersaing dengan lainnya. Sehingga kota Jakarta dari tahun ke tahun seringkali jadi kota favorit para kaum urban yang ingin mengadu nasib di Jakarta.

Mungkin kemilau itu pula yang Anda rasakan? Apalagi sebentar lagi waktunya hari raya Idul Fitri. Kerabat tersayang dari Jakarta berhamburan kembali ke daerahnya masing-masing untuk bersilaturahmi. Dan kisah sukses mereka mungkin jadi angin segar bagi kita untuk merasakan hal yang sama.

Tapi tahan dulu. Ada beberapa hal yang musti Anda pertimbangkan sebelum benar-benar memutuskan untuk pindah ke ibukota Indonesia ini.

Keterampilan
Inilah poin yang paling ditekan oleh pemerintah daerah Jakarta. Sekitar 9,5 juta kepala manusia mengadu nasib dan bersaing keras di daerah yang hanya seluas 660km persegi. Belum lagi ditambah oleh para “tetangga” seperti daerah Bogor, Tangerang, Depok, dan Bekasi. Bisa Anda bayangkan seperti apa persaingan yang hendak Anda hadapi disana jika Anda hanya memiliki keterampilan yang pas-pasan. Bahkan tak jarang dengan keterampilan yang banyak, seseorang hanya dapatkan penghasilan yang biasa saja.

Biaya hidup
Mungkin akan terdengar menakutkan, tetapi menurut hasil survey ECA International, Jakarta ditempatkan sebagai salah satu kota termahal di Indonesia, dan posisi 102 di seluruh dunia.

Bisa dilihat dari harga makanan saja. Makanan di Jakarta dipasok kebanyakan dari luar Jakarta, seperti sayuran, daging, dan sebagainya. Biaya perjalanan sudah melonjakan harga sayur tersebut. Berbeda dengan daerah, yang mudah untuk mendapatkan sayur dan buah. Bahkan mereka bisa dengan mudahnya menemukan perkebunannya di kampungnya sendiri.

Sekalipun Anda mendapatkan gaji yang tampak lebih menggiurkan di Jakarta, belum tentu Anda bisa banyak menabung dan suka-suka berbelanja. Lain halnya jika Anda dapatkan gaji yang sama, tetapi hidup di daerah.

Dua poin tersebut yang selalu dielu-elukan oleh pemerintah daerah Jakarta untuk mengantisipasi lonjakan urbanisasi setelah Idul Fitri. Semua ini kembali kepada diri Anda, sudah siapkah Anda menghadapi suasana yang jauh berbeda di “tanah orang”. Lupakanlah pepatah “hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri”. Anda juga bisa sukses dan gemilang di tempat kelahiran Anda sendiri kok. Karena sukses tidak bergantung pada tempatnya, tetapi bagaimana Anda menyikapinya.

[Source : perempuan.com]

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Jangan Menyimpan Kentang Busuk

Pada suatu hari di sebuah sekolah dasar, seorang guru mengadakan permainan dengan para muridnya. Saat itu, semua murid telah membawa kantong plastik transparan beserta beberapa kentang kecil. Kemudian ibu guru berkata,"Anak-anak, apakah ada di antara kalian yang mempunyai rasa tidak senang atau benci kepada yang lain?"

Spontan anak-anak itu menjawab,"Ada, Buuu.."

"Nah, kalau begitu tuliskanlah huruf atau kode yang menunjukkan orang tersebut di kentang yang kalian bawa. Kalau ada yang punya rasa tidak senang kepada lebih dari satu orang, berarti kentangnya harus sebanyak orangnya ya.."

Kemudian, masing masing anak menandai kentangnya sesuai dengan jumlah orang yang tidak disenangi. Ada anak yang menuliskannya pada satu kentang, dua kentang atau bahkan lebih. Lalu ibu guru menjelaskan, "Aturan permainannya adalah seperti ini. Kalian harus membawa kentang itu di dalam kantong plastik selama satu minggu.Tidak berat kan?" tanya bu guru. Anak-anak itu menggelengkan kepalanya.

