NOVANEWS
by Stephen Lendman
Last August, over 140 prominent Africans expressed opposition to NATO’s imperial war against Libya. South African signatories to an open letter included former President Thabo Mbeki, former Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad, and ANC National Executive Committee member Jesse Duarte.
Their letter, in part, said:
Africans have long “been subjected to the fury of war by foreign powers which have clearly repudiated the” UN Charter.
Security Council Resolution 1973 resolved “to take all necessary measures….to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya….”
“(T)he Security Council produced no evidence” such attacks occurred. Nonetheless, “they empowered themselves openly to pursue the objective of ‘regime change’ and therefore the use of force and all other means to overthrow the government of Libya….at variance with” its own founding document and other international law principles.
Contrary to UN Charter provisions, the “Security Council authorized and has permitted the destruction and anarchy which has descended on the Libyan people.”
As a result:
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war substituted for diplomacy;
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regional countries were destabilized, including “Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauretania,” among others;
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violent intervention denied Libyans the right to determine their own destiny;
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many Libyans died, were wounded or maimed;
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vital infrastructure was destroyed; and
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Libyans were impoverished and immiserated.