Reflections
by Comrade Fidel
NATO, WAR, LIES AND BUSINESS
As some may be aware, in September of 1969, Muammar
al-Gaddafi, an Arab Bedouin soldier of a peculiar character and inspired by the
ideas of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, promoted in the heart of the
armed forces a movement overthrowing King Idris I of Libya, a country almost
completely covered by desert and having very little population, located in
northern Africa between Tunisia and Egypt.
Born to a tribal Bedouin family of nomadic desert
shepherds in the region of
Even Gaddafi’s adversaries assure us that he stood out
for his intelligence as a student; he was expelled from high-school for his
anti-monarchic activities. He managed to
enrol in another high-school and later graduated in law at the
This background explains the notable influence he
wielded afterwards in
He had begun his political life with events that were
without question, revolutionary.
In March of 1970, after massive nationalist
demonstrations, he managed to have British soldiers evacuated from the country
and in June, the
In 1970, several western oil companies and banking
companies having the participation of foreign capital were affected by the
Revolution. At the end of 1971, the
famous British Petroleum had the same fate. In the agricultural sector, all Italian
properties were confiscated, and the colonists and their descendents were
expelled from
State intervention was directed to the control of the
great companies. Production in that
country came to enjoy one of the highest levels in the Arab world. Gambling and the drinking of alcohol were
prohibited. The traditionally limited legal
status of women was improved.
The Libyan leader got involved in extremist theories
that were opposed both to communism and capitalism. It was a stage when Gaddafi
dedicated himself to theorizing, something that doesn’t have any place in this analysis, other than to point out that the
first article of the Constitutional Proclamation of 1969 established the
“Socialist” nature of the Great Socialist People’s Libya Arab Jamahiriya.
What I wish to emphasize is that the
The hornet’s nest taking place in the Security
Council, at the meeting of the Human Rights Council at the
I completely understand the reactions of the political
leaders involved in so many contradictions and sterile debate, given the
tangled web of interests and problems they must look after.
We all know very well that the character of permanent
member, the power of veto, the possession of nuclear weapons and quite a few
institutions are sources of privileges and interests imposed by force onto
humankind. One can agree or not with many of them, but one can never accept
them as fair or ethical measures.
The empire now wants to see events revolve around what
Gaddafi may or may not have done, because it needs to intervene militarily in
With the latent Libyan rebellion being promoted by
Yankee intelligence, or by Gaddafi’s own errors, it is important that the
people don’t let themselves be deceived, since very soon world opinion shall
have enough elements to know what to expect.
In my opinion, and that’s what I said from the very
first instant, we must denounce NATO’s war-mongering plans.
Like many
As an outline: the Revolution in Cuba, inspired by
Marxist-Leninist principles and those of Marti, had triumphed in 1959,
Almost immediately, the empire promoted the dirty war
against our people, counter-revolutionary gangs, the criminal economic
blockade, the mercenary invasion of the
Just a year and a half later, they threatened us with
their nuclear arsenal. A nuclear war was
on the point of breaking out.
All the Latin American countries, with the exception
of
In January of 1986, using the idea that
In March, a force of aircraft carriers in the
On April 5th, a
Reagan accused
Gaddafi and ordered the Air Force to retaliate.
Three squadrons took off from the Sixth Fleet aircraft carriers and
bases in the
On
At first the
A sinister legend was fabricated against him with the
participation of Reagan and Bush Sr.
From 1975 up to the final stage of the Reagan
government,
Many well-known African leaders with whom Gaddafi had
close ties tried to seek solutions for the tense relations between
The Security Council had imposed sanctions on Libya
that were starting to be overcome when Gaddafi accepted to put the two people
accused for the plane downed over Scotland on trial, with certain
conditions.
Libyan delegations began to be invited to
inter-European meetings. In July of 1999,
In September of that year, the European Union
ministers accepted withdrawing the restrictive measures on commerce that had
been taken in 1992.
On December 2nd, Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema of
With the
When I visited
At the beginning of 2002, the State Department
informed that diplomatic talks were going on between the
In May,
As 2003 began, because of the economic agreement on
the compensations reached between
Before 2003 drew to a close, Bush and Tony Blair
informed about an agreement with
Gaddafi fulfilled his promises of disarmament. In a few months
From October of 2002, the marathon of visits to
Gaddafi triumphantly
toured Europe. He was received in
In May of 2006, the
In 2006 and 2007,
In December of 2007, Gaddafi made two visits to
What is it that has now caused the precipitated
withdrawal from the embassies of the
It’s all
extremely odd.
George W. Bush, father of the stupid anti-terrorism
war, stated on September 20 of 2001 to the
Our security will require [...] transforming the military you will lead, a
military that must be ready to strike at a moment of notice in any dark corner
of the world. And our security will
require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for
preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and [...] our lives.
We must uncover terror cells in 60 or more
countries[...] Along with our friends
and allies, we must oppose proliferation and confront regimes that sponsor
terror, as each case requires.
What will Obama think about that speech?
What sanctions will the Security Council impose on
those who killed more than a million civilians in Iraq and on those who every
day are killing men, women and children in Afghanistan, where in recent days
the enflamed population thronged into the streets to protest the massacre of
innocent children?
An AFP dispatch from
“…the Taliban insurrection
intensified and gained ground these last few years, with guerrilla actions further
from its traditions bastions to the south and east.”
“With exactly 2,777 the number of civilian deaths in 2010 increased 15%
as compared to 2009, indicates the annual joint report by the UN Assistance
Mission in
“President Barack Obama stated on the 3rd of March his "profound
condolences" to the Afghan people for the nine dead children;
“…the UNAMA report emphasizes that the number of civilian dead in 2010
is four times greater than the number of international forces soldiers killed
in combat in that same year.
“The year 2010 has been by
far the most deadly year for foreign soldiers in nine years of war, with 711
dead, confirming that the Taliban guerrilla has intensified despite the sending
of 30,000 US reinforcements last year.”
For 10 days, in
Cuban
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez, in his speech on March 1st before
the Foreign Ministers meeting in Geneva, stated:
“Human conscience rejects the deaths of innocent people in any
circumstance and in any place.
Some of the
final paragraphs of his speech were noteworthy:
“If essential human rights are a right of life, is the Council ready to
suspend the membership of states that unleash war?”
“Will it suspend states that finance and supply military aid used by the
receiving state in massive, flagrant and systematic violations on human rights and
in attacks on civilian populations, such as what is happening in
“Will it apply that measure against powerful countries that carry out
extra-judicial executions on the territory of other states, using high
technology such as smart bombs and unmanned planes?
“What would happen with states that accept on their territory illegal
secret prisons, facilitate secret flights carrying kidnapped persons or
participate in acts of torture?”
We fully share the courageous position of the Bolivarian leader Hugo
Chávez and ALBA.
We are against the internal war in
Fidel Castro Ruz
March 9, 2011
9:35 p.m.