Mass Grave of 1700 Qadhafi Political Prisoners Found in Tripoli

There is really not much need for words, only prayers.

Today in Tripoli, the remains of 1,700 prisoners were found in the infamous Abou Salim prison, where Qadhafi kept many of his political enemies. The 1,700 were executed in 1996, and since then Libyans who are family members of the men executed have tried to find their graves and force the Qadhafi regime to recognize the horror.

Even more extraordinary is the fact that the first marches in Benghazi, which began the Arab Spring movement in Libya earlier this year, were organized by those families to garner support for their cause and to protest against the arrest by Qadhafi of their lawyer.

The new governing National Transitional Council says it will take some time to establish the identity of all the men killed because they were burned, had acid poured over their remains and had their bones scattered over a large area. It is reminiscent of the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans in the 1990s. The NTC called for western help in making identifications because surely DNA and other advanced forensic techniques will be needed

The 1,700 prisoners were killed because they mutinied against the barbaric treatment at Abou Salim and wanted proper investigations to prove that they had committed no crimes.

Meanwhile, the battle for Sirte, the last stronghold of the Qadhafi clan, goes on. The NTC forces withdrew last night so that the UN could make air strikes today on suspected Qadhafi emplacements.

The freedom of the Libyan people has required the loss of many lives and the displacement of thousands of its citizens, but when we consider the gruesomeness of the Qadhafi regime, it is no wonder that Libyans are willing to suffer such great losses in order to gain freedom from the maniac who for so long tortured them.