Stopping the Libyan Slaughter of Libyans

The final outcome of this conflict should determine the kind of institutional and operational structures within the African Union, which will should be kept alive. The African Union and its member states, cannot stand by and do nothing to forcefully stop the slaughter of Africans by their supposed government.

President Jonathan in Nigeria should step out and lead the AU out of its inaction on this matter. If he has any vision for change, he should use it now to move African states to finally repudiate the idea that a government, in the name of state sovereignty, can commit crimes against its citizens and not be held accountable by the international community. This is a time for leadership.

As things stand, whether the Qaddafi regime succeeds in keeping its hold on power or not, after this crisis, its legitimacy will be in tatters, and it does not have the kind of power that a China has in international politics, to ward off such a devastating blow in the international community, as China was able to do after the Tienanmen Square massacre in 1989.

President Obama, whose performance on this matter has been outrageously weak, should immediately move towards leading NATO members, to recognizing the provisional authority that the Libyan opposition is putting together, and to start a massive effort to both arm the opposition and to ensure that the Qaddafi regime does not survive.

I thank you.

Fubara David-West.