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| Africa North |
| The Arabs Did It...What About the West? |
| 2011-03-15 |
| [Asharq al-Aswat] The Arab foreign ministers have now taken another important and responsible decision regarding Libya. After suspending Libya's membership to the vaporous Arab League, the Arabs decided to call on the international Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities by immediately imposing a no-fly zone on Libyan military planes, and to establish a safe zone in areas that are facing bombardment, in order to protect the Libyan people from the regime. This of course is an important and responsible resolution. It followed a similar move, which in turn paved the way for this decision, namely the call made by the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] last week to the international community, to impose a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace. Therefore, today the ball is in the court of the international community, which must carry out its duty to protect the people of Libya from the tyranny that it is being subjected to at the hands of the regime. The West and the US of course were hesitant about imposing a no-fly zone for several reasons; one of which was that there was no unified Arab position on the issue. Now the GCC, and the Arab League, have invalidated that excuse. The West has all the capacities and mechanisms to apply the no-fly zone, in order to save the Libyan people from the tyranny that is being perpetrated by Qadaffy. Perhaps some Western states, including the US, believe that the Qadaffy regime might win on the ground, and this is a natural conviction, because the regime is not hesitating to use all of its military power, let alone mercenaries. But if the Libyan regime does prevail by crushing its own people, how can there ever be cooperation with it? What about human rights? ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... What about international laws and conventions? Germany and La Belle France were quick to welcome the Arab League resolution, even though the Germans were asking: how can the Arab League call for a no-fly zone whilst rejecting foreign intervention? The answer is simple; the decision to impose a no-fly zone will come from the Security Council, and therefore it has international legitimacy, and is not an individual act by one state in particular. Consequently, there must be a unified European and American position, and the imposition of the no-fly zone must be carried out quickly through the Security Council. Of course, this will be a tough diplomatic battle, but the foundations are in place, and the justifications are genuine. The priority now is to protect the Libyan people, and not to offer vague proposals, such as the Turkish initiative that was announced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on 'Al Arabiya' television channel. What is most important today is to protect the Libyan people. We must also realize that the Libyan regime has lost its legitimacy; therefore any initiative should not only be clear, but should also not aim to restore credibility to Qadaffy's regime. What happened in Libya is of course different to what happened in Egypt or Tunisia, as the military institutions in those countries demonstrated a sense of responsibility. Perhaps what is happening today in Sanaa, or what is about to happen, is most similar to what is happening in Libya. There is now a genuine need for caution, so that Yemen is not dragged into a civil war. But what is urgently required today is that the Libyan people are given protection, as soon as possible. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 In the background, however, it wouldn't surprise me if Arab government were actually helping Gaddafi with money and supplies. Something that was surmised a couple of weeks ago. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-03-15 21:35 |
| #5 Lotsa of good reasons not to intervene, but you know you've got a problem when the Arab League is more decisive than the commander in chief. My guess is that the Arab League is saying these things because the Libyan rebels are popular with al-Jazeera and Western reporters, which has carried over into Arab public opinion. In the background, however, it wouldn't surprise me if Arab government were actually helping Gaddafi with money and supplies. Why help the troglodytes of the Ikhwan gain power? (Note that the al Saud family used the Ikhwan to gain power and then crushed them, after the Ikhwan staged an abortive effort to conquer British-ruled Iraq and Kuwait in the 1920's, bringing upon the Saudis the specter of British retaliation). |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-03-15 16:15 |
| #4 In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe suggested in a radio interview that events on the ground in Libya have already outpaced diplomatic efforts. A final communique after a two-day meeting in Paris of G-8 foreign ministers warned of "dire consequences" if Gadhafi did not honor the Libyan people's claim to basic rights, freedom of expression, and representative government, but top diplomats from some of the world's biggest powers deferred to the U.N. Security Council to take action. "If we had used military force last week to neutralize some airstrips and the several dozen planes that they have, perhaps the reversal taking place to the detriment of the opposition wouldn't have happened," Juppe told Europe-1 radio. "But that's the past." |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-03-15 13:17 |
| #3 Lotsa of good reasons not to intervene, but you know you've got a problem when the Arab League is more decisive than the commander in chief. |
| Posted by: Matt 2011-03-15 12:55 |
| #2 What's not to like for OPEC? The price of oil is climbing daily. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-03-15 06:32 |
| #1 Therefore, today the ball is in the court of the international community, which must carry out its duty to protect the people of Libya from the tyranny that it is being subjected to at the hands of the regime. A win-win scenario - calling for action, and knowing it'll never happen in time. Why doesn't the mighty Arab League impose a no-fly zone? Because Arabs would be killing Arabs? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2011-03-15 05:57 |