Partition of Libya underway?

The Ionis, a ship from Benghazi that docked in Tripoli on June 26, 2011, was carrying over 100 people who wanted to leave Benghazi to be unified with their families in Tripoli. This is a significant number for a population of 6 to 6.5 million people.

The arrivals from Benghazi were also mostly visible supporters of Colonel Qaddafi. Some were holding his pictures and others had the green flag of Libya. Others were praising Colonel Qaddafi.

Foreign reports were there en masse from all over the world. The Washington Post, TeleSUR, CNN, Russia Today (RT), China Central Television (CCTV), Phoenix TV, the Associated Press (AP), and Reuters were amongst them. There is a strong correlation and direct relationship between the way the news is reported by journalists and the political position of foreign media in Libya.

Amongst the foreign reports there were many who had no clue about the situation in Libya and were working on the basis of misinformation carried forward from their respective stations and countries.

In informal discussion when these reporters were challenged about the basis of their assessments they failed to answer or validate their statements and sounded ridiculous. One reporter from Western Europe said that the defections at the governmental level in Tripoli where snowballing, but when challenged by a colleague she could only cite the so-called defection of a Libyan athlete.

The arrival of the Ionis passenger ship in Tripoli was significant. It is a symptom that the political partition of Libya is underway. When families and individuals are being shuttled to different sides of Libya, it is an indicator that some sort of dividing line will be drawn either temporarily or permanently.