Opinion / Columnist
Africa Should Boldly Stand Up Against Western Imperialism
16 Aug 2011 at 07:15hrs | Views
NATO has been bombing houses and killing families and children in their hundreds in Libya. It has also struck pipelines of the Great Man Made River and this means that the Libyan people will die of thirst because they have no other source of drinking water. The bombing of the Libyan Coast means that the Libyan people will die of hunger after fish packaging factories and milk processing factories have also not being spared.
There is nothing democratic about what is going on in Libya. In fact the situation in Libya highlights the urgency with which the African Union should push reforms at the United Nations. In a few weeks Heads of States and leaders from across the globe will be meeting in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations. Africa will have to bow her head in shame as many of her leaders will again refuse to take the bull by the horn and challenge America and her allies over their predatory tactics not only on the continent but in the developing world.
Colonel Gaddafi is probably the only other leader after President Mugabe who has dared to look his enemy in the eye and declare he will fight to his last breath for the rights and sovereignty of his people on the African continent. Their vision of an independent Africa who is free to trade on equal footing with other nations has made them monsters to Western governments and corporations who specialize in raping developing countries for their resources.
Libyans are entitled to free treatment and their hospitals provide the best in the world of medical equipment.
Education in Libya is free and capable young people have the opportunity to study abroad at government expense.
When marrying, young couples receive an equivalent of about US$50 000 of financial assistance.
Due to government subsidies the price of cars is much lower than in Europe and they are affordable for every family.
Those who engage in agriculture do not pay taxes
The state offers non-interest loans.
According to the World Bank and IMF Libya has no debt and in fact has more foreign exchange reserves than many European countries.
These are but a few of the luxuries that Libyan citizens have enjoyed under Colonel Gaddafi. The BCC and CNN have become champions of spreading Western propaganda and never have they reported this. Western media institutions thrive on giving Africa a negative image and this is in tandem with American foreign policy. Libya has refused to bow down to American dominancy and like all nations that seek independence from America hegemony it has been declared undemocratic and a threat to global peace.
It's all about oil and money in Libya; in a matter of weeks of their so called revolution the rebel forces had created a central bank and were shipping oil to none other than America. These supposedly "rag tag revolutionaries" according to western media reports are not a popular uprising but a well orchestrated movement by America and her allies to silence Libyan voices not only when it comes to oil but also over the current structure of key United Nations Organs were Western countries have employed big brother tactics to oppress and wage unconventional war on the developing world.
Colonel Gaddafi has made the loudest noise calling for oil producing countries to stop accepting the US Dollar as currency when trading in oil but instead use gold or Euros. The last person who tried to do this was Saddam Hussein and we all know what happened to him. Information has surfaced that six months before America moved into Iraq to take down Saddam Hussien , he had made the move to accept Euros instead of American Dollars for oil. Today the women and children of Iraq are living in squalor and America has benefited more than the very Iraqis it claimed were its motivation for affecting regime change in Iraq.
The bombing of Libya is punishment for Gaddafi's attempt to influence oil producing nations to refuse the American dollar and also for pushing for a united African continent. A united Africa trading its resources on the global market on equal footing with Western consumers is what the Western establishment calls a nightmare. The Libyan model of banking if adopted across the continent would bring an end to Western control of Africa. According to the IMF the Libyan Central Bank has 144 tons of gold in its vaults. With that sort of asset base who needs the World Bank, IMF and their dictatorial and oppressive rules that create poverty in developing nations.
What happened on March 18 2011 at the United Nations Security Council session that resolved to militarily intervene in Libya shows that African leaders in the Security Council did not have the foresight to see that they were playing right into the hands of America and her allies. NATO's bombing of Libya and America's underhanded tactics have made Africans a party to the destruction and death of Libyans.
The statement by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma saying the UN resolution authorizing military action was "being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation" is now futile and rings hollow because the damage has been done and Africa has been caught sleeping.
Britain's Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant ironically said a precondition of a halt to the NATO bombing was a cessation of attacks on civilians by the Qaddafi regime. It is NATO that is killing Libyan citizens, destroying their homes, factories and water pipelines. The African Union will find it difficult to erase this dark mark and in fact many of its leaders stand embarrassed that it is those outside Africa who have taken up a cause they should be owning. Activists representing a broad coalition of anti-war organizations, the Nation of Islam, the political left, Islamic organizations and a plethora of grassroots community organizations recently stood together on the stage of the Assembly Hall at the Riverside Church, proclaiming that "all roads lead to Harlem" for the August 13 "Millions in Harlem March" to stop the bombing of Libya.
Julius Malema has been called all sorts of names but Julius Malema is more than just a personality he is the voice of a movement of young people on this continent who have realized that Africans need to unite and speak with one voice. Many African leaders have refused to denounce America and her allies for the blood thirsty imperialists they are and have been reduced to making luke-warm protests.
The sponsored violence on Libya by America and NATO with the complicity of some African leaders has reserved the Pan-African movement. If those in Latin America and other parts of the world can show their solidarity with Colonel Gaddafi why is it that many of our African leaders have not done the same?
