• by Johan Galtung
• Tuesday, March 29, 2011
• Inter Press Service

We are far from the Hippocratic oath in world affairs. What is happening now in Libya is intervention supporting one side against the other. This is normally called war, writes Johan Galtung, Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University and author of "A Theory of Conflict" and "A Theory of Development".

In this article, the author writes that the NATO action has confirmed the worst fears about the colonisers of Africa -UK, France, and Italy. To defeat Gaddafi and his supporters, NATO ground troops could be needed. True, President Obama is more multilateral than Bush. But the problem is not how many decide but what they decide.

There is nothing historical about UN Security Council Resolution 1973, passed on March 17. A resolution protecting civilians in all wars, including a no-fly zone over Gaza, Bahrain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, would have been historical. In Libya, there may be millions who dislike Gaddafi but like much of what he accomplished. The West may fall victim of its own one-country-one-person doctrine and commit yet another long-lasting, tragic crime against humanity. --

(*) Johan Galtung, Rector of the TRANSCEND Peace University, is author of "A Theory of Conflict" and "A Theory of Development" ( www.transcend.org/tup).

//NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN CANADA, CZECH REPUBLIC, IRELAND, POLAND, AND THE UNITED STATES//

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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