Ismail Salami: Libya After Gaddafi

NOVANEWS

by Dr. Ismail Salami

The tyrannical rule under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, in power for 42 years, has practically run its course as the Libyan rebels have seized most parts of the capital city, Tripoli.

That the old-time ruler will step down or face a tragic end is sure to happen but it is not quite clear what the National Transitional Council is going to bring to the oppressed nation.

Embattled Gaddafi has vowed not to kiss the ground before the feet of anyone and that he will stay in power to the end.

Colonel Gaddafi’s obdurate perseverance in steadfastly clinging to power indicates his madness and his morbid reluctance to give up the longest rule in the Arab world shows a man at the incredible peak of his egoism. To retain his power, he has killed thousands of people. After all, one cannot expect him to commit suicide or surrender.

Gaddafi’s former right-hand man, Abdel-Salam Jalloud, who was the Libyan Prime Minster from 1972 until 1977, and who was an extremely influential figure in the country, believes that the Libyan leader will not commit suicide in his bunker as Adolf Hitler did and will not be easily toppled.

Jaloud who fled Tripoli for Tunisia on Friday and defected to Italy said in an interview with an Italian television channel, “I think it’s impossible that he’ll surrender. He is not like Hitler, who had the courage to kill himself.”

In an audio message relayed on Sunday, Gaddafi called on people to “purge the capital” even as the rebel forces marched into the city and took over the symbolic Green Square.

No one knows for sure where the strongman is but it is assumed that his whereabouts could still be in his Bab al-Aziziya compound in central Tripoli.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said the Libyan regime in barely in control of the capital city and that not over 10-15 percent of the capital is in control of the regime.

“We have seen opposition to the regime advance further over the last hours and we can say that at the present time no more than 10 to 15 percent of the town is still in the hands of the regime,” he said.

Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi

Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam, 39, was arrested and in detention.

Seif al-Islam is charged with engineering a plan to crush the Libyan revolt by “any means necessary.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is planning to transfer him to The Hague to face charge of committing crimes against humanity.

“The court as a whole is involved,” the court’s spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah told AFP, answering ‘yes’ when asked if that meant discussions were underway with the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) over Seif al-Islam’s transfer.

In a hypocritically crafty move, Western powers have voiced their support for the people and unanimously called for the departure of the dictator.

US President Barack Obama has said Gaddafi’s regime was at a “tipping point” and that the “tyrant” must go.

“The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator. The surest way for the bloodshed to end is simple: Muammar Gaddafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron whose threatening voice over the recent UK unrest is still defiling the air likewise expressed his support for the Libyan people and said, “There will undoubtedly be difficult days ahead. No transition is ever smooth or easy. But today the Arab spring is a step further away from oppression and dictatorship and a step closer to freedom and democracy. The Libyan people are closer to their dream of a better future. This has not been our revolution but we can be proud that we played our part.”

Another Western leader joining the league of the so-called supporters was French President Nicolas Sarkozy who said, “Col. Gaddafi should avoid inflicting any more unnecessary suffering on his people by renouncing without delay what is left of his power and by immediately ordering the forces that are still loyal to him to cease fire.”

Meanwhile, NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen seized the opportunity and said, “Our goal throughout this conflict has been to protect the people of Libya, and that is what we are doing. Because the future of Libya belongs to the Libyan people.”

After all, as a prime minister in Denmark, Rasmussen was a staunch advocate of war. He was the one who expressed his unflinching support for the 2003 Iraq war although he knew that the country was not in possession of any weapons of mass destruction, an excuse which was used by Western powers to wage a war against Iraq.

Also, the European Union spokesman Michael Mann stated the Libyan regime is inching towards its closure and that Gaddafi must relinquish power to avoid further bloodshed.

How the West will reap benefits from the popular uprising in Libya and the Arab Spring, in general is a good question which deserves due critical attention.

The West is fervently beating its breast for the flourish of the Libyan revolution not because it is after social and political reforms in the world but because it sees in these popular uprisings great opportunities to achieve its long-time goals.

The National Transitional Council should heed that the revolution should not go to waste but should fall into the safe hands of those whose hearts beat for the good of the nation.

It is certainly uplifting to see a dictator go and the people succeed in cutting off the head of the snake but it will be more heartwarming to see the NATO forces leave and let people take their fate in their own hands and strive towards a better and brighter future.