"We know some Werfalla were involved," said Sheikh Nasr Gemali, leader of the tribe for eastern Libya. "But we want stability. Our hands will not be stained with the blood of the martyrs."
Just as maintaining unity with the family is important to the revolution, maintaining the unity of the tribes is paramount. The opposition knows that and so they deal very delicately with tribal issues and the Qaddafi forces know that to, so at every turn they try to exacerbated tribal issues, stir up differences between the tribes and maintain a Libya based on tribal differences because that is a Libya he can rule.
On Saturday, August 6 TNC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil claimed that Qaddafi was behind the assassination of AF. "Soon the investigation will reveal the offender and the details of the incident." He also said:
I would like to send a message to all Libyans in the liberated areas: we need to focus all our resources on the battle for freedom.
We need to unite now for a bigger cause.
The chaos has given a strong push to those within the rebel movement who have been trying to consolidate their militias into a more formal structure.
"All those groups will disappear, and they will become one unit," said Brigadier-General Ahmed Qutrani, a senior rebel commander in Benghazi. "None of the commanders can disagree. Anybody who dares will be crushed."
I hope that the unification of the revolutionary army can be achieved in the spirit of resolving differences among friends and without crushing anyone.
But it is essential to the success of the revolution and the future of Libya that the various fighting organizations that have been organically developed and have served the uprising so far, be forged into a unified liberation army with a single command structure under the authority of the Transitional National Council.
It must be an army for all of Libya. It's organization along ethnic or tribal lines should not be encouraged and it must be a disciplined army in which everybody cooperates in carrying out the task of overthrowing the Qaddafi regime because that is the immediate task at hand.
Many a brave solider dies in a war. That is its tragic reality. Many freedom fighters have given their lives in the struggle to overthrow Qaddafi, and the death of this general can not stop it.
But the death of this general has also taught some very valuable lessons. If they are learned by the resistance this past week will be seen as one in which the revolution lost a leader but gained new unity and strength and moved forward.
UPDATE Mon Aug 08, 2011 at 7:19 PM PT: The Washington Post just published this,
Libya rebels fire cabinet after general's killing
BENGHAZI, Libya -- The rebel government here has dismissed its entire cabinet in the wake of the unsolved killing of a powerful military leader, who was slain almost two weeks ago after he was ordered to appear before a board of inquiry about his handling of the war effort.As the investigation into the mysterious assassination of Abdel Fattah Younis proceeds, the leaders of the revolution in the Transitional National Council, the rebels' governing body, sacked its 15-member cabinet Monday.
The cabinet includes the ministers of oil, finance, defense and foreign relations -- all posts vital to the running of the state.
Rebel officials say that the Transitional National Council has asked the outgoing head of the cabinet, Mahmoud Jibril, to form a new board of ministers as he departs.
Bio of Clay Claibonre:
Clay Claiborne has been a computer hacker and political activist for more than 40 years. He founded Linux Users Los Angeles [LULA] in 1996 and served as it's president for 8 years. He is also a filmmaker who produced and directed Vietnam: American Holocaust and other documentaries. He writes regularly about the uprising in North Africa and the Middle East, the Internet and pretty much anything. His principle website is Linux Beach, his most recent writings can be seen there or at the DailyKos and WL Central. On Twitter he is clayclai.
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