WHERE NEXT AFTER REVOLUTION IN LIBYA?

LIBYA’S PUSH TO get rid of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi is definitely one of the biggest news stories this year. It started with ex-servicemen in a small north-eastern town of Benghazi leading gatherings of no more than a thousand demonstrators around town shouting anti-Gaddafi slogans and shooting in the air. And has now blown into a serous revolutionary movement that will depose Colonel Muammar Gaddafi very soon, I believe. Before successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt earlier in the year, all seemed pretty quiet throughout Libya. Almost everybody went about their affairs without much, if not any, clamour against their leader. And it would be good to note that the kind of uncharacteristic silence witnessed then was a product of Gaddafi’s vicious handling of all those who dared oppose his rule over the years. Without a well defined or structured constitution, he has been at the centre of everything – running the government, the military and scheming how education is administered especially to young Libyans. With this kind of personality, it is therefore not a surprise that he has been heard on many occasions referring to himself as the ‘King of Kings’. But sadly for him, his rule is now under siege. And it is only a matter of time before it all falls to the ground.

National Transitional Council – NTC has done itself a great job. Launching a battle against a 42 year old regime with ex-servicemen holding rusted guns and jobless youth with zero military knowledge and experience is something that can only be described as ‘suicidal’. But inshallah (God willing) as NTC rebels often say before heading out to attack Gaddafi’s army, it is clear that they are going for nothing other than victory. They have since made it to the capital, Tripoli – Gaddafi’s nerve centre. And good luck to them. Now as advocates of democracy from all over the world storm the cyberspace and other avenues at their reach with best wishes to all Libyans and the NTC, let’s not forget that there are still a number of systems out there that have no respect whatsoever for humanity – judging from the way they treat their citizens. What such countries need from the international community is strong reaffirmation to them that they are not alone and an urge to stand up against their oppressive systems. In Africa, for example, Sudan is a good example of a country in urgent need of regime change. Its ruler General Omar El Bashir is not only a fugitive wanted at the International Criminal Court – ICC over war crimes in Darfur and Abyei but is also an individual who has succeeded in amending the constitution in a way that I have no doubt will help him remain president of Sudan as long as he remains alive. Zimbabwe would be my next African country to worry about. But first I must admit things seem pretty calm at the moment with coalition government in place bringing together Robert Mugabe – the independence hero turned dictator and Morgan Tsvangirai – the official opposition leader. My worry over Zimbabwe, however, has everything to do with Mugabe’s failure to show commitment in repealing sections of the country’s constitutions that he had designed years back to ensure that his stay as the country’s president remains unchallengeable. He is also not willing to cede more powers to Tsvangirai as he should inline with coalition arrangement. Cameroon’s Paul Biya, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, Congo-Brazzaville’s Sassou Nguesso, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Nguema and Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré – have also ruled for a very long time to offer anything new. There is nothing they claim they can offer now that they have not had a chance for in their over 20 years rule.

            Elsewhere far beyond Africa’s borders we find Myanmar and North Korea. I specifically chose these two countries because I think, if there is such a thing as a ‘barbaric regime’, then the regimes of these two countries are the most barbaric. In fact, these particular regimes have been far much worse than Libya under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. And if it were a case of ‘worst problems first’ it would have looked fair if NATO and the UN hold the stand they now have over Libya first in either Myanmar or North Korea. But again I’m quick to absolve my wishful thinking since I know that for NATO or the UN to help with deposing a regime first the masses from that particular country must stand up against their regime in one voice.