The
United States tried to seize on Monday 1 500 000 000 dollars owned by
the Libyan state, but at the last minute South Africa got in its way.
The documents emanating from this episode, and unveiled by Voltaire Network, reveal that the members of the NTC and their staff are the direct employees of a US entity.
On Tuesday, 9 August 2011, Sana Khan, secretary of
the Sanctions Committee established by resolution 1970 of the Security
Council, transmitted to the Committee a notice from Ambassador Susan
Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States before the United
Nations.
In this letter, of which Voltaire Network has obtained a copy
[downloadable document at the bottom of this page], Washington informed
the Committee of its intention to unfreeze 1 500 000 000 billion dollars
belonging to the Central Bank of Libya, the Libyan Investment
Authority, the Libyan Foreign Bank, Libya Africa Investment Portfolio
and the Libya National Oil Corporation.
Arguing that the unfreezing is legal when the funds are intended for
humanitarian or civilian ends (Article 19 of Resolution 1970 [
1]), Washington indicated that it will unilaterally allocate this amount as follows:
500 000 000 dollars to humanitarian organizations of its choice "
to
address ongoing humanitarian needs and those that can be anticipated,
in line with the call of the United Nations and its foreseeable updates";
500 000 000 dollars to "
companies supplying fuel and vital humanitarian goods";
500 000 000 dollars to the Temporary Financial Mechanism (TFM) for "
salaries and operating expenses of Libyan civil servants, food subsidies, electricity and other humanitarian purchases."
From this amount, 100 000 000 dollars will be provisioned to be
subsequently allocated for the humanitarian needs of the Libyan people
in areas not controlled by the National Transitional Council (NTC) once
it will have established "
a credible, transparent and effective" mechanism for handing over the funds.
In
plain English, the United States informed the Sanctions Committee of
its intention to help itself to $ 1.5 billion, of which one-third would
be earmarked for their own humanitarian services (USAID ...), another
third would go to their own multinationals (Exxon, Halliburton etc..),
and the rest would be given to the TFM, a LIEM office, which happens to
be an informal body created by Washington and endorsed by the Contact
Group to administer Libya [
2].
Washington said that it expected to have the tacit approval of the
Sanctions Committee within five days after receipt of the letter.
Unfortunately, Libya could not object to this robbery because it was
not represented at this Committee. Indeed, the former ambassador has
defected, and - in violation of the Headquarters Agreement - the State
Department has not issued a visa to the new ambassador of Libya.
Washington fully intended to take advantage of this forced absence to
seize the booty. Moreover, France has already created a precedent by
stealing $ 128 million in the similar conditions.
It was ultimately the Permanent Representative of South Africa, Ambassador Baso Sangqu, who hindered the operation.
In addition to exposing the rapacity of the United States, this incredible episode demonstrates that the self-proclaimed "Free Libya"
of Misrata and Benghazi is not governed by the National Transitional
Council (NTC), which is nothing but a facade, and a seriously cracked
one at that. Eastern Libya is controlled by NATO and administered by the
Libyan Information Exchange Mechanism (LIEM), an informal entity with
no legal personality, which was established in Naples by the United
States alone, although some of its employees are Italians.
The funds allegedly allotted to the NTC are actually delivered to the
LIEM to pay the wages of NTC members and their staff. The difference
is considerable: the National Transition Council doesn’t have a policy
of its own; it is content to simply reflect that of the United States.
This is normal when considering that the NTC was not formed during the
events of Benghazi, but several years earlier in London as a provisional
government in exile.
Consequently, the military action of the United States and its NATO
allies or the Gulf Cooperation Council does not seek to protect
civilians, pursuant to Resolution 1973, let alone "liberate the Libyan people," but indeed to colonize the country.
