I was not surprised when i heard that the French Government was actually helping the Libyan rebels by air dropping weapons to them. This has truly brought out the motive of the French and the west in the ongoing conflict in Libya. The Americans are also said to have CIA Operatives on the ground in Libya and they are also helping the rebels with intelligence. Is this not an infringement on the sovereignty of another country? The Libyan people should beware of people who come bearing gifts. They did it to Saddam Hussein for him to fight on their behalf against the Iranians and they later turned against him to accuse him of keeping weapons of mass destruction. Now, we all know why NATO is making sure that Gaddafi leaves Libya by every means possible. Whilst this is going on, innocent civilians are the ones bearing the brunt of the wrongly targeted buildings, and as usual, they will come out and apologise to the families of the bereaved. Why should a country kowtow to the whims and caprices of another country because it has the power to make and unmake the leader of that powerless country? They did it in Afghanistan and later this so called ally turned against them and they branded him a terrorist. Dont be surprised when after the exit of Gaddafi, for some years to come these same weapons that was given to the rebels will be termed as weapons of mass destruction, and whoever will be in power will be called upon to allow the French and other western powers to get access to the sites of these weapons for them to be destroyed. If we can all recall, any country that had western help in overthrowing its leader never enjoy's peace for a long time as those dislodged will not let those in power to rule. They will also use all means possible to make that country ungovernable. The AU is holding a summit in Equatorial Guinea and they have condemned NATO'S military action in Libya, lets wait and see how far that condemnation will go, as usual it will be brushed aside by the western powers.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Monday, 27 June 2011
ICC Arrest Warrant for Gaddafi?
Once again, the International community is doing what it knows best, indicting African leaders and sending them to the ICC.We as Africans will want to know what Gaddafi did that has necessitated this current move by the ICC. Is it true that most of the European countries are not signatories to the ICC Convention? Why is it that most of their leaders are not taken to the ICC when they leave office since they are the ones who sanction most of the wars on the African continent in which innocent women and children are killed unjustly. Why is it that Tony Blair and George Bush be hauled before the ICC to answer charges of committing crimes against humanity. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were created by these western countries in the name of fighting terrorism, but what did we see in the end, innocent civilians always dying and all they could do was just apologize and the families of the victims would just forget about the death of their loved ones. Why cant these leaders also be held accountable for these deaths. Do you remember the over two hundred civilians who were killed by NATO bombs during the war in Yugoslavia. The reason given by NATO was that they mistook the train full of civilians to be carrying soldiers, what a shame. Nobody called for the leaders of NATO to be indicted for any war crime. Time will tell if the Libyan leader will submit himself to such an indictment. It was done to Charles Taylor of Liberia who was betrayed by his own African brothers. Will Gaddafi also face an act of betrayal? It seems the ICC was set up just to try African leaders. When Gaddafi is eventually sent to the ICC, that is if only they will be able to lay their hands on him, because he will not be easily arrested. This is an unfair world. The Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir is also facing a similar indictment, so when will a western country's president would be made to face the ICC?
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Ai Weiwei.
What a wonderful world we live in. A sovereign state or nation applies their laws to the letter and the Americans cry foul. What sort of hypocrisy is this? Ai Weiwei admitted that what he did was against the laws of China and he was imprisoned for some time. Why cant the West accept it that way and they keep on trying to impose their type of governance on the Chinese people. The man has been freed together with some of his associates who have all admitted their offenses. The Americans always tout themselves as the bastion of democracy, but what do we see, they detain people in the name of National Security for longer periods and when others do the same thing, they call it a human right abuse. The soldier who allegedly leaked information to wiki leaks is still in detention and his health condition is deteriorating by the day. Is this soldier not allowed to a fair trial. Is he not innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law. We will like to know why he is still being kept in detention. We should live in a world where every country applies its laws as written down in their constitution and not an imposition from another country. The Chinese authorities i know are not moved by the attempts by some western countries to influence their people so as to protest against the government. This they are doing through their various media houses whose names i will not like to mention. They are known all over the world for propagating the west's agenda and they make sure that every news item is moved in a certain direction to project and protect the interest of the west. I think this behavior on the part of the west stems from the fact that the Chinese economy is growing at a faster pace than the west anticipated, so they have to do everything to make sure that it is truncated. If the west has got anything to think about, they should learn from the Chinese. For now Ai Weiwei is just refusing to be drawn into any unnecessary talk with the media as the will want him to say somethings against the Chinese Government, but i will say to him that no matter what happens to him, his country should come first and not the selfish interest of the so called bastion of democracy. Every country must be allowed to practice the type of governance as prescribed by its people and not a type imposed by another country.
