INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS:

I write these words in the context of what may be a "low point" of the uprising of Arab people for the sort of "democracy" that most of us in the western world take for granted. As I write this Saudi Arabian troops are commiting murder on protesters in Bahrain and the Gadaffi forces seem to be winning in Libya. One will have to see how the very belated "no fly zone" voted for by the UN Security Council actually plays out at this late date in the struggle. Certain pundits have expressed the opinion that Gadaffi expects that western powers will eventually come to terms with his possible victory because "they are whores for his oil". Very possible. In the case of Bahrain this is even more so as NO western power would be willing to challenge Saudi Arabia's actions.

Will the Arab revolutions lead to any essential change in the class structures of the countries involved ? I think that has pretty well be answered by the results of the "successful" revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. In the first case a lot of the original kleptocracy supported by a newly invigorated police force (raises in pay ?) continues to rule and attacks a diminished opposition. In the second case efforts by the Egyptian working class have been met by repression on the part of the new government- a coalition of military officers who have financial interests in maintaining the present class system in Egypt MINUS Mubarak.

I most certainly intend to write more on this because it bears on very important questions that both proponents and opponents of "revolution" in the modern world rarely think about. So....more later.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS LIBYA MALTA:

POLITICAL ASYLUM FOR PILOTS WHO REFUSE GADDAFI'S ORDERS:

As the revolution in Libya seems set to extend into a brutal civil war Gaddafi seems intent on an unparalleled series of brutal attacks on his own people. The use of foreign mercenaries is part of this as is his use of the Libyan airforce to attack rebel held areas. One of the more hopeful developments is that many Libyan soldiers are refusing to participate in these massacres. This includes two Libyan airmen who flew their planes to Malta rather than participate in the massacres. To date they have not been granted asylum by the Maltese government. There is a petition on the Change.org site urging that the Maltese authorities grant their request. Here is the story.

LMLMLMLMLM
How to stop the bombing of civilians in Libya‏
Ask Malta to grant asylum to Libyan pilots who refused to murder protesters.


While the situation in Libya may seem out of control, there is a very real opportunity for us to make a difference and protect civilian lives.

Here’s how: last week, two Libyan pilots were ordered to bomb civilian protesters by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. They faced an unimaginable choice: bomb their countrymen or face likely execution if they returned without carrying out the attacks. Instead, they found a third option - flying their planes out of Libya and defecting to the nearby island nation of Malta. In doing so, they saved the lives of untold numbers of their fellow Libyans.

But now Malta's Refugee Commissioner Mario Guido Friggieri and President George Abela have refused to say whether they will give these pilots asylum. If the pilots are sent back to Libya, they will likely be executed. That outcome would also prevent military pilots and ship captains who receive similar orders from trying to save their own lives and the lives of their fellow Libyans.

A grassroots Libyan group called ENOUGH! has started a petition on Change.org to pressure the Maltese government to grant asylum to these two pilots, which will mean saving their lives and possibly preventing future attacks on civilians.

Tell Malta's government to grant asylum to the Libyan pilots who risked their own lives to save the lives of strangers:

http://www.change.org/petitions/malta-save-libyan-civilians-and-grant-asylum-to-libyan-pilots?alert_id=lGtdcCxxyD_JrvHRjFBFC&me=aa

We believe we can win this campaign and save the lives of these two pilots –– and perhaps many other Libyans if this helps to encourage more pilots and ship captains to refuse to attack civilians. If we succeed, we’ll work to spread the word in Libya that no one needs to die when soldiers are ordered to kill civilians.

Malta’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, so public international opinion will mean more to its government than it does to most countries. But winning will take a massive outcry -- and with Gaddafi's violent attacks increasing in a desperate attempt to maintain power, every hour matters. Please sign the petition now:

http://www.change.org/petitions/malta-save-libyan-civilians-and-grant-asylum-to-libyan-pilots?alert_id=lGtdcCxxyD_JrvHRjFBFC&me=aa

Thank you for taking action,

HUMAN RIGHTS-EUROPE/LIBYA:

PETITION AGAINST MIGRANT DETENTION CAMPS:

The following is for our European readers.the pseudo-socialist regime of Libya has long held intercepted African emigrants trying to make their way to Europe in hellish conditions, both for reasons of their own racism and to curry favour with European governments of a similar flavour. The following from the Fortress Europe site asks you to petition to end this atrocity.

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Libya: sign the petition against migrants detention camps:
Fortress Europe support the campaign for an international investigation on the detention conditions of migrants and refugees arrested in Libya on their way to Europe. The petition was launched by the directors of the documentary Come un uomo sulla terra. You can sign directly on this page. If you want you can also ask for signatures in your own town, downloading here the paper in Pdf version. After you'll have collected the signatures, contact the directors by email writing to

comeunuomosullaterra@zalab.org

TO:

*the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy- Hon. Gianfranco Fini

*the Speaker of the Italian Senate- Hon Renato Schifani

*the President of the European Parliament – Mr Hans G. Poettering

*the President of the European Commission – Mr. José M. Barroso

*the Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security- Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Jacques Barrot

*the UN High Commissioner for Refugees- Mr. Antonio Guterres

After listening or reading (thanks to the documentary film COME UN UOMO SULLA TERRA) the stories told by African refugees residing in Italy about their journey through Libya,The undersigned

Believe it is necessary to bring to a halt the violence against thousands of human beings arrested and deported by the Libyan police, to prevent their migration to Europe

Believe that Italy’s responsibility in this framework must be clearly stated. Considering the well- know bilateral agreements entered into by the Italian Government since 2004 whereby Italy provides financial and technical support to Libya for the “control of illegal migration flows”

With this petition we call upon

THE ITALIAN PARLIAMENT AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES

To promote the establishment of an independent, international committee of enquiry to investigate the procedure for the control of migratory flows in Libya, under the terms of the bilateral agreement with the Italian Government.

In light of this emergency to rapidly send an international humanitarian mission to Libya to verify the conditions of detainees in the prisons and the detention centres for foreigners.