"No to another Iraq in Libya! Oppose US and NATO military intervention in the Libyan conflict!"
No to another Iraq in Libya! Oppose US and NATO military intervention in the Libyan conflict!
BAYAN - Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance)
March 19, 2011
As the world remembers the eighth anniversary of US invasion of Iraq today,Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) vehemently condemns the latest chapter in the long and bloody history of imperialist intervention, this time in Libya under the guise of imposing a no-fly zone over the beleaguered country.
While claiming that the move is necessary to supposedly prevent additional civilian casualties, the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1973 will on the contrary create the conditions for a bloodbath in Libya. We take note of the said resolutions statement --authorizing all member-states acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights imposed --as a blanket authority to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) led by the US to demolish at all costs the military capabilities of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi. We are gravely alarmed that like the US invasion of Iraq, military aggression against Libya will also result in enormous harm to civilian lives and property.
The direct US and NATO military intervention clearly has for its main objective the removal from power of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi and the installation of a reliable puppet regime. Bayan reaffirms our stand that the ongoing conflict in Libya must be resolved by the Libyan people themselves and without any form of foreign military intervention.
The US hypocritically justifies military intervention in Libya while at the same time condoning the violence committed by Israel, the government of Bahrain and the previous violence committed by US ally Hosni Mubarak.
Imperialism has long been committing the gravest crimes against humanity through their wars of aggression that are legitimized by global bodies they control like the UN Security Council and are rationalized as safeguarding the greater interest of the people. In reality, these wars of aggression are designed to topple regimes that assert economic and political independence from US interests.
Behind the humanitarian rhetoric of the US is its drive to rid Libya of Qaddafi and enable the US to have control of Libya's vast oil fields. The scenario is all too familiar.
We must not forget that the US invasion of Iraq in 2002 was justified by the Bush administration as a necessary means to protect the world from the alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) being held by Saddam Hussein, a claim that was never proven. It was simply a war of aggression to control Iraq's oil.
The invasion, which led to the execution of Hussein and establishment of a US puppet regime, has so far claimed the lives of more than 104,000 people including more than 92,000 civilians according to US Army documents disclosed by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
The humanitarian crisis created by the US invasion is staggering the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that it created 4.7 million Iraqi refugees; one survey said that 35% of Iraqi children are orphans; and the Red Cross described the humanitarian situation in Iraq as among the most critical in the world.
Such grave violation of the human rights of the Iraqi people is under threat of being repeated in Libya where, like in Iraq, the US and other imperialist powers have long coveted the oil and gas resources.
Qaddafi has angered the monopoly capitalist states of the US and Europe when he nationalized Libya's oil industry in the early 1970s immediately after overthrowing the monarchy.
He has instituted economic and social reforms that benefited the poor of Libya. According to one account, the standard of living of the people of Libya is one of the highest in Africa, with GNP per capita of between US$2,000 and 6,000. In the 1950s, the World Bank stated that the per capita income of Libya was only US$50.00.
The people of Libya have the sovereign right to struggle for genuine freedom and democracy. We fully support the Libyan people in their struggle for national and social liberation.
The US and NATO should keep their bloody hands off Libya. The Libyan people must be allowed to determine for themselves the sort of democratic reforms that they need and establish the political and economic set-up that will best serve their aspirations and interests.
BAYAN-Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance)
4/F, Erythrina Bldg., Matatag cor.
Maaralin Streets
Bgy. Central, Quezon City,
PHILIPPINES
Telefax 435-6930
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Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
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