The rebel rejection of an African Union ceasefire plan in Libya was to be expected, given that they are backed by the firepower of the Euro-American military colossus. In a real sense, however, “the rebels are not in a position to accept or reject anything,” having “chosen to become soldiers of an Arab counterrevolution in the service of imperialism.” While western pundits scoff at the African Union as a “club” serving the interests of the continent’s rulers, the rebels are mere minions of “the most dangerous club on the planet”: NATO.
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
“What kind of revolution – what kind of Arab nationalism – is it, that begs for intervention and close air support from the imperial super-power?”
The rebels in Benghazi have rejected an African Union delegation proposal for a ceasefire in Libya – a plan that was accepted by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi over the weekend. The reaction in Benghazi was no surprise. The five heads of state from Mauritania, Mali, Congo-Brazzaville, Uganda and South Africa would have been chased down the streets and lynched by mobs had the western news media not been watching, so rabid is the anti-black hysteria whipped up by the rebel political leadership. If anyone needs protection in rebel-held Libya, it is people with dark skin, hundreds of whom have been murdered for no offense other than their color. Spokesmen for the rebel transitional council claim to be fighting phantom Black African armies, mirages that do not exist – a despicable use of race as a tool of war.
In reality, the rebels are not in a position to accept or reject anything. Whatever their political composition may have been when protests against the government in Tripoli began back in February, they are now totally dependent minions of the United States and Europe. They have chosen to become soldiers of an Arab counterrevolution in the service of imperialism. What kind of revolution – what kind of Arab nationalism – is it, that begs for intervention and close air support from the imperial super-power?
The African Union heads of state had to seek approval for their delegation from the European Union, according to the BBC. Western media dismissed the peace mission as suspect, many of them referring to the African Union as a “club” for the benefit of African rulers. If that is so, it is a circumstance for Africans to deal with. The actual “club” that threatens black Africa and Arab Africa and all the world’s people’s, is the Euro-American club: France, Britain, Belgium, the United States and the other world-enslavers that are joined in the hyper-aggressive military “club” called NATO – the most dangerous club on the planet!
“The Euro-Americans also bear responsibility for migrant workers' plight.”
The African Union proposal called for an immediate ceasefire, suspension of NATO airstrikes, a dialogue between the Gaddafi government and the rebels, unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and protection of foreign nationals. The last item points to the obscene behavior of the rebels and their Euro-American overseers, especially. Three million foreign workers did the manual labor that kept Libya's economy going, so that six million Libyans could enjoy the highest standard of living, by far, on the African continent. Half of those foreign workers, 1.5 million, are black Africans, whose abuse in rebel-held areas since February will stain the national honor of Libya for a generation. The Euro-Americans also bear responsibility for migrant workers' plight, as self-appointed protectors of Libya's civilian population. Yet they have failed to maintain a safe corridor to Egypt for the hunted and despised black Africans, making a mockery of the United Nations resolution, and showing the NATO war for what it is: a neocolonial crusade.
The real heroes in any Twenty-first Century war are those who are willing to stand up to the “full-spectrum domination” of U.S. air power. Gaddafi's soldiers have earned the respect of all those that do not worship at the alter of imperial power. The Libyan rebel leaders have chosen to be pawns in someone else's Great Game.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
This week’s featured author is Lorgia García Peña. Peña is Professor of Latinx Studies at Tufts University. Her book is Translating Blackness: Latinx Colonialities in Global Perspective.
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