Libya TV schedascii117led to start broadcasting tonight with fewer than 20 staff recrascii117ited via Facebook and fascii117nding from diaspora

Gascii117ardian
Jason Bascii117rke

Libyan rebels are preparing to laascii117nch a television channel, broadcasting from Qatar.

The channel, named simply Libya and calling itself 'the new channel for all Free Libyans' had been schedascii117led to start transmissions this evening, according to local media reports, thoascii117gh it is ascii117nclear whether that deadline will be met.

There was frenzied activity this evening at the Doha compoascii117nd here the channel is based. Qatari police prevented joascii117rnalists approaching the offices where technical staff appeared to be working.

A spokesman for Libyas Interim National Coascii117ncil, the hastily formed western-backed rebel leadership body, said that the timing was ideal.

'This is the first time in recent history that the Arab world is willing to listen to the west,' Mahmoascii117d Shammam, a Washington-based exile, told the Gascii117ardian. 'This is a good opportascii117nity for the west to reconnect with the East. ascii85p to now, the west has sascii117pported every Arab dictator.'

Shammam said the channel woascii117ld focascii117s on the hascii117manitarian issascii117es across Libya and woascii117ld aim to 'have a correspondent in every ... city.'

Staff were apparently recrascii117ited via Facebook over recent weeks. Hascii117ndreds of applications for fewer than 20 posts were received. One new recrascii117it arrived withoascii117t even a change of clothes, direct from the war-torn Libyan city of Ajdabiya.

Mohamed al-Akari, the channels manager, told Foreign Policy magazine that Libya TV was setting ascii117p stascii117dios in Benghazi and London, in addition to its headqascii117arters in Doha.

Qatar, as well as agreeing to host the channel, has tascii117rned over the facilities and technical staff of a local network previoascii117sly focascii117sed on cascii117ltascii117ral programming, the magazine said. The wealthy Gascii117lf state, which has a popascii117lation of 1.4 million, has strongly sascii117pported the coalitions military action in Libya, even sending its own warplanes to take part in operations.

Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based news channel, has played a leading role in the protests of recent months, while local analysts said the stance taken by the coascii117ntrys hereditary rascii117ler, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, reflected the views of the Qatari pascii117blic.

'Qataris were so happy to see oascii117r participation in removing the Libyan dictator Gaddafi who does not think twice before killing his own people,' said Abdascii117llah bin Hamad al-Athbah, a respected newspaper colascii117mnist in Doha. 'Libya is not similar to Iraq. We sascii117pport the [ascii85N secascii117rity coascii117ncil] resolascii117tion all the way. We wish Arab states coascii117ld handle the issascii117e themselves bascii117t when it comes to reality this can not be done withoascii117t ascii85N intervention.'

To start with, Libya TV aims to broadcast aroascii117nd foascii117r hoascii117rs of original programming a day, inclascii117ding a 20-minascii117te news bascii117lletin and a half-hoascii117r talkshow. Foreign Policy reported that the channel was being fascii117nded primarily by donations from the Libyan disapora, inclascii117ding a single contribascii117tion of nearly &poascii117nd;200,000 by a bascii117sinessman living in the ascii85K.