The New Worker
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 22nd April 2011
UNITED NATIONS chief Ban Ki Moon called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya on Monday, echoing the efforts of the African Union and the Venezuelan government to bring about a political solution to the conflict in north Africa.
Muammar Gaddafi’s government has accepted the African proposals and the offer of mediation from Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez.
But they’ve all been turned down flat by the rebels who know that they can count on the continued military support of Anglo-American and French imperialism, regardless of anything the head of the UN says.
There can be no doubt that the fighting continues largely because Britain, France and the United States have not called off their daily air-raids on loyalist positions. The imperialists may be interested in a temporary truce in Misrata, where the rebels have their backs against the wall. But this is only because it could provide a pretext to land Nato troops to supply “humanitarian aid” to the besieged western Libyan city.
In an extraordinary attempt to justify imperialist aggression Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy sent a letter to the international media last week that hypocritically claimed that it was obliged to act because of a call for action from the League of Arab States. While this is true, what is not said is that the Arab League is a body dominated by Arab oil princes who work hand in glove with the big oil corporations and US-led imperialism.
These Arab rulers live lives of ostentatious wealth and luxury off their cut of the oil profits while their subjects and the immigrant workers who do all the menial work in these kingdoms and emirates work in conditions of feudal bondage.
The leaders of Britain, France and the United States bleat on about “protecting civilians” while turning a blind eye to the Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the brutal siege of the Gaza Strip. They talk about “democracy” and “human rights” while propping any feudal Arab prince or Afghan warlord willing to serve imperialism.
..and the hidden hand in Syria
Last week Wikileaks revealed that the US government has been secretly funding Syrian opposition groups for years. According to documents supplied to the Washington Post, the US State Department has been bankrolling the “Democracy Council” to run a Syrian project called the “Civil Society Strengthening Initiative”.
Some $6 million was also paid to the Syrian émigré “Movement for Justice and Development” in London to set up an anti-Baath satellite TV station, which has been broadcasting anti-Baath propaganda since April 2009. The group, which is banned in Syria, is led by former members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The imperialists talk about “freedom” while the hidden hand works to destroy progressive Arab governments by inciting violence and sectarian divisions. In Syria the government responded to demonstrations, apparently inspired by events in Egypt and Tunisia, by introducing a package of constitutional reforms. But clashes between security forces and sectarian elements have not only continued but have become more violent as the reactionaries turn to murder and terror in a bid to overthrow the Baathist-led government.
Terror gangs have launched deadly attacks on Syrian army and police officers and only last week the authorities seized a huge consignment of weapons stashed in a refrigerator truck, driven by an Iraqi in a bid to smuggle it across the border. The driver says he was paid $20,000 for the job and claims he has no idea who was behind it. We can but guess?