Kemudian, selama satu minggu di sekolah, mereka semua membawa kentangnya kemana-mana. Baik saat makan di kantin, pergi ke toilet, main di lapangan, atau di kegiatan lainnya. Hari pertama tidak ada masalah karena murid-murid menganggapnya tugas yang mudah. Akan tetapi setelah beberapa hari, kentang yang mereka bawa mulai berubah warna menjadi hitam dan mulai membusuk. Aromanya sangat tidak enak. Anak-anak yang membawa lebih dari satu kentang mulai merasakan beratnya tugas ini.

Setelah satu minggu, ibu guru membahas tugas ini di kelas bersama para muridnya.

"Bu guru, rasanya tidak enak sekali membawa kentang busuk kemana-mana. Saya jadi tidak enak makan," kata seorang murid. Murid-murid yang lain mengiyakan dan bergantian curhat kepada ibu guru, tentang betapa tidak enaknya membawa kentang busuk ke mana-mana.

Kemudian sang guru menjelaskan arti permainan itu. "Anak anak, kentang itu ibarat kebencian atau rasa tidak suka yang kita pendam terus terhadap seseorang, yang terus kita bawa ke mana-mana. Sangat tidak nyaman kan? Karena itu, jangan menyimpan dendam atas kesalahan yg dilakukan oleh temanatau orang lain kepada kita. Semakin lama kita simpan dalam hati, maka kita akan semakin merusakmental dan jiwa, sama seperti racun yang ada dalam kentang busuk ini. Apakah kalian memahami penjelasan ini?"

"Paham, Bu...," jawab mereka serempak.

Sahabat,

Kesalahan orang kepada kita, apapun bentuknya (baik disengaja atau tidak disengaja), yang pasti kalau kita ingat terus, apalagi timbul dendam dan berusaha membalas dengan lebih kejam lagi, maka sepanjang hidup justru kita akan menderita. Sebaliknya kalau kita yang melakukan kesalahan, baik itu disengaja atau tidak, maka percepat minta maaf atas kesalahan yang kita lakukan.

Puasa di bulan Ramadhan ini, sungguh saat tepat untuk mengingatkan kita, agar senantiasa mampu menahan godanya nafsu, terutama amarah dan kebencian. Mari berlatih untuk saling memaafkan, mengampuni. Bukan sekadar lipservice, tetapi ikhlas dari lubuk hati. Agar Idul Fitri nanti menjadi moment kemenangan kita di mata Ilahi.

[Source : andriewongso]

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International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court opened its doors on July 1, 2002, ready to receive complaints about gross abuses of human rights anywhere in the world.

Created by the Rome Treaty of 1998 and over objections from the United States, the global court has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed after July 1, 2002. The court, which is based in The Hague, is authorized to try only individuals, not nations or armies. The 1998 Rome treaty establishing the International Criminal Court removed head-of-state immunity for atrocity crimes.

The court is independent of the United Nations and was established as a permanent institution. It is intended to replace ad-hoc tribunals, like the one that dealt with Nazi crimes in Nuremberg or the United Nations courts that have dealt with Rwanda and Yugoslavia.

In the debate over the creation of such a tribunal, the United States — the Bush administration and some in Congress — fought to curb its reach. They were particularly opposed to the possibility that American soldiers might be subjected to the court's jurisdiction, and American officials feared that the threat of trial could undermine the United Nations peacekeeping apparatus.

But the United States' European allies and NATO partners hailed the court as a pivotal development in international law and human rights. Human rights groups and European leaders said they thought Washington was motivated by the fear that American policymakers, not just soldiers, would be held accountable before the court.

Britain, France and Germany help to finance the court and contribute staff members. The European Union covers most of the court’s budget, and the Netherlands pledged 10 years of free rent in The Hague as well as $70 million for starting costs.

