Libya in new hands

The African Union really is a joke

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/AU- ... 62983.html

The African Union [AU] has rejected calls for recognition of Libya’s rebel Transitional National Council. The decision highlights Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s lingering influence at the continental organization he headed as recently as two years ago.

United Nations Deputy Secretary General Asha Rose Migiro opened an African Union Peace and Security summit Friday by urging the continental body to recognize Libya’s new political reality.

"We must help the country’s new leaders to establish an effective, legitimate government - a government that represents and speaks for all the country’s diverse people; a government that can deliver on its people’s hopes," said Migiro.

Rebel leaders face pushback

But in a setback for Libya’s rebel leaders, the 15-member Peace and Security Council rejected Migiro’s plea. A communiqué read by AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra called instead for a transitional government that would include Gadhafi loyalists.

"[It] encourages the Libyan stakeholders to accelerate the process leading to formation of an all-inclusive transitional government," said Lamamra.

The continental body’s refusal to accept what many consider the reality in Libya was met with consternation in many western capitals. The U.S. ambassador to the African Union, Michael Battle, noted that 20 of the 54 AU member states have joined the broader international community in recognizing the rebel TNC.

"They’re at the very brink of sealing the deal in terms of a complete military victory, and with that comes the ushering in of a new government, a new day and a new order," said Battle. "And that’s what the international community was expecting to see, as the Arab league and so many international bodies have already recognized the reality of the TNC."

Zuma asserts alternate scenario

South African President Jacob Zuma, who presided over the security summit, rejected suggestions that TNC victory is certain. He told reporters many African leaders see another reality.

"The reality on the ground is that there is fighting going on in Tripoli. Is that not a reality? People are still dying [in] very heavy fighting. That is the situation as we understand it, which is a reality in Libya," said Zuma. "And we are taking our position informed by that reality. We are looking at the reality from our point of view."

Libya’s AU ambassador, Ali Abdallah Awidan, downplayed the significance of the Peace and Security Council’s inaction. Awidan, who this week switched his allegiance to the TNC, called the decision a temporary setback.

"Very soon all Libya will be under control of the TNC, and TNC will be representing the whole Libya, and this is not a problem. It’s only for the time being," said Awidan.

Gadhafi's continuing clout

AU diplomats say the refusal to recognize Libya’s rebels reflects the respect and influence Gadhafi still commands within the continental organization. For years he used his vast oil wealth to support many African causes and liberation movements, including the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.

He also has been a driving force within the organization during his 42-year rule, and held the AU chairmanship in 2009.

Until this year, Libya has been one of the AU’s chief financial backers, paying dues that amounted to nearly 15 percent of all member state contributions. In addition, Gadhafi paid the dues of several poorer countries, estimated by observers to total $40 million a year in all.
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To be honest, the revenge actions (executions of prisoners, rounding up all blacks they can find) doesn't give a very hopeful impression for the future. It's like the Wild West out there.
 
Forostar said:
To be honest, the revenge actions (executions of prisoners, rounding up all blacks they can find) doesn't give a very hopeful impression for the future. It's like the Wild West out there.
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It's a state of chaos at the moment. A long-established dictatorship was removed by an army of rebels with only rudimentary organisation. Qaddafi made very many people very angry. This is exactly what was to be expected. I don't know (and I don't think anybody knows) how many elements of the rebel army are responsible for this kind of thing, so there is at the moment no reason to project this on the entire rebel side.

Fighting will continue for quite some time, mind you. Now that the common enemy Qaddafi is gone, grudges among the population will appear or reappear, and it will be very difficult to restore order to Libya. My prediction is that the east (Cyrenaica) will remain relatively stable and calm, and that the west and southwest (Tripolitania and Fezzan) will be subject to disputes. Libya is an ethnically and culturally heterogenous country that was only created by European colonialists and held together by a cruel dictator. In that sense, it is very different from Egypt or Tunisia, and more like Iraq. My hope is (and has always been) that fighting will be short, because the population is very small. Consensus may be easier to reach in a country that is so big and so sparsely populated.
 
I am afraid we can't even speak of one "rebel army". The weapon compound in Tripoli was plundered and lots of modern weapons are out there ....  mob squads are on the loose, and I assume that every man with a gun says he's part of the rebel side, joining the hunt on black men (who also can be workers, not mercenaries).

These images are not going to motivate the African Union.
 
I believe its because Loosey feels that a trial would be in order instead an execution.  Not putting words in mouths, just my assumption. 
 
I heard at work this morning. Reminded me of Saddam, also living in a hole. (So I heard, I haven't even read the real news yet.)

Made me think how desperate that life is, how sad... reduced to living in a hole because most of the world wants you dead, knowing that sooner or later a bullet is your certain fate.
 
There is some very graphic videos in circulation at the moment that supposedly shows his last moments as he is being dragged around and paraded by his captures. They remind me of whenHussein was captured and executed. Very primordial brutality. But can't say he didn't deserve it.
 
Okay, oil fields up for grabs, French, British and American oil debts erased. Now it's going to be a decade of anarchy and total poverty and a string of new "democratically" elected rulers, who will, of course, be completely loyal and West-oriented.

Oh, I don't know about you, but it sickens me that the media (web portals, tv news) parade the violent images of Gaddafi's dead body with so much liberty. I don't like seeing such stuff, and it's also impossible to avoid seeing it because they put those images on their homepages as top news.
 
Happy he is dead, though I suppose if he tried to surrender, they should have captured him and put him on trial (ala Saddam)
 
I am not sure why anyone was happy he was alive.  The man was a brutal dictator.  I am also happy Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Saddan Hussein, Pol Pot, Idi Amin (and I am sure if given time, I can think of many more people) that I am happy to see gone from this world.  I still would have preferred a trial so the world (and history) could be reminded of why he should be dead, but it is a good thing that he is gone and hopefully other rulers like him meet this fate soon.
 
Ranko said:
Okay, oil fields up for grabs, French, British and American oil debts erased. Now it's going to be a decade of anarchy and total poverty and a string of new "democratically" elected rulers, who will, of course, be completely loyal and West-oriented.

Oh, I don't know about you, but it sickens me that the media (web portals, tv news) parade the violent images of Gaddafi's dead body with so much liberty. I don't like seeing such stuff, and it's also impossible to avoid seeing it because they put those images on their homepages as top news.
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So far, the US, etc. haven't tried to prop up a "democracy" in Egypt, and they control one of the greatest resources in the world, the Suez Canal. And yes, it is just as important as oil, because it is how the west gets their oil. Considering the Americans have been hands-off for quite awhile in the Libyan situation, I think that it may just turn out to be okay.
 
I have no idea why, but watching the video left me with a sadness. Certainly not a sadness that he's dead but... I don't know. Maybe just because it's a reminder of how brutal the world is and we humans are.
 
I had the same feeling few minutes ago, when I read (and saw) that they put his body in a refrigerator in a shopping mall for everyone to see.
 
It is a very sad situation indeed. Reading all the news reports and seeing the images makes me wonder about the bias of the media. You would hope that journalists try to be objective and just give us the information, but this whole affair has me really wondering what to believe. It reminds me of that phrase that history is written by the winners. Yes Gaddafi was not a nice guy, but he was a human being like the rest of us and should have been shown mercy. It has been a very powerful reminder of how fragile and precious life is. I sincerely hope that the lot for the people of Libya will be improved, and not just that of those in power.
 
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