Malaysian socialists: `Stop brutal massacre in Libya NOW! Power to the people of the Arab world!

Solidarity statement by the Socialist Party of Malaysia with the people's uprising in Libya and the rest of Arab world against authoritarian regimes

February 22, 2011 – The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) condemns the brutal repression committed by Muammar al-Gaddafi’s regime against its people who revolt against injustices and corruptions.

Gaddafi’s regime declared war on its people when Gaddafi’s son, Saif El Islam Gaddafi, threatened to “to fight to the last minute, until the last bullet”. Gaddafi even ordered fighter jets to attack parts of the capital city, Tripoli. Most of the killings have been in Benghazi on the north-east coast, Libya’s second largest city, where there has been massive uprisings of people since February 15, 2011.

Due to the government’s censorship, the actual death toll still yet to confirmed but according to some reports more than 600 may have been killed in the murderous crackdown on civil disobedience.

Gaddafi may hide behind his “revolutionary past” by employing “anti-imperialist” rhetoric, but the fact is Libya has moved toward collusion with Western capitalists in recent years when it opened up its economy for foreign investment, especially in energy sector. The economic liberalisation polices have increasingly destroyed the state economy, removed subsidies of basic foodstuff and invited more privatisation. These have contributed to fueling social discontent among the Libyan people.

The recent waves of people's upsurge in the Arab World have swept across the region, when we witnessed the downfall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Libya cannot isolate itself and escape from these revolutionary waves as its people becoming frustrated with the corrupted regime and its policies.

The PSM expresses its solidarity with the people of Libya who are fighting courageously against the repressive regimes. Meaningful change can only be brought about through people’s power from below and go beyond the logic of capitalism.

The PSM also supports the continuous struggle of the people in Tunisia and Egypt, as their struggle is not just about transition of power, but for a real change that would bring down a system that enriching the rich through impoverishing the poor.

The PSM’s solidarity is also with the people of Bahrain, Yemen, Algeria and elsewhere who rise up against precarious living conditions and repressiveness of the ruling regimes.

Released by Choo Chon Kai, international bureau, Socialist Party of Malaysia/Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).