Osama Fathy Ashour, the 29 year old rebel fighter in Libya is dead. Mourners are praying at his funeral. Its a ritual now. A sacred duty to offer condolence, lament, grieve in pain and yet continue the fight. How many more rebels will be sacrificed, we dont know.
Moving towards the international and regional politics involved in the country, the past few weeks have witnessed a lot of globetrotters,speeches, funding hopes and yes, bombings.
‘NATO’s stand’
‘One piece of human intelligence is not enough,’ says one of the sources from the private security companies who are helping NATO to identify and target the movements of Colonel Gadaffi supporters in Misrata, Libya.
Currently, Libyan government has started accusing the NATO for killing the 718 civilians. Also, more than 4000 civilians have been injured due to the air strikes.
When I asked David Heathfiel, video journalist from NatoChannel. TV, he had stated that everything can not be bombed in Libya by the Nato. With the blame game starting in such a stupendous manner against the entire force, there needs to be this acceptance that at some point, even Nato, irrespective of how flawless it seems, does have its own limitations.
‘Libya: how we see it’
In February, it seemed like a country which would imitate the Tunisian and Egyptian independence. Today, it has become just another story lost in the commercial pages of newspapers. People have stopped talking about it. Even if they do, the superficiality becomes evident. No one cares. Its becoming like Afghanistan where the war in itself became anonymous after some time.
Opinions are changing and so is the pursuit for it.
‘Gadaffi will not go’
However, the Libyan TV has recently broadcasted pictures of Colonel Gadaffi while having conversation with South African President Jacob Zuma. Their talks have been summoned as ‘inconclusive’. Initially, what seemed like an agreement to ceasefire is now once again, just proving to be the same old rut.
On the other hand, President Barack Obama and British PM Cameron have stated their reluctance against ‘boots on the ground.’ With US calling the soldiers back from Afghanistan in the coming months, definitely another military pursuit in another Islamic country might demand a greater price to pay.
Though, Hillary Clinton plans to visit the UAE on 9th June to hold talks with countries backing Libyan rebels.
‘Technology and Libya’
In a discussion with Tim Weber, the business editor in BBC, one point became clear. If in today’s social networking sparked revolution, Libya and other countries like it, have the boon and bane of technology, side by side.
Everyone stated that technology can be harnessed for knowing more information about the middle eastern conflict. But then, Tim also made me realise that if we are talking about technology, then so are those dictators who are ruling over the masses.
Its no doubt, a double edged sword.
Credit: Photo from Reuters
shubhdachaudhary 