The Gaddafi Editorial

Its [now] about [10:53] [and am over the 8:25 euphoria of hearing the news]. Then, like now, grad school lethargy caroused my veins; my right eye, like it still does, hurt. And I also moved to Beethoven’s ‘Midnight Sonata’ away from George Benson. Gaddafi is, indeed, dead. And this editorial can now confirm with almost certainty that he is. I, thus, find that I must write a more serious piece to document an important era in international relations.

With temerity, [for this is now 1:43 pm], there is no doubt that Gaddafi’s Saddamisque demise was inevitable. However, what we need to keep in focus is that at the hands of the Americans, another African dictator has gone down the tubes. Was Saddam a dictator? Yes. Was Gaddafi a dictator? Yes. Stalin was a brutal dictator according to his people. But Hitler was not considered a dictator to the majority to his own people. He actually hoped to create a bigger space for them in the world of Post World War One Germany. Now, if he had not gone and done the damage he did to the Jews, there is a chance that we would be telling a different story of that infamous blight on humanity!

The thesis here is that people want someone who is on their side. If Gaddafi’s Libya had been about distributing the wealth of his land as equitably as it was supposed to be, there is a chance that his deposition would have been a little gentler. People expect to be catered to. Libyans like the Egyptians and Iraqis and Syrians expect someone to be accountable to them through their stomachs. Yes … They want to have elections and all the trappings of modern day democracy. But more importantly, they want to eat and send their children to school while driving or walking on paved roads. A little pressure from the government to get people to stop protesting might be endured if people can work and do what they have to do to provide for their people. If you want an example, look at China. After learning from the lessons of the Great Leap forward, they have perfected the art of staying in power and also giving the people what they want.

That is why I talked about Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni earlier. Then, this is what I said:

What must Yoweri Museveni of Uganda think? Is this leader not one of the longest serving heads of state on the African continent? Is he not going through the symptoms of having stayed in power too long? Aren’t his people falling on their corrupt swords one by one? Do the bells toll for him too? In simple terms, first, Egypt’s Mubarak went out of the window AND now, Tripoli does not belong to the Gaddafis anymore!

Earlier, at 11:04 am, I thought of my 8:45 instincts – and still feel like my instincts were right. Then, like now, I enthusiastically, welcomed the news of Gaddafi’s untimely [really?] end. Of course, I do not wish brutal death upon anyone and besides, those who cause untold suffering on others should not be taken out in the same way that they meted out their forms of justice or distribution or leadership. Besides, as a pacifist, I do not wish harm on anyone. BUT – and this is a HUGE but – there are times that leaders lead others down rabbit holes that warrant punishment. Is retributive justice the kind of thing that will make the world go round? I do not think so. It is, nonetheless, practiced in all parts of the world. People have gone to jail. Yugoslavia’s Milosevic was the first former leader tried at the International Criminal Court and this set the precedence for Liberia’s Charles Taylor. He still, we hope, spends his days in an 8 X 6 – waiting for his next day in court. He is still alive and probably causes other leaders of ilk a gnashing of teeth. Those days of waiting and not knowing – a certain uncertainty – can be a punishment worse than death for someone who was sure before and a master of his and the destinies of others. But if a former leader is dead and buried, leaders and we, ourselves, are quick to forget.

Do human beings learn from the past? Well … If you do not show them the consequences, then they are wont to forget as easily. And so my response is that future leaders do not really learn from the past. They try not to do what their forefathers did – but most of them end up in the default position. Prof. Arnold Ludwig’s ‘King of the Mountain’ tells an even better story than I can even start to muster.

In this regard, I am not too sure that Museveni will look for proper right and fitting exit strategies after watching Tripoli fall and might become even more intransigent. Leaders such as Museveni usually repeat the mistakes of their bedfellows because the ghosts of leadership and governance are strong. Even China repeats the same mistakes from the time they were known as the Middle Kingdom.

But if we are to take into consideration what the world needs to do to those who abuse human rights, we shall all embrace what the US is doing in Uganda. They are helping that country get Joseph Kony. They want to do what Angola did to Jonas Savimbi. This is excellent stuff – although it might be more geopolitical a decision than based on human rights. Uganda, you see, has discovered oil – and conspiracy theories are rife with the protection of this black gold. Maybe Uganda will escape the curse of Kony and also, the resource curse. But that is for another day. This American intervention in Uganda – in the same way as they led the anti Gaddafi shindig from behind – should be the way to deal with those who abuse human security. Of course, if America acceded to the International Criminal Court statute, they might look towards north and arrest the President of Sudan [please note that in a diaphanous attempt at future deniability, I am not specifying which Sudan.

Earlier, I was in the throes of partisan thoughts. But on the whole, the fact is that while Gaddafi will continue to haunt Libya till the cows come home, he might actually be considered no more. May his soul rest in peace if he is no longer with us. However, may his spirit become the banshee [with his feminine like delicate looks and flowing hair] that screams at those who fail to ensure the security of their country men and women and children.

Dennis Matanda
Editor