The court's creation was speedy, by the standards of international organizations: it received the required ratification of 60 nations barely four years after the Rome Treaty instead of in the expected 10 to 20 years.

Some legal experts have complained that the threshold for getting a case to the global criminal court is so high that it impedes international justice. For example, the prosecutor may investigate a case only when a national court is unable or unwilling to do so. The prosecutor may do so only after convincing a three-judge panel that an existing national investigation or trial was a sham or that local courts shielded an individual from criminal responsibility.

The definition of war crimes is very specific, stipulating that large-scale crimes must be committed as part of a government plan or policy in order to come under the court's mandate. This, legal experts say, would rule out a trial of any local commander or individual pilot who bombed or killed on a personal whim.

At the insistence of the United States, some war crimes were defined in even more strict terms than in the Geneva Conventions. For instance, the loss of civilian lives or damage to property needs to be ''clearly excessive'' compared with the military advantage of an attack.

Furthermore, before a prosecutor can begin an investigation, the court has to notify the suspect's government. National authorities will then have six months to conduct their own investigation to ward off the international prosecutor.

[Source : topics.nytimes.com]

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Pan Am Flight 103

Just before Christmas in 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Scotland, killing the 259 passengers and crew members on their way from London to New York and 11 people on the ground.

The United States and Scotland issued indictments against two Libyan intelligence officers for the bombing, but Libya refused to surrender the suspects, leading the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions against the country in 1992.

After years of negotiations and sanctions, Libya agreed to extradite the two suspects, on condition that they be tried in a third country. So a Scottish court convened in the Netherlands, and the suspects were extradited more than 10 years after the Boeing 747 was bombed.

Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, a Libyan intelligence official, was convicted in 2001. He was the only person found guilty in the case.

On Aug. 20, 2009, despite strenuous American opposition, the Scottish government ordered his release on compassionate grounds and permitted him to return home after serving 8 years of his 27-year minimum sentence for murdering 270 people. He qualified for compassionate release after medical evidence showed he would die within months of prostate cancer, the Scottish authorities said.

Of the dead, 189 were Americans. The Scottish decision has provoked anguished protests from American families of the victims who had demanded that he serve his full sentence. The White House said in a news release that it "deeply regrets" the Scottish decision. Scotland's Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskil, said it was his decision alone that Mr. Megrahi "be released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya to die."

Sixteen months after Mr. Megrahi's conviction, Libya acknowledged responsibility and offered $10 million in damages for each of the 270 victims, although that payment later became an issue. Libya offered the money in stages, as sanctions were removed, and the last portion was to come after the United States restored full diplomatic relations. In May 2006 the United States agreed to do so, but that was after the deadline set by Libya in the agreement, so the final $2 million per family was not paid.

Congress is considering legislation that would bar construction of a new American embassy in Tripoli until Libya settles with the families, and with the victims of a previous terror attack, the bombing in 1986 of a disco popular with American servicemen in what was then West Berlin. Lawyers for those victims say their Libyan counterparts had agreed to damage payments but then reneged.

After the West Berlin bombings, President Ronald Reagan sent warplanes to bomb Tripoli. But relations between Libya and both the United States and Britain warmed after the country disclosed it had a nuclear weapons program and agreed to give it up. American officials have described their treatment of Libya as an inducement to other countries to give up nuclear weapons programs.

On June 28, 2007, a Scottish legal panel concluded that Mr. Megrahi should be granted an appeal, challenging some of the evidence presented at his trial. On April 28, 2009, more than 20 years after the jumbo jet was bombed, a five-member panel of judges in Edinburgh began hearing the case. In August 2009, before he was released, his lawyers abandoned the appeal.

Mr. Megrahi has always professed his innocence, a stand he affirmed in a written statement read at a court hearing in November 2008 that failed to win him release because of his prostate cancer.

[Source : topics.nytimes.com]

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Muammar el-Qaddafi

It has been over 40 years since Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi came to power in Libya — and for nearly as long the West has watched his every move. The financier of an eclectic array of guerrilla groups around the globe, he was responsible, according to Western intelligence, for many of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the mid-80s, including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270.

