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Libya- Irish Anti-War Movement statement printable version

24 Aug 2011: posted by the editor - Libya, Ireland

· NO TEARS FOR GADAFFI, NO CHEERS FOR NATO
· REGIME CHANGE CLOAKED AS ‘HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION’
· WESTERN INTERVENTION NOT IN BEST INTERESTS OF LIBYAN PEOPLE
· CYNICAL ATTEMPT BY WEST TO DAMPEN THE ARAB REVOLUTION
The Irish Anti-war Movement in a statement today welcomed the impending demise of the corrupt and despotic Gadaffi regime but cautioned against celebrating the sinister intervention by NATO and questioned the alleged democratic credentials of the National Transitional Council (NTC).

The statement noted that the majority of Libyan people will likely welcome the demise of the corrupt Gadaffi regime but will not want this replaced by a government that is a proxy for western powers or for any open interference by the west in Libya’s internal affairs. The omens do not look good as David Cameron promises an “open ended mission” (despite the fact that the UN resolution for a no fly zone expires next month) and the chair of the TNC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, trawls European capitals seeking support. There is clearly tension between the TNC and the rebels on the ground witnessed by firstly, the torture and murder of the rebels' commander-in-chief Abdul Fattah Younes only weeks ago and secondly, the sacking of the entire cabinet. These internal differences will very likely be exploited by western leaders against the best interests of the Libyan people.

The statement continued: “The intervention by NATO, which was unjustified in the first place, went way beyond the UN resolution for a no-fly zone. Libya has witnessed 6 months of massive military bombardment with many civilians killed. In one NATO strike 85 civilians were killed in a quiet Libyan village. Warheads with depleted uranium have been used which will lead to long term suffering.

"The hypocrisy of western political leaders is appalling. They were quite willing to support the Gadaffi regime in the very recent past as long as it served their interests. Remember Blair and Gadaffi’s hug in the desert and Sarkosy’s oil deal last year? In the early days of the NATO bombing the US and other western powers turned a blind eye to the Saudi assisted carckdown of Bahraini people struggling for their human rights.”

Jim Roche, PRO of the Irish Anti War Movement said: “While we definitely celebrate the impending end of the Gadaffi regime and wish true democracy, peace and human rights for all Libyan people we do not believe for one minute the stated, supposedly good intentions of NATO, we know little about the nature of the Transitional National Council and we are quite worried about the prospects for genuine democracy for the Libyan people. It is clear that western leaders will be seeking a payback from the Libyan people for their military support. Negotiations with selected people in the TNC will be happening now and the long term benefit of the Libyan paople will be way down the list."

He noted further: “It is also clear that the two key planks of this NATO intervention have been firstly, to secure easy access to Libyan oil, which represents 2% of the world’s total output and is crucially important to Europe in particular, and secondly, to secure a foothold for its strategic operations in the wider Middle East region. It is telling that the RTE Business News this morning was dominated by the issue of Libyan Oil. All the major western oil companies will be queueing up to seek lucrative contracts there.”

He concluded by noting: “Western leaders have also been frightened by the Arab Revolutions and with the internal conflict in Libya they jumped at the opportunity to intervene in order to reassert their influence in the region. This has to be seen as a regressive step for the overall movement by the Arab people to rid itself of dictators, often western backed, and to establish governments that respect the rights of all the people. That is why the IAWM was against the NATO intervention and why we say now that the west should stop interfering in Liyba and lay off its sinister, selective interventions in the struggle for genuine democracy throughout the Arab world.”

Tags: Irish Anti-War Movement, Gadaffi

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