Internationalist 360°, November 3rd 2017
https://libya360.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/khaled-k-al-hamedi-prosecuting...

The Interview Was Conducted by Hind al-Dhawi
English Translation for Internationalist 360°

Interview: Khuwaildi al-Humaidi’s son reveals to Sputnik details of his prosecution of NATO

Khalid al-Khuwaildi al-Humaidi, President of the International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief (IOPCR ), sued NATO for its “crimes” against Libyan civilians. He, alone, lost 13 members of his family because of the bombing, including two of his sons, his pregnant wife, his niece, aunt and a cousin. Members of the same family, including his mother, father, sisters and relatives who were at home were also injured.
There are numerous victims in Libya, but Khaled’s family has a special situation. “Our house was bombed after a telephone call between then French president Sarkozy and my father, member of the Revolutionary Command Council of ‘al-Fateh’ revolution, and close friend of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,” al-Humaidi said.

“Sputnik” Correspondent met with Eng. Khalid Al-Khuwaildi Al-Humaidi, President of the International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief, and had the following dialogue:

At the outset, what is your case with the NATO alliance?

It is important, at the outset, to clarify the dimensions of the bombing of NATO and the killing of civilians in 2011 in various parts of Libya to get an accurate understanding of the issue and its implications. The ‘NATO’ alliance was established to confront the ‘Warsaw Pact’, specifically the Soviet Union. In other words, it was not created to attack small countries such as “Libya”, but to confront international alliances and superpowers. My case with ‘NATO’ began after the barbaric aggression that targeted all Libya. It started from the United Nation’s resolutions 1970 and 1973, which authorized the use of force to protect civilians. Per international law, ‘NATO’ is not authorized to intervene in Libya. It was the French plot led by Sarkozy, which intervened prematurely and bombed the Libyan armed people’s platoons, the “regular army” of the state at the time, in all the areas and villages they existed, even those staying in the camps. This shows that he did not adhere to the original decision to protect civilians. For, if the goal was to protect civilians, what are the reasons for bombarding the camps and soldiers? He targeted all military bases and ammunition stores, and weeks later he started targeting food and drug stores in clear violation of the already breached resolution.

NATO got mad because of the steadfastness of the armed people’s battalions, ‘the regular Libyan army’, which was unexpected because of the huge military difference, and I here I pay tribute to our brave officers, noncommissioned officers and volunteers who held out against the horrible and vile military arsenal of the aggressor NATO. The atrocities began in May in the capital Tripoli, where NATO bombed the house of Saif al-Arab Muammar Gaddafi, who was an apolitical civilian. The attack led to his martyrdom as well as the martyrdom of several companions and relatives. The Next attack took place in Suk al-Jumaa, on a house that was near a security center where members of the Gharari family died. On June the 20th, our house in Sorman was bombarded to target my father. From that time on, NATO crimes in killing innocent people continued to include the tribe of Werfallah and its men in Bani Walid with whose ethics, heroism, belonging to the homeland and, refusal to betray and give up the legitimate regime we are truly proud. Thus, in Bani Walid dozens died in an attack on civilians including an entire family of the Jefara clan. This was followed by the Majer bombardment in Zliten, where tens of civilians, including the Mustafa al-Morabit family. Finally, in the steadfast Sirte, where NATO targeted groups of young supporters of the regime killing the Diab family and shelling the convoy of Dr. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was wounded, while dozens of young volunteers were killed. NATO culminated its crimes in Libya by bombing the c convoy of the Leader Muammar Gaddafi, in which about 100 people were killed, most of whom were from Sirte and other areas, including the loyal comrade lieutenant general Abu Bakr Younis, member of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Minister of Defense. This clearly confirms that the goal was not to protect civilians, but to give the armed gangs and militias the opportunity to seize the leader Muammar Gaddafi and his son, the hero Mu’tasim Billah, to torture them and abuse their dead bodies in the most horrific images far-off any principles known to humanity.

In total, NATO made ‘twenty-six’ thousand sorties in Libya and carried out ‘9500’ raids destroying ‘6,000’ targets. However, the plot was a French-Sarkozy-Qatari plot. For, only two hours after the issuance of the Security Council resolution, France began its military operations. It is noteworthy that France alone carried out ‘5316’ sorties and “1000” raids firing ‘1000’ bombs and ‘100’ missiles.

What took place is an international precedent, because when the Security Council meets, Articles 39 to 51 of the Charter of the United Nations say that the first step before the implementation of a resolution under Chapter VII begins with diplomatic and economic blockade and ends with the use of force. The use of force can only be permitted after the Chiefs of Staff of the Supreme Five Countries in the Security Council ‘Russia, America, Britain, France, and China’ meet and decide on a plan to stop the rogue state whatever it was, according to a plan that is first adopted by the Secretary-General. Nothing of this took place and France intervened on its own. No fact-finding commission was sent prior to the bombings as happened in previous African conflicts such as the case of the Congo war. Rather, the Security Council resolutions were predicated on lies and rumors of ‘Al Jazeera’ channel.

Why did NATO target your home in this particular way, prompting Colonel Gaddafi to respond in in a public speech?

My late father, the grandfather of the martyrs, lieutenant general al-Khuwaildi enjoys a social status as a member of the Revolutionary Command Council of ‘al-Fateh’ revolution and one of its symbols. His being close to the common c citizen on the street and the tribes of Libya gave him a significant social impact through his direct contact with people and his care for many orphanages and supervision of many projects. He was during the events, despite his ill health because of an operation carried out in 2010, quite active and in contact with the tribes and the people of the western and eastern regions to find a solution to the crisis. This culminated in the announcement of the General Conference of the Libyan tribes. I firmly believe that NATO agents in Libya have colluded with the makers and sponsors of the military and media decision, ‘Sarkozy and Hamad’ aided by ‘Al Jazeera’, which played a key role in spreading rumors and false news about my father and his activities, accusing him of leading the militias and battalions, and accusing me personally, though I am a civilian, of killing thousands of women and children in the Zawiya area.

