Western hypocrisy, Libya and Democracy

25.MAR.11

Editor: The hypocrisy of international politics never ceases to amaze me. People, do you remember June 4th, 1989, Tienanmen square China…a military strike against hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians, of which a great number were university students marching for Democracy?{{more}}

America watched, Britain watched, France watched, the UN watched, each without wagging a warning finger in the face of China except for the mandatory recriminations that diplomatic protocol allows. Hmnn….maybe because China was and still is one of the major engines that power our industrial world. And when would George Bush Jr be charged for war crimes against the Iraqi people? I am not in support of Gadaffi, but isolating Libya from outside could mean consolidation within and may give genuine currency to his hitherto “counterfeit” claims of western conspiracy against him, especially since the shameless hypocrisy of the West is common knowledge there and beyond!

For us to look at what is happening in Libya as merely another fight for Democracy without observing how this fight is impacted by accompanying imperatives such as the clash of Nationalism and Internationalism and a nation’s right to self determination and how that right is or ought to be affected from outside would only add to our continued obscure look at a region in political chaos. And I must add that the greatest innovator of Democracy is neither guns or bombs, but the collective will of the people.

Marlon Lindon Joseph