OUGANDA: Museveni attacks West over Libya

Kampala

President Museveni has hit out at members of the United Nations Security Council who voted in support of imposing a no-fly-zone over Libya, describing their actions as evidence of the “double standards” that they employ on countries where their interests are threatened.

Writing in a March 20, 2011 statement, which his office circulated a day after the UN Security Council rejected requests by the African Union (AU) High Level Ad-hoc Committee on Libya to fly to Tripoli to mediate between President Muammar Gaddafi and pro-democracy protestors, President Museveni warned that the habit of the Western countries abusing their technological superiority to impose war on less developed societies “without impeachable logic” could re-ignite an arms race in the world.

Mr Museveni argued that western countries were “very eager” to impose a no-fly zone on Libya yet in countries like Bahrain and other areas where there are pro-western regimes, they have turned a blind eye to similar or even worse conditions. “We have been appealing to the UN to impose a no-fly-zone over Somalia so as to impede the free movement of terrorists, linked to Al-Qaeda that killed Americans on September 11th, killed Ugandans last July and have caused so much damage to the Somalis, without success. Why? Are there no human beings in Somalia similar to the ones in Benghazi? Or is it because Somalia does not have oil which is not fully controlled by the western oil companies on account of Gaddafi’s nationalist posture?” he asked.

Expounding on his argument that the ongoing attacks on pro-Gaddafi forces could spark off an arms race, Mr Museveni said the actions of the Western countries in Iraq and now Libya are emphasising that might is “right.”

“I am quite sure that many countries that are able will scale up their military research and in a few decades we may have a more armed world. This weapons science is not magic. A small country like Israel is now a super power in terms of military technology. Yet 60 years ago, Israel had to buy second-hand fouga magister planes from France. There are many countries that can become small Israels if this trend of overusing military means by the Western countries continues,” he noted.

On the fate of the AU Mission to Libya, Mr Museveni said although it could not get to Tripoli due to the start of aerial attacks on Gaddafi’s forces a day before they were supposed to have travelled, it would continue at a yet-to-be-named date. “My opinion is that in addition to what the AU mission is doing, it may be important to call an extra-ordinary Summit of the AU in Addis Ababa to discuss this grave situation,” he added.

Mr Museveni, who began his statement by detailing where he thought Col. Gaddafi has gone wrong over the years, said since a significant number of Libyans now think that there is a problem in the way their country is governed, the Libyan leader should be ready to sit down with opposition groups under the mediation of the AU.
Source: Daily Monitor, Posted Tuesday, March 22 2011 at 00:00

Author: Benon Herbert Oluka  (email the author)