Growing Opposition to Military Intervention in Libya

[Hannah Bell]

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 28, 2011 (IPS) -

Latin America is still divided over the military intervention in Libya. But the nations that were initially opposed to it are gradually hardening their stance as the objective of the Western powers taking part in the air strikes authorised by the U.N. Security Council to protect civilians becomes less and less clear.

According to left-wing (Brazilian) President Dilma Rousseff, the military intervention is causing what was feared when Brazil abstained in the vote: instead of protecting civilians, the air strikes are causing victims...

In neighbouring Argentina, where the government had issued no statement either for or against the military intervention, Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman wrote on Twitter on Mar. 21 that the air strikes were carried out before "all available diplomatic means were exhausted..." The left-wing governments of Uruguay and Paraguay have also expressed positions similar to the ones taken by Brasilia and Buenos Aires.

The countries belonging to the ALBA trade bloc, in line with the position taken by Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chávez, have roundly condemned the air strikes, which they say are based on U.S. and European interest in Libya's oil, and on the desire to curb the expansion of Arab revolutionary movements...At the other end of the spectrum, in favour of the intervention in Libya, are Colombia, Peru and Chile – the only right-leaning governments in South America – as well as Mexico, whose government issued "a call to Libya's authorities to put an immediate halt to the grave and massive violations of the human rights of the civilian population."

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55033

[David__77]

1. Most of the world's governments want a cease-fire on all sides.

India, Indonesia, China, Sri Lanka, on and on. There are some Arab and Western governments that are hard-line for regime change, and some African governments that are hardline pro-Gaddafi, but most are somewhere in between.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. Most countries are smart enough not to get involved in this mess.

[Wilms]

3. K&R n/t

;)

[Catherina]

4. Good. Rec'd n/t