Thursday, March 24, 2011

Supporting the children of Omar Mukhtar


Western intervention in Libya marks a difficult moment in Arab history as empowerment is overwhelmed by helplessness.

A GOOD PIECE
By Lamis Andoni

"Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, must go. But it is critical that his downfall come at the hands of the Libyan people rather than as a result of Western military intervention in the country.

Western intervention in the country conjures up images of the destruction of Iraq and revives memories of the region's colonial past. Furthermore, it tarnishes the spirit of the revolutions spreading across the Arab world, for these are aimed not only at removing dictators but at establishing free Arab governments. And free Arab governments cannot be imposed through Western interference.

No government is free if at its very inception it depends upon external powers – powers that, in the Libyan case, have their eye on the country's oil wealth and are motivated by geopolitical interests.

It is true that Western military intervention in the country was brought about by Gaddafi's murderous crackdown on his own people. But it is also the result of the Arab world's failure to protect the people of the region from ruthless dictators and self-serving authoritarian rulers.

Furthermore, the bombing we have witnessed is a manifestation of the weakness of the UN – a body that has allowed the interests of major powers to define the nature and agenda of the current intervention.

The Libyan people needed and continue to need protection. But the current state of the UN permits countries like the US, France, Britain and Italy to cynically use "the mandate to protect" in order to preserve and expand their own interests.....

The danger posed to the Libyan people has opened the door to Western intervention and reinstated a sense of helplessness for the Arab people just when they had begun to feel empowered to take control of their own destiny.....

Arabs must be prepared to support the children of Omar Mukhtar - not only in overthrowing a dictator but in ensuring they do not pay the price for Western intervention. Libya must not be turned into another failing state or succumb to a new form of colonialism. To ensure this, Arab revolutions elsewhere must continue and succeed."

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