On March 19, 2003, the United States led some of its traditional “war” allies in the invasion of Iraq for a crushing “regime change”. They did so by contemptuously ignoring the United Nations. Eight years later, this past March 17, the United States and its dependable “war allies” like Britain, France and Italy secured, by majority vote in the United Nations Security Council, a “no-fly zone” resolution against Libya that was to be flagrantly exploited by NATO’s war machine for “regime change” in that North African state.
What both Iraq (under subsequently executed Saddam Hussein) and Libya, whose Muammar Gaddafi is being desperately hunted, have in common – apart from dictatorial rule – is the rich oil wealth that’s so very much desired by powerful international cartels.
With thousands dead and injured, and amid continuing blood-letting on the streets, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa – a country deeply respected for heroically surviving apartheid and currently one of the rotating members of the UN Security Council – was declaring that his administration was willing to agree the release of no more than US$500 million (for immediate humanitarian aid) and not the US$1.5 billion being sought, since the UN has not even “recognized” what exists as a “government” in the form of a National Transitional Council.
As President Zuma said, “the Libyan crisis is the latest example of Africa being shown a lack of respect by the rest of the world. . . . Those who have the power to bomb other countries have undermined the African Union’s efforts and initiatives to handle the situation in Libya. . . . We could have avoided the loss of a lot of lives in Libya . . . but powerful nations had abused the resolution to further their own interests and not the Libyan people. . . .”
It is relevant to observe here the inaction of governments of our Caribbean Community that have diplomatic relations with the African Union (AU), itself a body in whose formation President Gaddafi had played a crucial role.
In its editorial this past Tuesday, the DAILY NATION observed: that while “regime change” was not a stated objective of the UN “no-fly zone” resolution, it has been methodically used by NATO to systematically weaken the government in Tripoli at a very heavy cost in lives and destruction. . . .
Given the sentiment expressed much earlier in a mere three-line paragraph (as an afterthought?) on “the situation in Libya” in the communiqué on last July’s Heads of Government Conference, it is pertinent to ask: what precisely has any member government, or CARICOM in general, done to communicate to the UN Secretary General or NATO governments involved in the “war on Libya” opposition to the gross misuse of the UN resolution of last March 17 “for the protection of civilians” – not “regime change” – in Tripoli?
Libya is the latest country to have its sovereignty made a mockery by the rich and powerful who had in recent years found it increasingly difficult to use dictatorial governments in Tripoli and Bhagdad for their own policies and interests.