Democracy can never be defined by America because this past decade America has proven to be nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing which preaches democracy and global peace and security while waging wars against nations who are attempting to get out from under her neo-colonial serfdom dependency and pursue a national economic development independent of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
President Mugabe stands as a testimony to the world that America has no interest in pursuing democracy but it will kill, starve, bomb, squeeze any nation which seeks to break away for its imperialist grip.
There is nothing democratic about what is going on in Libya. In fact the situation in Libya highlights the urgency with which the African Union should push reforms at the United Nations. In a few weeks Heads of States and leaders from across the globe will be meeting in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations. Africa will have to bow her head in shame as many of her leaders will again refuse to take the bull by the horn and challenge America and her allies over their predatory tactics not only on the continent but in the developing world.
Colonel Gaddafi is probably the only other leader after President Mugabe who has dared to look his enemy in the eye and declare he will fight to his last breath for the rights and sovereignty of his people on the African continent. Their vision of an independent Africa who is free to trade on equal footing with other nations has made them monsters to Western governments and corporations who specialize in raping developing countries for their resources.
Libyans are entitled to free treatment and their hospitals provide the best in the world of medical equipment.
Education in Libya is free and capable young people have the opportunity to study abroad at government expense.
When marrying, young couples receive an equivalent of about US$50 000 of financial assistance.
Due to government subsidies the price of cars is much lower than in Europe and they are affordable for every family.
Those who engage in agriculture do not pay taxes
The state offers non-interest loans.
According to the World Bank and IMF Libya has no debt and in fact has more foreign exchange reserves than many European countries.
These are but a few of the luxuries that Libyan citizens have enjoyed under Colonel Gaddafi. The BCC and CNN have become champions of spreading Western propaganda and never have they reported this. Western media institutions thrive on giving Africa a negative image and this is in tandem with American foreign policy. Libya has refused to bow down to American dominancy and like all nations that seek independence from America hegemony it has been declared undemocratic and a threat to global peace.
It's all about oil and money in Libya; in a matter of weeks of their so called revolution the rebel forces had created a central bank and were shipping oil to none other than America. These supposedly "rag tag revolutionaries" according to western media reports are not a popular uprising but a well orchestrated movement by America and her allies to silence Libyan voices not only when it comes to oil but also over the current structure of key United Nations Organs were Western countries have employed big brother tactics to oppress and wage unconventional war on the developing world.
Colonel Gaddafi has made the loudest noise calling for oil producing countries to stop accepting the US Dollar as currency when trading in oil but instead use gold or Euros. The last person who tried to do this was Saddam Hussein and we all know what happened to him. Information has surfaced that six months before America moved into Iraq to take down Saddam Hussien , he had made the move to accept Euros instead of American Dollars for oil. Today the women and children of Iraq are living in squalor and America has benefited more than the very Iraqis it claimed were its motivation for affecting regime change in Iraq.
The bombing of Libya is punishment for Gaddafi's attempt to influence oil producing nations to refuse the American dollar and also for pushing for a united African continent. A united Africa trading its resources on the global market on equal footing with Western consumers is what the Western establishment calls a nightmare. The Libyan model of banking if adopted across the continent would bring an end to Western control of Africa. According to the IMF the Libyan Central Bank has 144 tons of gold in its vaults. With that sort of asset base who needs the World Bank, IMF and their dictatorial and oppressive rules that create poverty in developing nations.
What happened on March 18 2011 at the United Nations Security Council session that resolved to militarily intervene in Libya shows that African leaders in the Security Council did not have the foresight to see that they were playing right into the hands of America and her allies. NATO's bombing of Libya and America's underhanded tactics have made Africans a party to the destruction and death of Libyans.
The statement by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma saying the UN resolution authorizing military action was "being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation" is now futile and rings hollow because the damage has been done and Africa has been caught sleeping.
Britain's Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant ironically said a precondition of a halt to the NATO bombing was a cessation of attacks on civilians by the Qaddafi regime. It is NATO that is killing Libyan citizens, destroying their homes, factories and water pipelines. The African Union will find it difficult to erase this dark mark and in fact many of its leaders stand embarrassed that it is those outside Africa who have taken up a cause they should be owning. Activists representing a broad coalition of anti-war organizations, the Nation of Islam, the political left, Islamic organizations and a plethora of grassroots community organizations recently stood together on the stage of the Assembly Hall at the Riverside Church, proclaiming that "all roads lead to Harlem" for the August 13 "Millions in Harlem March" to stop the bombing of Libya.
Julius Malema has been called all sorts of names but Julius Malema is more than just a personality he is the voice of a movement of young people on this continent who have realized that Africans need to unite and speak with one voice. Many African leaders have refused to denounce America and her allies for the blood thirsty imperialists they are and have been reduced to making luke-warm protests.
The sponsored violence on Libya by America and NATO with the complicity of some African leaders has reserved the Pan-African movement. If those in Latin America and other parts of the world can show their solidarity with Colonel Gaddafi why is it that many of our African leaders have not done the same?
Democracy can never be defined by America because this past decade America has proven to be nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing which preaches democracy and global peace and security while waging wars against nations who are attempting to get out from under her neo-colonial serfdom dependency and pursue a national economic development independent of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
President Mugabe stands as a testimony to the world that America has no interest in pursuing democracy but it will kill, starve, bomb, squeeze any nation which seeks to break away for its imperialist grip.
Source - Dambudzo Mapuranga
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