War of lies …
Africa, Europe and the war in
Libya
Lazarus Sauti
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He believed that it is high time Africa should find solutions to its
problems. He chronicled on the creation of the African Union, the role played
by the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi and the events that led to Qaddafi’s
death.
In the
paper ‘Africa, Europe and the war in Libya’ Professor Shubin writes: “The
threshold of the 21st century witnessed the formation of a new
continental body, the African Union (AU). “A proposal to create it was put
forward by the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi at the summit of the Organisation
of African Unity (OAU) in Algiers in 1999.”
He added:
“The AU differs from its predecessor in a number of aspects; the most important
are two of them: more attention to democracy and protection of human rights and
a higher degree of co-operation, in particular in the military field.
“A
real test of these innovations came ten years later, with the tragic events in
Libya that began in February 2011 and we have to say that the AU failed it, although
it was not entirely the fault of that body.
“By
that time “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”, as Libya was officially named, was a welfare
state: life expectancy was in the seventies, the country's literacy rate rose
to 90%, free education,
free healthcare,
and financial assistance for housing were introduced as well as financial support was provided
for university scholarships and employment programs.
“The
country remained debt-free and its Human
Development Index was the highest in Africa.”
However,
all these achievements were not enough to appease a part of the population who
were no longer ready to tolerate over four decades of Muammar Qaddafi’s
dictatorship, even if it was portrayed as a “direct democracy”.
To those with short
memories, anti-government protests began on February 15 2011, after the changes
in Tunisia and Egypt, and the regime used force to suppress them. The
accusations in violation of human rights followed.
What is worth noting is
the fact that the war against Libya was based on fraudulence, fabrication and
lies.
Shubin says one of
first “warriors” of the “war of lies” was British Foreign Secretary William
Hague.
Hague virtually claimed
that Qaddafi had left Tripoli for Caracas. “About whether Col. Gaddafi, is in
Venezuela, I have no information that says he is although I have seen some information
that suggests he is on his way there,” he said.
Hague was not alone.
When the truth about
the Libyan tragedy and the persons responsible for it began to be known, it
became clear that one of them was a South African citizen Navanethem (Navi)
Pillayi, the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights.
The
bitter irony is that her words about “widespread and
systematic attacks against the civilian population” which “may amount to crimes
against humanity” and her reference to a Libyan defector’s claim that “Qaddafi
had started the genocide against the Libyan people” were used by those who wanted the United Nations’ “cover-up” of their
aggressive actions that led to gross violation of human rights, including the
very right to live.
Shubin
writes, “Pillayi’s accusations were not confirmed by the International
Commission of Inquiry on Libya established by the United Nations’ Human Rights
Council but, again, it was too late.”
From
Hague and Pillayi’s loads of lies, the UN Security Council “passed
two resolutions against Libya on the basis of ‘unproven claims’.
The war of lies that
were widely disseminated includes claims that Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was
killing his own people in Benghazi and other parts of the country; he had
ordered Libyan forces to kill 6,000 people; he had hired African mercenaries to
massacre civilians and jet attacks were being conducted to quell the
`uprising.’
On the other side,
statements by Gaddafi that he would go “house to house” to cleanse the nation
of “cockroaches” and “rats” were used as a proof of the incitement to commit
crimes against humanity.
These words were
repeated by mass-media all over the world, but his next phrase got missing: “people who had no arms had no reason to fear".
Moreover Qaddafi
simultaneously ordered his troops “not to pursue any protesters who drop their
guns and flee when government forces reach the city”.
Coming to Africa’s position, Shubin writes: “President
of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, spoke about the need for urgent action
“so an African solution can be found to the very serious crisis”, which must
take into account “our desire that Libya's unity and territorial integrity be
respected as well as the rejection of any kind of foreign military
intervention.”
It is clear from
Professor Shubin’s quote that those who attacked Libya did not want to give a
chance for an ‘African solution’.
From events that happened to Libya and Africa countries, it is relevant
to point out that the International Criminal Court’s role in Africa is at the
best controversial. Therefore, Africa must resolve her own conflicts. This
notion was supported by Zimbabwean writer Conrad Nyamutata and Allen Hungwe.
Conrad Nyamutata, Zimbabwean journalist writes: “Self-interests of
westerners aside, Africa must resolve its own conflicts. Given the regularity
of conflicts on the continent, Africa should now have efficient mechanism to
deal with the conflicts.
“The now regular intervention of foreigners in conflicts on the
continent undermines Africa’s supra-national bodies.”
Another Zimbabwean writer, Allen Hungwe writes that Africa must not lose
sight of her own needs and preferences and these must dictate the terms of how
any foreign assistance must be discharged.
Hungwe said, “We need to embrace genuine partnerships with those foreign
powers willing to come on our own terms.”
For Africa to effectively solve its own conflicts, it is the ultimately
responsibility of Africans and the African Union to ensure that the continent
responds as a collective when one of its constituent countries is over-run by
externally inspired forces.
This will help to
forge pan-Africanism as a force. The events that happened in Libya proved
beyond any reasonable doubt that the western machines are oiled to propagate
lies that portray Africa as a dark continent. The western leaders are using
these lies to interfere and try to recolonise the continent well known as the
‘treasure island’
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