Anil Narendra
The revolutionary storm that started from the Tahrir Square in Egypt, has reached Libya. Col Muammar Gaddafi,s days are numbered, who had been ruling over Libya for almost 42 years. Most of the capital Tripoli has been claimed over by the rebels. The opposition forces have captured Gaddafi’s son and his one time heir, Saif al-Islam. Saif along with his father is facing charges of human right violations at the International Criminal Court. NATO is continuing bombing operations over Tripoli and surrounding areas and has said that it would not stop its operation till the pro-Gaddafi forces surrender or return to their barracks. Gaddafi has gone underground. Some sources claim that he has fled to neighbouring Algeria, while others say that he might be hiding in a bunker. Amidst people rejoicing at Tripoli’s Green Square, the symbol of Gaddafi’s power, the international community has demanded that Gaddafi leave power. A number of world leaders including US President Barack Obama, said on Monday that Col Muammar Gaddafi has no place in the Libyan future. They said that this is the easiest way to end the prevalent violence. Col Gaddafi and his government must realize that they have come to a dead end. British Prime Minister, David Cameron has said that Gaddafi is fleeing. There is no possibility for him to stick to power.
There is not an iota of doubt that 42 year-old rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi is approaching its end. The rebels are saying that they would suspend their operations, only if Gaddafi declares to step down, while Gaddafi, prior to accepting rebels’ demands have been exhorting tribals to come to Tripoli to fight rebels, and threatening that otherwise he will join the French Army as a soldier. It is clear that power is slipping out of his hands. The rebellion against Gaddafi of Libya, following Tunisian revolution of last December and then the bloodless coup against Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, was unexpected. In fact the indication of this rebellion started surfacing in early February, but the time taken to its developing in a full blown rebellion, indicates Gaddafi had strong hold over the Libyan military establishment. Gaddafi, at the age of just 27 years came to power in Libya after dethroning King Indris in a coup in 1969. Those were the times when there were conflicts between the communism under the leadership of Soviet Russia and American capitalism. At that time, the young Gaddafi presented a new formula for rule through his green book, which he called Jamhuriya. But, jamhuriat (democracy) was never established in Libya, as the Libyan political parties were banned. The youngman, who had put forth a vision of democracy was soon got addicted to the luxuries. Not only this, there was time when Gaddafi started openly supporting the Islamic jihadis against US and other Western countries. Since then, Gaddafi has become thorn in the flesh of US and other Western countries. The support of these countries to the rebels is also one of the major reasons for rebels strengthening their hold in Libya. It is therefore that Obama has said that there is no place for Gaddafi in Libya. But, what will happen after Gaddafi? These are testing times for Libya. In case the present government goes down, will a new law and order structure be established or will anarchy prevail there? There is another question. Whether efforts will be made to establish a new government or revenge will be resorted to? What is the guarantee that Islamic extremists will not dominate the new government, as has been witnessed in other Arab countries? Even fear has been expressed that after Gaddafi’s ouster, the Libyan society would disintegrate. Coming months could be challenging for Libya.
There is not an iota of doubt that 42 year-old rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi is approaching its end. The rebels are saying that they would suspend their operations, only if Gaddafi declares to step down, while Gaddafi, prior to accepting rebels’ demands have been exhorting tribals to come to Tripoli to fight rebels, and threatening that otherwise he will join the French Army as a soldier. It is clear that power is slipping out of his hands. The rebellion against Gaddafi of Libya, following Tunisian revolution of last December and then the bloodless coup against Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, was unexpected. In fact the indication of this rebellion started surfacing in early February, but the time taken to its developing in a full blown rebellion, indicates Gaddafi had strong hold over the Libyan military establishment. Gaddafi, at the age of just 27 years came to power in Libya after dethroning King Indris in a coup in 1969. Those were the times when there were conflicts between the communism under the leadership of Soviet Russia and American capitalism. At that time, the young Gaddafi presented a new formula for rule through his green book, which he called Jamhuriya. But, jamhuriat (democracy) was never established in Libya, as the Libyan political parties were banned. The youngman, who had put forth a vision of democracy was soon got addicted to the luxuries. Not only this, there was time when Gaddafi started openly supporting the Islamic jihadis against US and other Western countries. Since then, Gaddafi has become thorn in the flesh of US and other Western countries. The support of these countries to the rebels is also one of the major reasons for rebels strengthening their hold in Libya. It is therefore that Obama has said that there is no place for Gaddafi in Libya. But, what will happen after Gaddafi? These are testing times for Libya. In case the present government goes down, will a new law and order structure be established or will anarchy prevail there? There is another question. Whether efforts will be made to establish a new government or revenge will be resorted to? What is the guarantee that Islamic extremists will not dominate the new government, as has been witnessed in other Arab countries? Even fear has been expressed that after Gaddafi’s ouster, the Libyan society would disintegrate. Coming months could be challenging for Libya.
No comments:
Post a Comment