In February 2011, rebellion erupted in Libya, the latest and bloodiest the uprisings that swept across the Arab world. Colonel Qaddafi lashed out with a level of violence unseen in the other uprisings, but the rebels fought back and seized the eastern half of the country. Momentum seemed to shift in March, as the superior Qaddafi forces sought to retake several eastern oil cities that had slipped from the government’s control in the first days of the uprising, and the rebels faced the prospect of being outgunned and outnumbered in what increasingly looked like a mismatched civil war. With the government forces closing in on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force to protect civilians.

On March 19, American and European forces began a broad campaign of airstrikes against the government of Colonel Qaddafi, unleashing warplanes and missiles in a military intervention on a scale not seen in the Arab world since the Iraq war.

Colonel Qaddafi remained defiant. On May 31, he rebuffed a mediation effort by South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, saying he would fight on. His words appeared to reflect a deepening sense of isolation, brought on by 10 weeks of NATO bombing, rebel advances, Western leaders’ recent reaffirmation of demands for Colonel Qaddafi to quit, and the fact that Russia, an old ally of Libya, had joined those demands.

On June 27, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Colonel Qaddafi, his son Seif al-Islam and his chief of intelligence, Abdullah Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution, stemming from the first two weeks of the uprising. The presiding judge said there were “reasonable grounds” to hold the three men criminally responsible for killing, wounding and imprisoning hundreds of civilians.

Recent Developments

In a sudden breakthrough at the end of August after six months of fighting, rebels swept through Libya's capital, Tripoli, declaring victory. Colonel Qaddafi’s whereabouts remained unknown, and news reports said loyalist forces still held pockets of the city, stubbornly resisting the rebel advance. On August 23, rebel fighters flooded Colonel Qadaffi’s sprawling headquarters compound, overwhelming what remained of its defenses.

As rebels sought to strengthen their control of Tripoli, they placed a nearly $2 million bounty on Colonel Qaddafi’s head and dispatched fighters toward one of his last bastions of support, his tribal hometown of Surt. Colonel Qaddafi said in a radio broadcast that his retreat from the Bab al-Aziziya compound was only a tactical maneuver. He blamed months of NATO airstrikes for bringing down his government and vowed “martyrdom” or victory in his battle against the alliance. Urging Libyan tribes across the land to march on the capital, he said: “I call on all Tripoli residents, with all its young, old and armed brigades, to defend the city, to cleanse it, to put an end to the traitors and kick them out of our city.”

Background

The United States withdrew its ambassador from Libya in 1972 after Colonel Qaddafi renounced agreements with the West and repeatedly inveighed against the United States in speeches and public statements.

After a mob sacked and burned the American Embassy in 1979, the United States cut off relations. But the relationship did not reach its nadir until 1986, when the Reagan administration accused Libya of ordering the bombing of a German discothèque that killed three people. In response, the United States bombed targets in Tripoli and Benghazi.

The most notorious of Libya's actions was the bombing in 1988 of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. Libya later accepted responsibility, turned over suspects and paid families of victims more than $2 billion.

After a surprise decision to renounce terrorism in 2003, Colonel Qaddafi re-established diplomatic and economic ties throughout Europe. He had also changed with regard to Israel. The man who once called for pushing the ''Zionists'' into the sea advocated the forming of one nation where Jews and Palestinians would live together in peace.

Rather than trying to destabilize his Arab neighbors, he founded a pan-African confederation modeled along the lines of the European Union. On Feb. 2, 2009, Colonel Qaddafi was named chairman of the African Union. His election, however, caused some unease among some of the group's 53-member nations as well as among diplomats and analysts. The colonel, who has ruled Libya with an iron hand, was a stark change from the succession of recent leaders from democratic countries like Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria.

