This is a short account of Libya, mainly after the arrival of Colonel Gaddafi in 1969, its history post Ottoman Empire, post-Italian rule and post-war. In 1945 when the world was finally putting away its weapons and picking up instead debris to clean away the ruins of communities the pride of ignorant men had brought about, other movements were beginning to take shape. There was an opportunity to build freedom and independence from colonial rule. Some of these were attained through aggression or in the case of Libya, for the first time ever, through the new United Nations organisation.

It must be noted first of all however that after this destructive war in which Italy had played an aggressive role under Mussolini, and France had been occupied by nazi Germany, these two nations, despite having had time to consider their own misfortunes, immediately sought to seize or continue to control other countries. I cannot imagine what kind of people would think like that. Imagine a man, stumbling home from the pub where he has just been beaten up, walks into another person’s home and tries to kick them out. That was France and Italy.

It didn’t work out for them on this occasion and Libya achieved its independence with the return of Emir Idris from exile.

Gaddafi is a complicated and controversial figure. In the end he was disliked by many of his countryfolk, much like Bashar Assad in Syria at the moment. Gaddafi was occasionally embraced by western leaders, in the end he was killed by them. His country has since fallen into endless domestic conflict, the people live in uncertainty and poverty, they have no access to water, and warlords rule over natural resources. Would Libya have been better off under Gaddafi? Nobody can answer that question. Do the nations that instigate regime change have a direct responsibility to the people of that nation? Absolutely. Do the people of those nations have an irrefutable right to the profits of the resources taken from their lands by foreign powers? Even more so.

Our world is not a just one. International politics may have laws, but they lack dignity and respect because those laws are not enforced.

We argue for better. Thank you Esheru for your time and insight.

TwoandaMic clocking out…

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PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content...!