MPs can’t agree on Libyan events

PARLIAMENTARIANS in the National Assembly last week failed to reach an agreement on the significance of events in Libya for Namibia.

Nudo MP Arnold Tjihuko said the situation in Libya should serve as a learning point for Namibia, if one were to look at the causes of the uprising, namely unemployment and a lack of democracy.’Once we look at that and know where the causes were, that is where we as a country will be able to learn. If youngsters are unemployed and there is no future for them, that is where the problem begins,’ Tjihuko said.Minister of Presidential Affairs and Swapo MP Albert Kawana said there was a very simple reason behind the uprisings across the Arab world: the economic crisis that started in America spread to the Arab world with dire consequences as people there had ‘no food and no money’.Kawana said wherever there is injustice, people would not accept it, and gave as an example Namibia’s own liberation struggle. ‘For us it is the other way round, maybe those people learnt from us, the Arab world learnt from Southern Africa,’ Kawana said.DTA MP Phillemon Moongo questioned whether the National Assembly could come up with a democratic solution which would be able to save the lives of many civilians in Libya. Prime Minister Nahas Angula referred Moongo to the African Union (AU) roadmap on Libya, saying that the African position and that of the Namibian Government on the political crisis in Libya was clear.Swapo MP Peter Katjavivi turned his attention to foreign intervention in Libya, saying that the rebellion in that country is actively facilitated by foreign forces in an attempt to bring about regime change. ‘The initial uprising may have been prompted by real issues, however it is becoming obvious to everyone that foreign interests have now taken over the situation in Libya,’ Katjavivi said.He said questions had been asked over the role of the AU in the Libyan political crisis, as well as over United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973.’It is clear from most accounts presented to us that the same resolution represents a step backwards to the whole idea of freeing the African continent from foreign influence,’ Katjavivi said.These sentiments were shared by Justice Minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, who said those who initially supported the resolution were unaware of the extent to which it would be implemented. ‘We now know that the resolution has been hijacked,’ Iivula-Ithana said and asked whether it was possible for countries to negotiate for a new resolution to be introduced to ‘facilitate the stoppage of the destruction of Libya’.Tjihuiko drew attention to ‘the problem of being dictated upon by outsiders’ as one which should be of concern to all African leaders. The Nudo MP further drew attention to the problem created by division among African leaders, saying that because of this, ‘we have created a situation whereby anyone can come in and create more confusion.’The debate is set to continue in the National Assembly this week.