The most significant changes had been the overtures Colonel Qaddafi has made toward the United States. He was among the first Arab leaders to denounce the Sept. 11 attacks, and he lent tacit approval to the American-led invasion of Afghanistan. To the astonishment of other Arab leaders, he reportedly shared his intelligence files on Al Qaeda with the United States to aid in the hunt for its international operatives. He had also cooperated with the United States and Europe on nuclear weapons, terrorism and immigration issues.

In August 2009, Colonel Qaddafi embarrassed the British government and drew criticism from President Obama with his triumphant reaction to the release from prison of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Mr. Megrahi was given a hero's welcome when he arrived in Libya, and Colonel Qaddafi thanked British and Scottish officials for releasing Mr. Megrahi at a time that they were trying to distance themselves from the action.

Colonel Qaddafi, born in 1942, is the father of many sons who are now jockeying to succeed him. Experts say his eldest, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, is the current leader. Educated in Britain, well-dressed and fluent in English, he has been a bridge between the Libya power centers and the West.

The Uprising Begins

In February 2011, protests broke out in several parts of Libya on a so-called Day of Rage to challenge Colonel Qaddafi's 41-year-old iron rule — the region’s longest. Thousands turned out in the restive city of Benghazi; in Tripoli; and at three other locations, according to Human Rights Watch. The state media, though, showed Libyans waving green flags and shouting in support of Colonel Qaddafi.

Trying to demonstrate that he was still in control, Colonel Qaddafi appeared on television on Feb. 22, 2011, speaking from his residence on the grounds of an army barracks in Tripoli that still showed scars from when the United States bombed it in 1986.

In the long, rambling address, he blamed the unrest on “foreign hands,” a small group of people distributing pills, brainwashing, and the naïve desire of young people to imitate the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Without acknowledging the gravity of the crisis in the streets of the capital, he described himself in sweeping, megalomaniacal terms. “Muammar Qaddafi is history, resistance, liberty, glory, revolution,” he declared.

The Colonel's Security Forces

Colonel Qaddafi, who took power in a military coup, has always kept the Libyan military too weak and divided to rebel against him. About half of Libya's relatively small 50,000-member army is made up of poorly trained and unreliable conscripts, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Many of its battalions are organized along tribal lines, ensuring their loyalty to their own clan rather than to top military commanders — a pattern evident in the defection of portions of the army to help protesters take the eastern city of Benghazi. Some Libyans and scholars outside the country say this system of tribal alliances, long Colonel Qaddafi’s most potent weapon, could emerge as perhaps a potential vulnerability. His own clan dominates the air force and the upper level of army officers, and they are believed to have remained loyal to him, in part because his clan has the most to lose from his ouster.

Distrustful of his own generals, he built up an elaborate paramilitary force — accompanied by special segments of the regular army that report primarily to his family. It is designed to check the army and in part to subdue his own population. At the top of that structure is his roughly 3,000-member revolutionary guard corps, which mainly guards him personally.

A Culture of Corruption

Libyan culture had become rife with corruption, kickbacks, strong-arm tactics and political patronage since the United States reopened trade with Colonel Qaddafi’s government in 2004.

With an agreement on a settlement over Libya’s role in the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, finally reached in 2008, officials at the United States Commerce Department began to serve as self-described matchmakers for American businesses, including Boeing, Raytheon, ConocoPhillips, Occidental, Caterpillar and Halliburton.

Colonel Qaddafi, the State Department has said, was personally involved in many business decisions. He also learned how to hide money and investments in case sanctions were ever imposed again, as they have been in 2011.

As American and international oil companies, telecommunications firms and contractors moved into the Libyan market, they discovered that Colonel Qaddafi or his loyalists often sought to extract millions of dollars in “signing bonuses” and “consultancy contracts” — or insisted that the strongman’s sons get a piece of the action through shotgun partnerships.

The wealth that Colonel Qaddafi’s family and his government accumulated with the help of international corporations in the years since the lifting of economic sanctions by the West helped fortify his hold on his country.