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
The Abyei Conflict
Once again the whole world is watching as events unfold in the Abyei region in Sudan. Bashir's troops are bent on ensuring that the South does not get access to the region as they are due to be independent in July. More atrocities are being committed there and all that the International community could do is to make statements condemning the forceful seizure of the region by Sudanese Government troops. What a shame. Why cant concrete action be taken against the Sudanese president so that he withdraws his forces from the region. Women and children are the ones bearing the brunt of the fighting. This is all because it is an oil rich region and Northern Sudan would not like to loose control over that area. Thabo Mbeki is doing his best to mediate between the two parties so as to bring an end to the conflict in Abyei. The people in that region should be given the opportunity to decide whether they will join the South when they eventually gain their independence. This i think will be a fair representation of the rights of the people, but right now, the Sudanese Government has resorted to intimidation just to prevent the people of Abyei from making a choice to join the South. The UN Security Council should take action against the Sudanese president and not just make statements on the conflict in the Abyei region. Both the North and the South should be allowed a fair share of the oil revenue so as to develop their countries. Looking at the Abyei region itself, it lacks good drinking water, electricity, food and other basic social amenities. The African Union must also move quickly to avert a civil war from erupting in the region and if it does the whole of Sudan and most countries around Sudan will face dire consequences. We as Africans should learn to solve our own problems without any help from outside the continent.
Monday, 20 June 2011
NATO's Apology.
Once again innocent civilians have been killed in a NATO airstrike in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and all that NATO could do is to render an apology. This has been happening in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan on numerous occassions. Are these also not war crimes? Why dont they indict the NATO commanders and haul them before the ICC? Normaly, children and women are the worst affected when civilian casualties mount in supposed UN sanctioned aggressive force on a sovereign nation. The explanation given was that the weapons system failed to locate or hit the target, what a shame. What happened to intelligence gathering before launching an airstrike just to determine the correct location of a target? We now live in a world where a group of people are so right that they can get away with killing innocent civilians in the name of protecting them, but another group of people do not have the right to fight or kill rebells who are trying to destabilize a country, and these rebells are recognized as the legitimate government by the western powers. Human rights activists all over the world should sit up and condemn this latest airstrike which has killed innocent civilians. What will happen to the families of the dead, nobody cares, i suffice it to say that NATO thinks that the apology is enough and are syaing that it will not happen again.We have heard this mantra several times. But go to Pakistan and you will be shocked at the devastation caused by drones on the civilian population. At times like these, they always have a prepared speech to deliver and they do it with the most solemn voices as usual. There should be an investigation into this and targets must be crosschecked before attacks are launched. My deepest sympathies go to the families of the innocent civilians who have been unjustly taken off this earth by an unnecessary show of aggression that has no basis.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Africans must reject Gaddafi?
Did i hear Hillary Clinton ask the African Union to reject Gaddafi and sever all diplomatic ties with the Libyan Government headed by Gaddafi? What at all is happening in this our world of today? I saw the AU diplomats applauding and smiling. This is a betrayal at the highest level. I dont see this attitude helping promote African Unity. If this request is carried out by the member nations of the African Union, the much touted unity needed to develop the African continent will elude us, and it will take only God's intervention to achieve that. Liberia today annonced that she was recalling her ambassador from Tripoli, very soon other countries will follow suit and the already divided African continent will be fragmented into various blocs. Dont these our leaders see that the west has no good plans for the African continent? They ask us to reject our own brother and we are happy about it and we clap our hands for them. They are using their method of "divide and rule" on us again. What happened to Africans solving their own problems with their own methods, should we wait for an outsider to come and tell us what to do? I am very sad for my continent, oh my Africa, i cry for you, your children are being forced to drink 'dirty water'. In fact, they have no choice as this 'dirty water' is being forced down their throats. We have now gotten to a point where rebells take up arms against a government and they are recognised as the legitimate government. Let me ask, can this happen in the USA and Europe? Germany today took a bold decision to recognise the rebbels as the legitimate representatives of the Libyan people. There is this African proverb which says that, 'the child who will not allow the parents to sleep will also not sleep'. Say a prayer for Libya anytime you pray folks.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Post-Gaddafi Libya?
The international coalition have extended their military campaign in Libya for another 90 days. They have tried all options but Gaddafi is not leaving. All his military defences have been crippled and most of his trusted aides have left him. Gaddafi sya he will die in Libya and no where else. The west should be careful of what they are doing in Libya becuase they are creating enemies for themselves. They are now saying that the international community should brace itself for a possible post-Gaddafi Libya. The whole world is watching if after the extension the international coalition will be able to kick out Gaddafi. It will be very embarassing if they are not able to kick Gaddafi out. Mark my words, the rebells will be manipulated by the west, no matter how independent they try to be. More civilians are still being killed in the conflict. It is time we heard the voice of the African Union coming out strongly to condemn the attacks on Libya but they have decided to keep mute and betray their African brother Gaddafi. They were showering praises on him when he used to be the main financier of most of the conferences held by the AU. Gaddafi is facing an imminent departure from his motherland and his peers are looking on unconcerned as if he was never prominent in the affairs of the continent. Libya might just turn into another Iraq or Afghanistan when Gaddafi is forcifully removed from office. This is because his followers will not like to leave without putting up a fight till the last man dies. There is this African proverb that says that 'When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers'. Innocent civilians will face the brunt of both the rebells and remnants of Gaddafi's forces. We are all watching and waiting for what will happen during the 90 days and after that if Libya will come back to being a stable country or left with tribal and ethnic conflicts as it is being done in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)