On 125th Street, Mixed Reaction to Quaddafi’s Execution

Obama’s involvement in the Libyan attacks.

[Heard It On 125th Street]

Throughout the so-called Libyan “revolution,” The Black Star News investigated and reported news deliberately avoided by most corporate media, including accounts of ethnic cleansing of Black Libyans in the cities of Misurata and Tawargha.

To its credit, in ground breaking articles on June 21, 2011 and September 13, The Wall Street Journal reported on these war crimes. On the morning of October 20, 2011, Mu’a mmar al-Quaddafi—who was the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya for over 40 years—was captured after NATO warplanes hit his motorcade with missiles; he was later summarily executed by the insurgents.

The Black Star News recently visited  Harlem’s 125th Street to get some reactions about the U.S. role in the Libyan civil war.

Robert Vasser, a retiree, disagrees with President Obama’s involvement
in the Libyan attacks. “He’s wrong, and whether indirectly or not, he
was heavily involved. It’s all about money,” Vasser said. “Quaddafi was
trying to get Africa together and give them their own currency. How can
someone who’s never been amongst his own people understand our issues,”
he asked, of President Obama. Vasser believes more people would
understand the struggles and challenges faced by Black people all over
the world by reading Frantz Fannon’s “Black Skin, White Masks.”

On the other hand, other people interviewed blamed Quaddafi for what transpired in Libya and for his violent end.

“I have a problem with someone being in power forever or who will only permit family members to succeed him. I’m not at all upset at what happened to him. You should not be President for 42 years,” said Aam’Pah-Katoh Bantump’L Cathialam. Cathialam– who is author of The African Remedy, added, “I’m sick and tired of people stating that ‘because it’s happening to Africa, White people are to blame.’” He added, “This is not a monarchy. Get the hell out.”

32-year old Harlem street vendor, Balbe, echoed Cathialam’s position.

“If you talk about Quaddafi, you talk about Islam. When God gives you power to manage the world, you’ve got to be for the people,” Balbe said. “Quaddafi is Muslim but didn’t do as it says in The Book. Saudi Arabia lives in peace now because they respect The Book,” he continued. Although Balbe believes that the French assisted in the killing of Quaddafi, he also said that Quaddafi’s death was self-inflicted. “You can’t be a dictator in regards to preserving the oil. Quaddafi killed himself. He didn’t respect his power. He was crazy.”

“Speaking Truth To Empower”

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