For Social Revolution in Libya : Neither Gaddafi Nor Imperialism !

The coalition army of five countries led by the French, British and American governments that is now bombing Libya is not the generous protector of Libyans against the atrocities of Gaddafi that it pretends to be. These “humanitarians” and the multinationals that they truly represent, have aided and abetted the Gaddafi regime’s repressions for years and today are supporting the brutal repressions taking place in allied countries such as Qatar (who joined the coalition on March 20th) and Bahrain where the Saudi army was sent in to attack peaceful demonstrators.

Their real objective is to seize control of the revolutionary process in Libya. They aim not only at controlling the country and its oil resources but also at steering the process in favor of world capitalism and blocking the establishment of a real democracy that would go “too far” in its quest for social justice. This is a potential turning point in the revolutionary process in the Arab region, where revolts have already succeeded by themselves in overthrowing corrupt dictatorships. The intervention in Libya opens the way to selective armed interventions which leaves unharmed allied despots. We firmly denounce it.

In order for the revolutions sweeping the Middle East to succeed, workers have to organize themselves democratically and lead their movement themselves. A strong mass strike movement involving the whole country, including Tripoli, cannot be stopped by either Gaddafi’s tanks nor the coalition’s aviation. This can only happen through the constitution of independent and authentic revolutionary councils.

There is a huge risk for the Revolution in the presence in the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) of people who not long ago were officials of the regime (for example, NTC chairman Abdul Jalil, ex-minister of Justice of Gaddafi). Such members are more closely aligned to imperialism than to the Libyan masses and would rather have a corrupt government set up in order to welcome multinationals than an authentic workers-led democracy.

Major forces in the Opposition stand against both Gaddafi and the NTC. This is the case of the Libyan Youth Movement (present on Twitter : http://twitter.com/ShababLibya and Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/LibyanYouthMovement) who denounce the strong link of the leadership of the NTC with the despot. It is precisely through such an independence and a strong democracy that Libyans can build a future for themselves and keep inspiring workers all over, as in Portugal where hundreds of thousands of young people marched against austerity on March 12th and where the Libyan rebel flag floated along with others that refuse submission to elites of any kind.

ILN, March 27th 2011