When one looks at the mess in #Egypt and #Libya, the risks of foreign military intervention in #Africa are evident. President Zuma advised against the military strikes on #Libya but his advice was not heeded. Today we have Libya in a state of chaos, a war zone, almost 3 years after Gaddafi was killed. There is no order in the country. What happened to the promise of freedom and a better life for all in Libya? The armed militias who had collaborated with NATO refused to surrender their arms. Why should they give up their arms in a country where their safety and continued survival is no longer guaranteed. Predictably the western nations that had a big say in all this are conspicuously absent in finding long term sustainable solutions to Libya. Interestingly after the war we realise that Gaddafi was involved in financial dealings with France, Britain and maybe even the US before he was toppled. Well well... Are Libyans better off with Gaddafi gone? I believe not. In fact I think Libyans are far worse off without Gaddafi. Libya was a wealthy country by most accounts. Indeed it seems a fair amount of the countrys wealth was being looted but could be any worse than what is going on there today? There was a great deal of #Libya in the media during the military intervention. A lof of attention was paid to the ills of Gaddafis leadership in the extensive coverage of the conflict at the time. Now its very difficult to come across any coverage at all. The media has moved on to the next Big Story. People had grown tired of the chaos and endless and fighting in Libyas. The Africans must solve their own problems! NATO is long gone. But who started these problems in the first place? For Africa to rise there is need to find homegrown solutions to problems on the continent. African Union should have been far more assertive on Libya and Egypt. That was their territory. Instead NATO an organisation which doesnt really have a mandate in Africa was allowed, on the back of UN support, to intervene in internal affairs. African Union needs to up its game, as do all other institutions on the continent. Africa can do this, we just need the willpower!
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 07:02:55 +0000
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