“Between today and tomorrow is chaos”
The Associated Press recently did a profile of Hala Misrati, the mouthpiece of Libyan State Television who called Iman al-Obeidi a “liar” and a “whore,” calls Al Jazeera “the pig channel,” and grilled Tripoli-based journalist Rana al-Aqbani on air for an hour “with all the doggedness of a secret police interrogator.”
In her 30s, with long dark hair, heavy makeup and often decked out in gaudy outfits, she often gives long monologues crusading against Libya’s rebels, the NATO-led alliance bombing Gadhafi troops from the air and anyone perceived of sympathizing with them or fueling the campaign against Gadhafi. That includes Western media and, particularly, the Arab news channel Al-Jazeera, which she refers to as “the pig channel” in a rhyming play on words — the Arabic word for pig is “khanzeera.”Libya’s crisis has made her a star — beloved by Gadhafi supporters and viewed with a mix of loathing and bemused fascination by the opposition.a 23-year-old student in Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital in eastern Libya, called Misrati “a clown.”She said Misrati was not well known before, but her new incarnation since the uprising made her famous. “Now she’s well known. Everyone in Libya knows who she is,” … said with a laugh. “She lies so badly that nobody believes what she says.”In contrast, an upper-class woman having tea with friends at a five-star hotel in the capital Tripoli was full of praise for Misrati.“Libya runs through her veins,” said the woman, a Gadhafi supporter. “She is bold. She has been able to show the truth in Benghazi and tell us what it’s really like over there, no one else was brave enough to tell it how it is.” The woman spoke on condition of anonymity because her husband holds a job in the state.
Amnesty International has portions of the video of Misrati’s interrogation of Rana al-Aqbani who is still being held incognito, along with her brother. There is an urgent actioncalling for their release.
Iman al-Obeidi is also still in Tripoli, and her personal safety is not guaranteed. Amnesty International also has an urgent action to allow her return to her family.
