Libya: Time of change, or oil discounts?

Published time: September 01, 2011 17:04
Edited time: September 02, 2011 08:02
A Libyan elderly man waves the rebellion's flag as residents of Tripoli tour the destroyed Bab al-Aziziyah former headquarters of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on September 1, 2011, as rebel forces freshly installed in Tripoli braced for possible attacks from the remnants of Kadhafi's supporters on the 42nd anniversary of his rise to power (AFP Photo / Mahmud Turkia)
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As the “Friends of Libya” conference kicked off in Paris, debate is growing over whether world leaders are seeking to rob the country of its assets or lend a hand to the people of Libya in their struggle for democracy.

­RT turned to experienced diplomats to examine what the conference in Paris may bring to Libya.

Oliver Miles, the UK’s ambassador to Libya in 1984, hopes that the international community will unfreeze the billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets and take all measures to prevent a humanitarian disaster.

Libya is a very unusual economy,” he said. “It depends entirely on oil production and the money coming from oil sales. Right now, there is no money coming from oil sales, because there are none of them, and they have no ability to touch their oil reserves. The second point about the Libyan economy is that a huge proportion of the workforce has been employed by the state. Right now, the state cannot pay them. If this situation continues, it will lead to a collapse.”

Miles strongly believes that the Libyan people now have a chance to build a decent new country.

It is really time they had a break” from over 100 years of dominance, first by Mussolini and then by Gaddafi, he stated.  

A far different stance was taken by Mohamed Hassan, a former Ethiopian diplomat. Hassan says that the “Friends of Libya” conference in Paris has nothing to do with the interests of the Libyan people.

It is just a conference to redistribute the wealth of Libya. It is not self-determination of the Libyan people,” he told RT. “I don’t see any change for the Libyan people.

The former diplomat hopes the Libyans will continue “resistance to NATO’s forces” to stop “the international robbery” of the country in what he called a general “re-colonization of Africa.


­Washington-based scholar Ivan Eland says oil is always in the background.

­“I think France might have been out after the oil – and… they are going to get the oil,” he said. “Also, France was desiring to improve its status in the world.”


Comments (5)

Bianca 05.09.2011 10:24

When will RT writers catch a clue.  This is probably the only site left on planet (other then neocon sites in US),  that is still using puky phrases, such as Libyan people wanting "democracy". &n bsp; Nobody asked Libyan people what they wanted.  Several tribes of the East got armed and with the help of NATO airforce, crushed the rest of Libya.   Nobody has ever asked them for their opinion.   The self-serving proclamations of the ruling hunta that now everyone is treating as heros, cannot be listened to with a straight face.  So, please, pretty please,  move on with the times,  as smell the stink of the world. People want better life, people are sick of corruption on all levels, people are sick of not being able meet ends and provide minimum for their families, while others throw around the wealth.  We have ourselves witnessed such a shamefull display.  At the time millions are loosing homes due to the crooked variable rate mortgages that were not allowed to be refinanced,  the bankers got billions in "help" from Federal Reserve, their private sector buddies that can sell US down the river.  And having received this "help"  proceeded to give themselves billions of bonuses, as a collective finger to the rest of us.   Do I care about democracy? &nbs p; What democracy?  Every politician is  bought,  justice system in the clutches of corporations and banks.  While the middle class is crushed, with worse yet to come.  How would democracy help me, or an ordinary Egyptian, or anybody in Libya?   It won't.  For as long as the economy of any country, and its monetary system is in the clutches of a few,  we can only hope that the upcoming feudalism will not be very brutal. 

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Bianca 05.09.2011 00:42

Perhaps, Oily Friends of Lybia.   Since Trump bragged on TV how he stole Gadhafi money,  can the new Government sue him?   Hmm.  But there is no way to sue anyone in New York.  The money that goes there, stays there. 

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Benjy 02.09.2011 10:43

   &n bsp;   Never in human history has a rebellion attracted so many 'friends.' What an amazing accolade. 'Friends of Libya.' It could either be 'Fairweather friends of Libya', 'Moneyweather friends of Libya' or better still, 'Oil friends of Libya.' The phenomenon of everyone befriending Libya is unprecedented. &nbs p;       Any man of substance could tell you that with wealth comes friends of all sorts, and some of them you couldn't even know their names. It's so amazing how easy c ountries like Greece so willingly, woul d want to help Libya and forget about their own people. The irony of all these is: Libya is not in debt and countries trying so hard to be heard to help it are up to the neck in debt! 

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