Dictators continue to crumble : Who's next?
2011 brought the unimaginable. A year ago, it was hard to imagine a world without Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Osama Bin Laden and Mu'ammar Gaddafi. Today, the death of Africa's longest reigning dictator has renewed the urgency and hope for the people in the region. The Arab spring is here to stay. Now everyone is asking, who's next? My predictions after the jump.
11:30p.m - Update : The following exclusive footage from Tracey Shelton of GlobalPost with more details about Gaddafi's death throws series roadblocks to the credibility of the National Transitional Council. So far, nothing that came from this group remained the same - their story always changes. Also, the way with which the rebels treated the former dictator worries me about the future and the much needed transition to democracy.
There is no question Gaddafi was a ruthless dictator but why not just shoot the man instead of beating, torturing, and dancing around his corpse? Moral standards? humanity? justice? principles? limits? Why do the new sheriffs in town, the so called NTC, keep changing their stories? Show me what the future of democracy looks like?
This is so dispiriting and takes the focus away from the bigger picture. The fact that Human Rights groups are denied access says it all. A glimpse of things to come from the new sheriffs in town - the liberators?
Gaddafi dead: Video of leader's initial capture (EXCLUSIVE)In this exclusive footage obtained on the scene by Tracey Shelton of GlobalPost, Col. Muammar Gaddafi is caught by fighters for the new Libyan government. The shock discovery of the former dictator, found cowering in a water drain on Thursday in his hometown of Sirte, was captured by Ali Algadi, a rebel fighter, with an iPhone just seconds after Gaddafi was dragged from the drain he was hiding in.Global Post: "One of Muammar Gaddafi"s few friends on the international stage has said that the former Libyan leader will be remembered "as a great fighter, a revolutionary and martyr."
Chavez on death of Gaddafi, a "martyr"CARACAS, Venezuela - One of Muammar al Gaddafi's few friends on the international stage has said that the former Libyan leader will be remembered "as a great fighter, a revolutionary and martyr." Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez described the killing of Gaddafi as a "murder," before slamming the U.S. and its allies.After dispatching commandos to protect Gaddafi early on when the
fighting in Libya started, Robert Mugabe, who vehemently opposed NATO's intervention, must be sad and terrified at the same time."China moved to embrace Libya's new government Friday after Moammar Gadhafi's death, updating its references to the former leader in state media -- from the "strongman" who defied the West to the "madman" whose time ran out."
Safe to assume the Chinese started smelling oil? Oh well, AU still beat them in recognizing the NTC. Blame it on time difference? Or wait, is there a time difference?
Which reminds me of an Oromo proverb : A dead lion is used as a trash bin [you can do whatever you want with the skin after you kill the powerful animal]. All this hypocrisy is sickening.China urges inclusive political process in Libya
China urges inclusive political process in Libya BEIJING (AP) - China said Friday that Moammar Gadhafi's death marks the turning of a page in Libya's history and called for the rapid launch of an inclusive political process and economic reconstruction.AU Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra: "Today, the decision which was passed on the 26th of August to suspend the participation of Libyan representatives in the activities of the AU has been lifted; therefore the current authorities, that is the NTC, are invited to take the seat of Libya at the AU, effective as of today."
Asked about the possible response from the NTC to the call by the AU, the Commissioner said: "I am sure that they would resume normal work with the AU; they belong here."
What a joke!Not everyone is celebrating it turns out : "This is a sad day for the people of Africa. This is the beginning of a new recolonization of Africa," said retired Major Cairo Mhandu, a Zanu-PF member of parliament.
Gaddafi praised as "an African hero" by Mugabe's partyGaddafi dead: Gaddafi praised as hero by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. Gaddafi is "an African hero," to members of Mugabe's Zanu-PF party but most other Zimbabweans celebrate Gaddafi's death. Many Zimbabweans say that Gaddafi was a dictator and that Gaddafi's death will weaken his ally Mugabe.Something to ponder : Africans need to reflect on the fall of Gaddafi and, before him, that of Gbagbo in Cote d'Ivoire. Will these events usher in an era of external interventions, each welcomed internally as a mechanism to ensure a change of political leadership in one country after another?
What does Gaddafi's fall mean for Africa?"Kampala 'mute' as Gaddafi falls," is how the opposition paper summed up the mood of this capital the morning after. Whether they mourn or celebrate, an unmistakable sense of trauma marks the African response to the fall of Gaddafi. Both in the longevity of his rule and in his style of governance, Gaddafi may have been extreme.Clearly, I was hours behind most of the world to learn about Gaddafi's death. My first reaction...
- Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District : never celebrate death
BBC on Gaddafi : "The Libyan leader paraded on the world stage with a style so unique and unpredictable that the words 'maverick' or 'eccentric' scarcely do him justice."
The Muammar Gaddafi storyHow can you adequately describe someone like Muammar Gaddafi? During a period that spanned six decades, the Libyan leader paraded on the world stage with a style so unique and unpredictable that the words "maverick" or "eccentric" scarcely do him justice.Exclusive Aljazeera footage shows what appears to be the dead body of former Libyan dictator Mo'ammar Gaddafi who was killed in Sirte, Libya. Rebels rejoice : God is Great!
Aljazeera looks back at Gaddafi's year's in power.
- On the question of who's next, OPride.com predicted as follows early in April 2011...how are we doing?
