Libya

The West is no friend of Libya’s revolt

http://www.iso.org.nz/news/23/644-the-west-is-no-friend-of-libyas-revolt.html

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 05:22

by Simon Assaf

Western military intervention in Libya is being sold to us as “humanitarian intervention” to defend the revolution.

The uprising against Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime that began on 17 February remains an inspiration.

Gaddafi responded with attacks on civilians, the aerial bombardment of demonstrations, mass round-ups and executions.

This left many people in despair, and feeling that Western intervention was the only solution to save their lives.

But the West’s interests are not those of the Libyan revolution.

Western governments are not innocent or impartial. They are using this opportunity to reassert their influence in the region.

The ruling class has been rocked by the mass popular revolutions which brought down their allies—Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt.

If the West’s support for popular revolutions against violent dictators is genuine, then why are they not supporting all the revolutions?

Where is the challenge to the repression of protests in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen?