New Libya Approved at UN: Focus on Dissenters

September 17, 2011

As we've seen, the Western portion of the UN's main members, the US, UK, and France, effectively recognized the new Libyan leadership before it quite existed, back in February (and in France's case at least, since about November 2010). Now they've been formally approved, nearly seven month later, to formally take Libya's seat and speak for them (the interim recognition to Mr. Dabbashi and Mr. Shalgham was only good enough to have a request for bombardment of their country granted).

What I found worth sharing from this vote was the reasons given. Along the way, we see more "anti-American" leaders saying the same kind of thing Gaddafi used to say. Look out Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Congo, Losotho, Kenya, Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua... seven others (Syria? You know you're next). We can pick you off one by one.

From: Zimbabwe, South Africa snub Libyan rebels at UN
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/news-6071-Zim,%20SA%20snub%20Libya%20rebels%20at%20UN/news.aspx

ZIMBABWE and South Africa stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Friday in refusing to recognise the Libyan Transitional National Council [...] Fifteen countries, including Saudi Arabia, abstained from the vote.

Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Lesotho were some of the SADC [Southern African Development Community] countries who voted in opposition to granting a UN seat for the rebels who took power with the help of military firepower from western countries led by France, Britain and the United States.

They were joined in this cause by Kenya and Latin American countries including Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has been on the record saying the Libyan uprising was a false revolution engineered by "vampires" that seek to drain the North African country's oil.
“We do not agree with the form of government that was in Libya," Mugabe said. "We looked forward to it reforming its system in its own way, not in the way they (the West) desire."

Nicaragua said it objected because the Libyan revolution against Gaddafi was backed by NATO and it was "not a real revolution."
"Revolution cannot be but authentic, not made by proxy or can never be seized by a cupola of states with clear hegemonic interests," said the Nicaraguan envoy Maria de Chamorro.

Venezuela's ambassador, Jorge Valero, called Libya's rebel leadership "a group under the guidance of the United States and NATO which has no legal or moral authority."

Cuba's ambassador Pedro Nunez Mosquera said NATO had staged "a military operation to change the regime to promote their political and economic interests." He said "thousands" of civilians have been killed in NATO airstrikes since March.