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Libya's Hell, Enabled by Canadian Humanitarians
(Cross posted from GD)
Who will protect Libyans now? One of the darkest and most shameful chapters in Western military intervention continues to play out in spades in Libya. The latest news comes from Benghazi where one of the (literally hundreds) of murderous militias opened fire on peaceful, white-flag-bearing protesters (protesting militias), killing at least 20 and wounding over 130. And they didn't use just small arms -- it was rocket propelled grenades, machine guns and even an anti-aircraft gun. It was, even for a horribly violent context, a disgusting slaughter of innocents.
But we hear nothing from the international choir, led here by Lloyd Axworthy, which sang the "responsibility to protect" (R2P) hymn at the top of their lungs two years ago. The R2P, established by the UN in 2005, has lofty principles but in practice has been used as an excuse for any brutal assault on sovereign nations that serves the capitalist interests of the first world. Responsibility to protect states that sovereignty is not a right, but rests on the responsibility of governments to protect their populations. It is triggered by evidence of any one of four "mass atrocity" crimes: war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
snip
Fast forward to the sickening results of the R2P intervention and you will understand where this reckless and cynical military adventure fits in the recent record of NATO countries (Germany abstained in the R2P vote to its everlasting credit) in the Muslim world. The current situation in Libya is so out-of-control that chaos and bloodshed rule virtually everywhere. The Muslim Brotherhood Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was even kidnapped (briefly) by one of the many militias he actually hired to try to maintain a semblance of security (the army and police are in total disarray). The newly elected Congress has ceased to function as the opposition parties have walked out in protest over the Zeidan government's authoritarian style -- leaving it with little moral authority.
Tribal militias are now organizing to take on the Islamist government effectively imposed on the country by the U.S. The central government has virtually no authority outside Tripoli, and even there control over the city is divided up among armed gangs. Services everywhere have all but collapsed and the "government" will run out of money by the end of the year -- meaning it will not be able to pay salaries of any kind.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/11/25/Libyan-Hell-After-Civil-War/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=251113
But we hear nothing from the international choir, led here by Lloyd Axworthy, which sang the "responsibility to protect" (R2P) hymn at the top of their lungs two years ago. The R2P, established by the UN in 2005, has lofty principles but in practice has been used as an excuse for any brutal assault on sovereign nations that serves the capitalist interests of the first world. Responsibility to protect states that sovereignty is not a right, but rests on the responsibility of governments to protect their populations. It is triggered by evidence of any one of four "mass atrocity" crimes: war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
snip
Fast forward to the sickening results of the R2P intervention and you will understand where this reckless and cynical military adventure fits in the recent record of NATO countries (Germany abstained in the R2P vote to its everlasting credit) in the Muslim world. The current situation in Libya is so out-of-control that chaos and bloodshed rule virtually everywhere. The Muslim Brotherhood Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was even kidnapped (briefly) by one of the many militias he actually hired to try to maintain a semblance of security (the army and police are in total disarray). The newly elected Congress has ceased to function as the opposition parties have walked out in protest over the Zeidan government's authoritarian style -- leaving it with little moral authority.
Tribal militias are now organizing to take on the Islamist government effectively imposed on the country by the U.S. The central government has virtually no authority outside Tripoli, and even there control over the city is divided up among armed gangs. Services everywhere have all but collapsed and the "government" will run out of money by the end of the year -- meaning it will not be able to pay salaries of any kind.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/11/25/Libyan-Hell-After-Civil-War/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=251113
