SLIPPING INTO CHAOS: After Libya, NATO Intervention Threatens To Destabilize
the Entire Region
by John Cherian
http://www.globalresearch.ca/coverStoryPictures2/29893.jpg
<
http://www.globalresearch.ca> Global Research, March 22, 2012
One year after the NATO intervention, Libya faces disintegration as the
oil-rich eastern region seeks semi-autonomy.
Libya seems to be on the verge of disintegration one year after the military
intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In the first
week of March, leaders from its oil-rich eastern region, which includes
Benghazi, the focal point of the Western-backed rebellion that ousted
Muammar Qaddafi, announced their intention to seek "semi-autonomy" from the
central government. The meeting in Benghazi, where the decision was taken,
was attended by major political leaders, military commanders and tribal
leaders from the region. The new "semi-autonomous" region, Cyrenaica, will
extend from the central coastal city of Sirte, Qaddafi's hometown, to the
country's border with Egypt. According to energy experts, the area holds
around two-thirds of the country's oil reserves.
Observers of the Libyan scene predict that the move is aimed at partitioning
the country. At the Benghazi meeting, there was an open call for the
re-adoption of the 1951 Constitution, which recognised Tripoli as the
administrative capital and Benghazi as the financial capital of the country.
Under King Idris, the pro-Western puppet ruler at the time, Libya was
divided into three provinces, Cyrenaica in the east, Tripolitana in the west
and Fezzan in the south. Benghazi, where the King resided, was the centre of
decision making. The United States had military bases nearby while big
Western oil companies monopolised the country's oil resources. After Qaddafi
came to power, he nationalised the oil industry and forced the U.S. to
vacate its bases.
Sheikh Ahmad Zubeir al-Sanussi, who has emerged as the leader of the
Benghazi group, is a grand-nephew of King Idris. The Benghazi meeting
rejected the decision of the Libyan Transitional National Council (NTC) to
allocate 60 seats to the eastern region in the 200-member Assembly. The
leaders are demanding around 100 seats for the region. Elections for a new
government are scheduled to be held in June. But with a powerful
Western-backed power bloc emerging in the east and general lawlessness
prevailing in most parts of the country, it would be an uphill task for the
interim government in Tripoli to supervise a peaceful transfer of power to
an elected Assembly.
Over 100 militias, flush with lethal arms, are bunkered down in the major
towns of the country. They are unwilling to integrate into the national army
or give up their arms. In the capital, Tripoli, the main airport and major
government buildings are still under the control of opposing militias.
Frequent clashes have erupted in the capital and other parts of the country
as each militia has been trying to expand its turf. The seven-month- long
war inflicted by the NATO forces not only claimed thousands of lives but
also destroyed the country's infrastructure.
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the NTC Chairman, has described the Benghazi
declaration as "the beginning of a conspiracy against Libyans" which could
lead to the eventual disintegration of the country. He blamed "some Arab
nations" for encouraging the secessionist moves. Qatar, which was among the
early backers and sponsors of the counter-revolution against Qaddafi, is
said to figure prominently on the list of the Arab countries behind the
conspiracy. Senior officials in Tripoli have been critical of the
interference of the tiny but rich Gulf emirate in the internal affairs of
the country following the ouster of Qaddafi. Abdel Rahman Shalgham, Libya's
Ambassador to the United Nations, had famously asked, late last year, "Who
is Qatar?" He was angered by Qatar's continued interference in the internal
affairs of Libya and its backing of Islamist militias and politicians.
In statements issued earlier in the year, Mustafa Jalil had said that Libya
had descended into a state of "civil war". Sirte, which was reduced to
rubble by NATO bombing, is occupied by fighters from Misrata. Tens of
thousands of Qaddafi supporters continue to languish in jail. International
agencies have provided graphic accounts of the torture they endured at the
hands of their captors. Many citizens, including a former Libyan Ambassador
to France, Omar Brebesh, died following brutal torture in prison. The town
of Tawergha near Misrata has been depopulated forcibly because its residents
supported Qaddafi. Amnesty International, in a report on Libya released in
February, has documented details about the widespread abuse of human rights
in the country. A spokesman for the organisation said that militias in the
country "are largely out of control of the government".
