March 19th marks 4 years since the start of NATO's military intervention in Libya, which ended in the murder of its leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Colonel Qaddafi came to power in 1969. Inspired by Egyptian leader Nasser´s nationalism and pan-arabism, his revolution took the motto “freedom, socialism, unity”. His government directed oil revenues to health care, housing, and education. Under Qaddafi, Libyans had among the highest per capita incomes and life expectancies in Africa.
For many years, Qaddafi was a strong supporter of Palestine, Western Sahara, and Latin American revolutionary forces such as Nicaragua´s Sandinistas.
Early in 2011, Libya was faced with a chaotic insurrection, partly inspired by the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, and partly led by Islamic fundamentalists. In March, NATO forces, mainly from France and Britain, began aerial bombardment on the pretext of protecting civilians. But the intervention sided with the rebels and armed them, in violation of the United Nations charter.
With NATO's help, the opposition forces occupied the capital and later carried out the extrajudicial killing of Qaddafi.
Since NATO´s “humanitarian intervention” and the murder of Qaddafi, the country´s territory has become a battleground between feuding warlords and islamic fundamentalist groups, including the Islamic State. Libya no longer has a functioning government, and the gains in public welfare under Qaddafi have been greatly diminished. [ Ссылка ]