My father’s social and historical status was the focus of the enemy. He received a call from Sarkozy’s office in May 2011, in which they suggested that he and his family leave Libya safely to France on the pretext that Libya needed a democratic regime change and that they would support him as future president of Libya. In their phone call, Sarkozy’s office said they were ready to equip a private plane to transport him and his family from the Tunisian city of Djerba to Paris. My father angrily told the interpreter to t to say to Sarkozy: “I am not an employee at the al-Fateh revolution. I am a partner in this revolution, and I took down the American flag with my own hand and protected my country from the colonizer. I will not be in any day a traitor of my country or an agent for any one.”

Due to my father’s refusal to become an ally of the enemy he was targeted by NATO raids. His office in Tripoli and our house in Sorman were bombed later.

Was your house bombarded after lieutenant general al-Khuwaildi had turned down President Sarkozy’s offer?

Yes, our house was bombed a few weeks after the date of the call and days before that my father’s office in Tripoli next to the headquarters of the Libyan intelligence had been bombed even though my father at the time was heading a control body on the army, “Control and the Judiciary Authority,” and not an executive job.

Despite our feelings of fear from Sarkozy’s threat we did not abandon our house. We did not expect that our house, inhabited by children, women and civilians, would be a legitimate military target. Our house was never a military zone and did not contain an arsenal of weapons. ‘NATO’ issued a communique defending their bombarding of the house as a legitimate military target because the presence of TV antennas signified the presence of a communication center. I do not think the precise military reconnaissance devices got the target mixed up between a home and a communications center.

The purpose of the bombing of the house was quite clear. It was targeting my father to assassinate him, to weaken the regime and spread chaos in the western region by handing it over to the militias and to facilitate the march from there to Tripoli to overthrow the state.

Did you mean that there is a special kind of hostility between Sarkozy and Libya?

The Libyan presence in Africa through investments and economic alliances that led to the formation of the African Union constituted a threat to the French interests on the African continent, “the land of good things.” after which Libyan-African relations became the strongest among the stakeholders in Africa. Furthermore, because Sarkozy had failed to achieve certain personal interests of his relating to weapons’ contracts with Libya, and to obliterate any evidence his receiving Libyan funds during his election campaign, he led a despicable plot against Libya with Qatari support that brought Libya to its present destruction, chaos and instability.

When did you decide to sue NATO, especially as since it is a first precedent of its kind?

The Leader Muammar Gaddafi called me after the tragedy to offer his condolences and consolations for my losses, he assured me saying: “we will not stand idly by in pursuit of the criminal murderers. We will commemorate the martyr Khalidah, by building her the largest memorial in Africa and we will take the right of martyr Khalidah in all possible ways and means from the unjust alliance ‘NATO’, which will break in Libya with the help of Allah.”

Indeed, the legal battle against NATO began. We had a French lawyer and we registered the case in July 2011 before the Belgian court. The first hearing was held in September 2012, in the absence of a defense for ‘NATO’, to plead the case and discuss the evidence and submitted documents and to present the demand to waive NATO of immunity. The Belgian government represented NATO because it is a member of NATO and the venue of its headquarters. The court issued its decision in October 2012 to reject the request and not to lift immunity from NATO because the plaintiff is not a European citizen and therefore not entitled to raise the case in Belgium. The court judgment was appealed in January 2013 to be heard on 12 October 2017, to consider the appeal against the decision to object to the lifting of immunity of the alliance. Consequently, it was decided, during this session, to postpone the case until the coming November the 30th to declare the verdict.

Is the NATO alliance obliged to implement the judgments of the Belgian court?

Per the general principle of the law a ruling to lift immunity must first be issued so that the court can consider the case and issue its judgment to demand NATO to implement it.

You are now the representative of the civilian victims of the NATO alliance in Libya … Who charged you with this task?

This is the least that could be done to my children, wife, and relatives and to all families of Libyan martyrs who died under the raids of the peccant alliance. It is a moral obligation I live for to avenge my children and all the martyrs by all legal means available until the last day of my life. I was honored to be commissioned by some of the Libyan families who gave me power of attorney to sue NATO on their behalf. I am planning in the coming days to inaugurate the Association of NATO Victims in Libya, whose required statute has been prepared, thanks to Allah, with the help of the honorable Dr. Mohamed Zubaida, an international law expert.

Is there support from any country for your cause?

There has been no official support from any state or government. There is only mere sympathy from some public figures: friends and relatives in various countries. We aspire to international support for this timeless humanitarian cause. NATO has bombed and destroyed a nation and a people and caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of safe Libyans from their homeland. This case is not that of Khalid al-Khuwaildi in person. It is the case of the Libyan people affected by the direct aggression and its consequences, which led to the incursion of the militias and the emergence of the Islamic terrorist groups in Libya, threatening not only the stability of Libya but had spread to all parts of the world.

I am here to pay tribute to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, for being the first president in the world to speak with utter courage about the terrible mistake of waging war on Libya and killing the Leader Muammar Gaddafi. I appeal to him to spare no effort to protect Libya from terrorism and division. Finally, in the name of the Libyan victims, martyrs and displaced, I wish there would be media, human, and legal support to our honorable cause, and we will be with Allah’s help the first people to sue “NATO” historically.

The Massacre Of The El-Hamedi Family: Testimony of Khaled K. El-Hamedi