Navi Pillay, the chief of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), asked the Libyan authorities to take control of the prisons. "There
is torture, extrajudicial killings, rape of both men and women," she said in
late January.
The NATO-backed government in Tripoli has said that it will guarantee the
primacy of Sharia law in the country. Under Qaddafi, women enjoyed
considerable freedom. Polygamy was banned. A man needed his wife's legal
consent to get a divorce. Qaddafi had encouraged women to join the
workforce. The interim government has announced that it will relax the
strict rules against polygamy.
The majority of the anti-Qaddafi militia leaders, despite being backed by
the West, are avowed Islamists. Libyan militia leaders are now coordinating
with the Free Syrian Army fighting against the government in Damascus. The
Russian Ambassador to the U.N., Vitaly Churkov, has accused the Libyan
government of training Syrian rebels in Libyan camps and then sending them
back to Syria.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has given instances of migrant workers from
sub-Saharan Africa being targeted for detention and summary executions by
the militias. Baso Sanggu, the President of the U.N. Security Council and
South Africa's Ambassador to the U.N., said that NATO had to be investigated
for human rights abuses. NATO air raids resulted in the death of thousands
of innocent civilians. The destruction of Sirte is mainly the handiwork of
NATO forces. A new U.N. report has concluded that NATO has not sufficiently
investigated the air raids it conducted over Libya. The U.N. had mandated a
"no-fly zone" over Libya with the overt aim of protecting civilians. NATO
drones and Special Forces had played a key role in facilitating the capture
of Qaddafi. He was later tortured and shot by his captors. The report also
said that the militias were continuing with their "war crimes".
Another report, by the West Asian Human Rights Groups, which included the
Arab Organisation of Human Rights, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
and the International Legal Assistance Consortium, released in January,
concluded that there was strong evidence to implicate NATO in war crimes in
Libya. "NATO participated in what could be classified as offensive actions
undertaken by the opposition forces, including, for example, attacks on
towns and cities held by Qaddafi forces. Equally, the choice of certain
targets, such as regional food warehouses, raises prima facie questions
regarding the role of such attacks with respect to the protection of
civilians," the report stated.
The mission found the strongest evidence of NATO war crimes in the city of
Sirte. The U.S. had spent around $2 billion for its "special operations"
which finally led to the grisly assassination of Qaddafi. France and Britain
were the other notable NATO countries that played a key role in guaranteeing
regime change in Libya. Qatar and Saudi Arabia opened up their purse strings
and launched a propaganda blitz through the auspices of Al Jazeera and Al
Arabiya respectively, demonising Qaddafi and whitewashing the sins of the
Libyan militias and their patrons.
There are reports in the Arab media that Qaddafi loyalists have started
regrouping under the banner of the "Green Resistance" movement. Al Ahram,
the Egyptian newspaper, reported that Green Resistance fighters had recently
stormed the prison in Misrata and killed 145 guards. There are claims that
hundreds of fighters owing allegiance to the new government have been killed
by the resistance since the beginning of the year.
The Tuareg ethnic group, which stood by Qaddafi until the very end, while
siding with the resistance, has also linked up with its kinsmen in
neighbouring Mali and Niger. The Tuaregs, known for their distinct style of
dressing and nomadic lifestyle, have been demanding a separate state.
Well-armed Tuareg groups have, in recent months, attacked towns in Niger and
Mali. Sophisticated arms in the Libyan armoury have trickled down not only
to militant Islamist groups but also to groups fighting to overthrow
governments in the Sahel region bordering Libya. NATO's military
intervention in Libya now threatens to destabilise the whole region and
beyond.
_____
Stop NATO e-mail list home page with archives and search engine:
<
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/messages>
http://groups. yahoo.com/
group/stopnato/ messages
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Thu Mar 22 2012 - 18:21:01 EDT
