the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 31, 2011
On October 23rd, three days after Qaddafi’s execution, the leaders of the Transitional National Council (TNC), in front of tens of thousands of Libyans rallying in Benghazi, officially proclaimed “Free Libya” and announced “the end of the revolution.”
The “road map” published by the TNC last August said that after the fall of the Qaddafi regime, a “transitional” government would be set up within a month, there would be an election in eight months for an assembly that would adopt a new Constitution, and general elections would be held in a year.
But without waiting, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the president of the TNC, laid his cards on the table. He announced, “As a Muslim nation, we have adopted Islamic Sharia as the source of law. Any law contradicting Islamic principles is declared void.” So, “the law on divorce and marriage”–meaning the law prohibiting polygamy and allowing divorce–is “contrary to Islam. It is against Sharia and is no longer in force.” It is clear that there will be no democracy or transition for Libyan women. They are being kicked backward! Nor does this announcement signal anything good for the Libyan people as a whole.
This Transitional National Council, the self-proclaimed “sole representative of the Libyan people,” hardly comes to the table with clean hands. It is presided over by an old Qaddafi Justice Minister. It is made up of leading partisans of the old monarchy and those who only yesterday repudiated Qaddafi, and Islamic radicals, tribal chiefs and technocrats educated in the U.S. The imperialist leaders, well aware what such a “transition” implies, gave the TNC its legitimacy.
The governments of the big imperialist powers that intervened militarily in Libya aren’t worried about the condition of Libyan women or of the Libyan people in general. The only objective of the war they carried out in Libya, carrying out massive bombing to support the “insurgents,” was to open up markets for their manufacturers. U.S. corporations, Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, Halliburton, Boeing and Caterpillar are all interested. So are the French companies Total, Vinci, Bouygues, GDF Suez, Lafarge and Alstom. The British company Trango Special Projects offers its services to companies wanting to cash in. What does it matter if the promised “democracy” means a retreat toward the Middle Ages for women?
Billions are to be had from Libya!