NATO murdered Gaddafi

The United States, France and Britain have finally achieved their goal in Libya: The assassination of Gaddafi! The lies being told to make us believe that it was the NTC forces that killed him are fooling nobody. What’s more, NATO admitted bombing a ‘pro-Gaddafi convoy’ on Thursday morning, and coincidentally a few hours later his ‘capture’ or ‘death’ was announced.

A COLD-BLOODED MURDER

There is little doubt that it was NATO, assisted by Western Special Forces, who killed Gaddafi in cold blood. Note that this crime took place two days after the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton’s visit to Tripoli, during which she said of Gaddafi ‘I hope he will soon be captured or killed’. This is therefore a state crime; the responsibility for which rests on the shoulders of Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, the main warlords of this western imperialist attack on a sovereign regime. Remember that since this attack was started, NATO have tried several times to kill the Libyan leader; including the bombing of his residence, as a result of which one of his sons and three grand-children were killed.

Therefore, this cold-blooded killing has exposed the barbaric, tyrannic and cruel nature of this imperialist alliance to the world. We need only look at the barrage of speeches of ‘satisfaction’ hailing from these leaders, some even claiming to be ‘proud’ to have played a part in this shameful killing. These western leaders have shown us their bloodthirsty, wicked and despotic natures. These are immoral individuals who will lie, kill and massacre without hesitation in order to achieve their ends.

THE COMPLICITY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

What is also obvious to the eyes of the world is the shameful role played by the United Nations. The Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon was quick to read a statement which spoke of ‘an historic transition’ for Libya, expressly offering the services of the United Nations in order to ‘help’ NATO and its mercenaries! We already knew that the UN had been complicit in the murder of an African leader, Patrice Lumumba, in the Congo in 1961. Yet we thought it was never to be repeated. The date, 20 October 2011 will therefore remain as another day of infamy in the history of the UN organisation.

WHAT FUTURE FOR LIBYA?

The physical elimination of Gaddafi will perhaps – and for how long? – put an end to the resistance against the occupation of Libya by NATO and its mercenaries. But we can safely say that the future doesn’t look particularly bright for the Libyan people. The country is already in the process of recolonisation. Neither NATO forces nor the Special Forces are prepared to leave Libya. The member countries of NATO who instated the NTC will make their demands, not only for the sharing and exploitation of natural resources, but equally and especially for the granting of ‘military facilities’, i.e. military bases on land, sea and air. Need I remind you that it was Gaddafi that closed the military bases operated by the Yankees after taking power in 1969?

Libya therefore risks being turned into a new colony, thus becoming a threat to its neighbours.

LESSONS FOR AFRICA

By daring to defy the imperialist NATO mob alone for months and without any support from an African state; even suffering betrayals like that of Wade, the Senegalese president, Gaddafi gave a master class to African leaders: a lesson in courage, bravery and dignity in the face of adversity. He had repeatedly said that he would never leave the land of his ancestors and that he preferred to die rather than to go into exile. He kept his word and became a legend. Right to the end, he refused to accept any ultimatum, any order from the Western dictators.

What a contrast with the behaviour of many African leaders, especially among those who were the first to betray him, such as Abdoulaye Wade. They suffer daily humiliation at the hands of their western masters, receiving warnings and orders about everything and nothing. They face the indignity and contempt of these masters. These are individuals who are prepared to satisfy the slightest whims of the latter. As rightly pointed out by the late Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo, people who can only imitate and obey do not deserve to be called ‘leaders’.

Gaddafi was certainly not a democrat, far from it. He was a dictator in many respects, a leader who was at times unpredictable. But he was a dictator who was enlightened, who loved his country and Africa. He felt Africa and had a vision and great ambition for her. No other African state leader has done as much to advance African unity for the independence and security of the continent.

This is why we can say that the fall and assassination of Gaddafi spells the end of efforts to form the United States of Africa, at least for the foreseeable future. The progress that was made in constructing an economically unified continent will undoubtedly be put on hold, or abandoned. This is true of the African Central Bank, the African Monetary Fund and African Investment Bank. The latter was rightly to be based in Tripoli! Gaddafi was the driving force behind these projects and was ready to devote the country’s monetary reserves to them.

The TNC’s racist attitudes, illustrated by the massacre of black Libyans as well as nationals from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrate that the leaders appointed by NATO have priorities other than the construction of African unity.

The invasion of Libya by NATO’s member countries paints a bleak picture for the independence and security of the continent. It may open Africa’s doors wide to the AFRICOM project – the militarisation of the continent by the United States – which, until now, had not found a host country on African soil. Consequently, the taking-control of Libya by the West and the assassination of Gaddafi may signal the beginning of the militarisation of Africa and the hastening of its recolonisation.

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* This article first appeared in the French edition of Pambazuka News.
* Demba Moussa Dembélé is an economist.
* Please send comments to editor[at]pambazuka[dot]org or comment online at Pambazuka News.