Aljazeera Opinion piece: "Sovereign Libya: A letter to Vladimir Putin"

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/04/2011428134937111186.html



"Look at the map of this region, there are monarchies all around," you said. "What do you think they are - Danish-style democracies? No. There are monarchies everywhere, and this basically corresponds with the mentality of the people, as well as long-standing practice." How right you are to affirm our "long-standing practice" of despotic rule. And how convenient that you chose to disregard the "mentality" of millions of people throughout the Arab world who have demonstrated for democracy, human rights, dignity - and for an end to these "monarchies". To say nothing of the thousands who have paid for these calls with their lives speaks volumes.

You expressed concern that the intervention violated Libya's sovereignty, and that it went against the wishes of the Libyan people. But who are you, Mr Putin, to speak about the wishes of the Libyan people? And at what cost should this notion of "national sovereignty" be defended? I highly doubt that most Libyans subscribe to the twisted logic that regards the sovereignty of an illegitimate ruler as sacrosanct, particularly after your said "sovereign" decides to exterminate large numbers of his own population.

"I do not like it," you said of the intervention. In that case, please accept our sincerest apologies. Perhaps the Libyan people and the international community should have considered your feelings when deciding how to react to the gunning down of protesters from Tripoli to Benghazi; and to the massacre at Az Zawiya, the bombardment of Misurata, and the positioning of Gaddafi's tanks on Benghazi's doorstep.

No reasonable person is suggesting that Western nations aren't motivated to some extent by selfish interests in Libya, but please do not pretend that you have the interests of the Libyan people at heart, or that your opposition to international action against the Libyan regime is not equally motivated by Russian economic interests in the country. Weeks ago, your ambassador to Libya, Vladimir Chamov, called the impending intervention, "a betrayal of Russian interests". While Sergei Chemezov, director of the Russian state company in charge of weapons exports, warned that Russian companies stood to lose billions of dollars in cancelled weapons contracts.

He does get half a point for being against monarchies, and I can't say that I disagree, as I would oppose any concentration of power. Though it's hard to imagine more power concentrated in any current monarchy than the Gaddafi family has in theirs. The thought that it would be passed down to idiot son #2 is unsettling. I should think the world has seen enough of idiot sons.

There was something in this rant Putin just couldn't quite say; he couldn't quite get to the verb. I think he misses the cold war, poor boy. Those we the days when people stayed onside: theories and conspiracies intact, nearly unlimited weapons sales, proxies all lined up, spies on spies, deals to be cut, continents divided. Even the almost post-cold war on tera wasn't so bad for him.

Now it's just all messed up, his legacy rejected, cold-war Arab artifacts tossed out. But he couldn't just sit down and have a good cry about it though, oh no, he has to vent his elder frustration on people who've almost forgotten his name.

And to think that cosmopolitan young Arabs want nothing of it. Freedom? Humbug, how ungrateful.