Lead story

Libyan advance divides NATO

by our Arab Affairs correspondent

LIBYAN government forces went on the offensive this week in a renewed effort to crush rebels who are increasingly looking towards the imperialists to bail them out. Loyalist troops have driven the rebels out of several towns seized at the beginning of the revolt and fighting continues in Misurata, Al Zawiya and around the important oil port of Ras Lanuf.

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Lib-Dems baulk at NHS privatisation

by Daphne Liddle

THE LIBERAL Democrat conference in Sheffield last weekend was the scene of a rank and file revolt against the party leadership’s collaboration with the Tory onslaught on the public sector and especially the planned changes to the NHS.

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Editorial

Oil makes the difference

WHAT IS the difference between armed Arab rebels and peaceful Arab demonstrators? The answer, as far as imperialism is concerned, depends entirely on whose interests they serve.

Armed rebels in Libya are “democratic protesters” in the eyes of the “international community” that Anglo-American imperialism likes to call itself these days, while a blind eye is turned to the suppression of Bahraini civilian protesters who have taken to the streets to demand an end to the autocracy of the royal family.

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