Libya’s chaos, direct result of US foreign policy: Analyst

Press TV has interviewed Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of Pan African News Wire in Detroit, to discuss the recent clashes between forces of the internationally-recognized government in Libya and militants in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Well Libya as I read has been in constant turmoil now since 2011. What is it going to take now to bring stability back to Libya?

Azikiwe: As I said over this network over a week ago that the agreement which the two regimes, the one in Tripoli and the other one in Tobruk have had imposed upon them excludes hundreds of other political interests within Libya itself. And we are seeing this surface over the last several days in Ajdabiya and as well as in other parts of the country. In the south there is a situation now where other groups are clashing over control in that region as well.  

So this by no means, this imposed agreement and the plans to deploy some 6,000 Italian led troops inside the country is not necessarily going to be the best for the future of Libya.

Press TV: What do you think needs to be done? Do you think that there should be an international force on the ground or there should not or it is something that should be resolved by Libyans themselves? What is the key at this point in time?  

Azikiwe: Well until the people inside of Libya can come together and agree upon a genuine national unity government, these conflicts will continue. These are efforts that have been put forward largely by the United Nations under the direction of Martin Kobler, the German diplomat who is involved in Iraq, the current turmoil that exists there and also the Democratic Republic of Congo where there has been constant conflict over the last 55 years.

So these are the same interests who are continuing to attempt to impose the will of Wall Street, of the Pentagon, of NATO on all of these African and Middle Eastern states and this will go on until the people themselves rise up and exclude these Western interests.

The US now is sending Special Forces into Libya. The British is going to send 1,000 troops into the country as well. The Italians, the former colonial power are leading a 6,000 person military force to ostensibly bring peace and security to the country.

Press TV: What do they really want? So what do these Western entities really want out of Libya at this point in time?  

Azikiwe: They want to control; they want to safeguard the gateway to southern central Eastern Europe. Libya now is a major source of human trafficking of political and military instability throughout northwest Africa, the Middle East so they want to try to regain control of these areas but it is the direct result of US foreign policy that has created this type of chaos and this type of disorder. 

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