globalresearch.ca
For nearly seven months
in 2011, NATO planes — particularly from the U.S., France, Britain and
Canada — carried out a massive bombing campaign in Libya intended to
overthrow the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
After getting the U.N.
Security Council to pass a resolution imposing an arms embargo on Libya
and then another authorizing a so-called “no-fly zone” in which only
their planes could fly, the imperialists succeeded in having Gaddafi
captured and brutally killed, opening the way for the establishment of a
new regime that would further their interests in that oil-rich North
African country.
Now, just two and a half
years later, this puppet government is losing ground in southern and
western Libya to pro-Gaddafi forces, who have taken back several towns
and an air base.
These developments have
prompted French Admiral Edouard Guillard to appeal for a renewed
imperialist intervention in Libya, claiming that developments on the
southern border could lead to a “terrorist threat.” (Washington Post,
Jan. 27)
Guillard claimed that any
intervention would require the “consent” of the neocolonial regime that
these same imperialists set up in Tripoli. It is headed by Prime
Minister Ali Zeidan and the General National Congress.
Since mid-January forces
that remain allied with the former Jamahiriya political and economic
system set up by Gaddafi have taken control of several cities and towns
in the south. Clashes have also been reported around the capital of
Tripoli, where nationalist forces have fought pitched battles with
militias and military forces backed by the GNC regime. (Libya Herald,
Jan. 20)
The withdrawal of the Tebu,
who are dark-skinned Africans, from an air base at Tamenhint created
the conditions for the seizure of this important location by pro-Gaddafi
forces on Jan. 21.
According to a Jan. 22
Saudi Gazette report, “The Tamenhint air base 30 km northeast of Sebha
is reported to be back in pro-Gaddafi hands after Tebu forces from
Murzuk who were guarding it withdrew. They unilaterally pulled out
Monday evening [Jan. 20] claiming that the government was deliberately
exploiting clashes in Sebha between Tebus and Awlad Sulaiman in order to
divert attention from moves to replace it with a new administration.”
These events have sent
shockwaves throughout the GNC and Zeidan, its weak and vacillating prime
minister, who is allied with the United States and other imperialist
states responsible for installing the current regime. The situation in
Libya has clearly shown that the current regime has failed to stabilize
its rule. Militias set up to bring down the Gaddafi regime are
reportedly in open defiance of Zeidan and other “authorities” in
Tripoli.
Oil is the major export of
the North African state. The industry has been largely shut down after
workers and militias at several drilling facilities and ports took
control of production and threatened to engage in trade with foreign
firms without the consent of Tripoli. Zeidan has limited support even
within the GNC; the Islamic Justice and Construction Party recently
resigned from the government over political differences with the prime
minister.
Draconian laws enacted
Nonetheless, it is in the
south that the green flag of the Jamahiriya is being openly flown in
defiance of the imperialist-backed regime. This is causing panic in the
government, which passed a new law banning satellite television networks
that have been broadcasting pro-Gaddafi news and commentaries.
According to a Jan. 26
report from AllAfrica.com, Decree 5/2014, entitled “Concerning the
Cessation and Ban on the Broadcasting of Certain Satellite Channels,”
instructs the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Communications and Media to
“take necessary steps required” to halt the transmission of all
satellite television stations hostile to the regime in Tripoli. The
decree further instructs the government to “take all measures” against
states or businesses in territories from which the channels are
broadcast if they fail to block the transmissions.
This ban on satellite
stations that have taken a pro-Gaddafi position in their editorial
content includes the al-Khadra Channel and al-Jamahiriyah.
Dissatisfaction is growing
among the Libyan population. Once the most prosperous nation in Africa,
with a standard of living that exceeded several European countries, the
conditions inside the country have drastically deteriorated since the
2011 imperialist-imposed counterrevolution. The decline in living
standards, the failure of the regime to rein in the militias that
terrorize the population, the collapse of the oil industry and
widespread corruption have drawn broad criticism, even among the favored
elites.
Another decree issued in
January prohibits scholarship students and public employees from
speaking out against the conditions prevailing in Libya. According to
AllAfrica.com, “It calls on Libyan embassies abroad and others to draw
up lists of names and refer them to the Prosecutor General for
prosecution.”
Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan
There is no benefit for the
masses in oppressed nations where the U.S. and other imperialist states
have overthrown governments and installed puppet regimes. The situation
in Libya is mirrored in Iraq, where people are dying every day from
internecine conflict and the overall horrendous conditions prevailing
among the majority of the population.
Over 100,000 people have
died in Syria over the last three years since the U.S. and Saudi Arabia
promoted a counterrevolutionary assault on the population. The current
Geneva II talks in Switzerland are ostensibly designed to reach a
political solution in Syria, but the U.S. and its allies are continuing
to finance and coordinate those seeking the overthrow of the government
of President Bashar al-Assad.
Anti-war and
anti-imperialist groups in the Western states should oppose this
military and political interference into the internal affairs of
African, Middle Eastern and Asian states — such as Afghanistan, where
after 12 years the Pentagon-NATO forces are no closer to victory than in
2001. The U.S. and NATO must be forced to withdraw their occupying
forces and shut down their military bases.
Those oppressed nations
under imperialist occupation should be paid reparations for the
destruction carried out by Western military forces. The resources
utilized to maintain these occupations should instead be redirected to
rebuild the cities and towns here that are facing an unprecedented
economic crisis through austerity and massive poverty.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق