Eight years have passed since the beginning of revolts in Libya, instigated from abroad to overthrow Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. It opened a bloody conflict in that North African nation that remains fragmented and its population suffering the scourge of armed gangs that are fighting among themselves for control of the country.
The Western powers, headed by the United States and France, launched massive bombings under the flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, in order to break the backbone of the Libyan army and force the withdrawal of Gaddafi from Tripoli. Gaddafi was later captured, tortured and murdered.
Curiously enough, this is the same procedure now being applied against Syria, although, in this case, government troops have resisted the onslaught, which is headed by the United States Armed Forces with the support of Washington's European allies.
The war imposed on Libya virtually destroyed that nation, which passed from being a flourishing state into a devastated nation and its people virtually decimated. The human cost of this nightmare is enormous, and some reports say that tens of thousands have been murdered by Western fire bombs, while over one million have been displaced from their homes, most of which have been destroyed. Needless to say, basic services -- such as education, health and housing -- have been liquidated.
Currently, political control of Libya is in dispute between a Government with headquarters in Tripoli -- which enjoys the recognition of the United Nations -- but does not exert control over most of the national territory and the National Libyan Army, which controls the eastern portion of the country. Led by Jalifa Haftar, the National Libyan Army has taken over huge oil deposits in the North African country’s desert region.
The rest of Libya is a no-man’s land, with fragmented fiefdoms ruled for their own profit by extremist groups and chieftains.
The United Nations still thinks it’s possible to convene a national reconciliation conference and to convoke elections that would lead to an effective government.
However, the terrible destruction and fragmentation of the Libyan nation is so far preventing such a goal, which remains nothing but an illusion.
Libya was a prosperous nation until the greed of the Western powers, anxious to control its huge oil reserves, turned that North African nation into a hell on Earth.
Huge oil reserves. Sound familiar? Of course. This is also the reason behind the current onslaught against Venezuela. It is imperialist greed that is planning to destroy our sister nation of Venezuela, just as the United States and its allies did in Libya.
Do not believe in so-called humanitarian reasons. The real reason is greed for oil, of which Venezuela is the owner of one of the most important reserves in the world. Do not let imperialist propaganda lie shamelessly. Hands off Venezuela! Remember Libya!