While the outcome of the military intervention under way by the United States and allied countries is uncertain, Colonel Qaddafi’s huge cash deposits, which have been stored at the Libyan Central Bank and other banks around the Libyan capital in recent years, allow him to pay his troops, African mercenaries and political supporters in the face of a determined uprising, and have, at least temporarily, diminished the impact of economic sanctions.

The Ongoing Conflict

On Feb. 25, security forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi used gunfire to try to disperse thousands of protesters who streamed out of mosques after prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government’s crackdown in Tripoli. Rebel leaders said they were sending forces from nearby cities and other parts of the country to join the fight.

A bold play by Colonel Qaddafi to prove that he was firmly in control of Libya appeared to backfire as foreign journalists he invited to the capital discovered blocks of the city in open defiance. Witnesses described snipers and antiaircraft guns firing at unarmed civilians, and security forces were removing the dead and wounded from streets and hospitals, apparently in an effort to hide the mounting toll.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Colonel Qaddafi and his inner circle of advisers, and called for an international war crimes investigation into “widespread and systemic attacks” against Libyan citizens.

Air power proved to be Colonel Qaddafi’s biggest advantage, and rebels were unable to use bases and planes they captured in the east. Planes and helicopters gave the Qaddafi forces an additional advantage in moving ammunition and supplies, a crucial factor given the length of the Libyan coast between the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and Tripoli.

As Colonel Qaddafi’s forces tried to retake a series of strategic oil towns on the east coast of the country, which fell early in the rebellion to antigovernment rebels, the West continued to debate what actions to take, including the creation of a possible no-flight zone to ground Libyan warplanes.

On March 12, the Arab League asked the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-flight zone over Libya in hopes of halting Colonel Qaddafi’s attacks on his own people, providing the rebels a tincture of hope even as they were driven back from a long stretch of road and towns they had captured in the three-week war. That request appeared to tip the balance for President Obama and a majority of the Security Council, paving the way for a resolution allowing the use of force to protect civilians in Libya, a mandate that NATO countries interpreted broadly, launching strikes against Colonel Qaddafi's ground forces as well as destroying his air force.

Western Involvement

After days of often acrimonious debate played out against a desperate clock, the Security Council authorized member nations to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, diplomatic code words calling for military action. Benghazi erupted in celebration at news of the resolution’s passage.

A military campaign against Colonel Qaddafi, under British and French leadership, was launched less than 48 hours later. American forces mounted a campaign to knock out Libya’s air defense systems, firing volley after volley of Tomahawk missiles from nearby ships against missile, radar and communications centers. Within a week allied air strikes had averted a rout by Colonel Qaddafi of Benghazi and established a no-fly zone over Libya.

The campaign, however, was dogged by friction over who should command the operation, with the United States eventually handing off its lead role to NATO, and by uncertainty over its ultimate goal. Western leaders acknowledged that there was no endgame beyond the immediate United Nations authorization to protect Libyan civilians, and it was uncertain whether even military strikes would force Colonel Qaddafi from power.

In a nationally televised speech March 28, President Obama defended the American-led military assault, emphasizing that it would be limited and insisting that America had the responsibility and the international backing to stop what he characterized as a looming genocide. At the same time, he said, directing American troops to forcibly remove Colonel Qaddafi from power would be a step too far, and would “splinter” the international coalition that has moved against the Libyan government.

The Endgame

Six months of inconclusive fighting gave way within a matter of days to an assault on Tripoli that unfolded at a breakneck pace. By the night of August 21st, 2011, rebels surged into the city, meeting only sporadic resistance and setting off raucous street celebrations by residents hailing the end of his 42 years in power. Expectations grew that Colonel Qaddafi’s hold on power was crumbling, but confusion reigned as the outcome remained inconclusive and fighting continued.

It was not clear whether the rebel gains were the beginnings of a decisive victory or the start of potentially prolonged street fighting for control of the capital.

[Source : topics.nytimes.com]

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