Western powers to blame for refugee crisis, says Zuma

Gaddafi had gone to great extremes to hold back the waves of refugees

PRETORIA: President Jacob Zuma told South Africa’s diplomatic corps yesterday exactly who was to blame for the refugee crisis enveloping Europe.

“The consistent and systematic bombardment of Libya by Nato forces undermined security in that country – that’s why we’ve got this problem. The refugee crisis is the result of their interference – it is their responsibility, they caused it and they must address it. That is the painful truth.”

The president remembered all too well how the West pushed aside the African road map for peace in Libya in 2011, which Zuma himself had led.

Zuma had been engaged in painstaking shuttle diplomacy between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and other African Union leaders. Zuma firmly believed that the AU could have brokered a negotiated solution to the crisis, and get Gaddafi to back down and compromise with the opposition.

But Western powers in Nato were set on regime change in Libya for their own strategic interests and ensured that the African strategy to resolve the conflict was undermined and ignored.

It was with great frustration that Zuma and his team were prevented from pursuing their mediation due to the no-fly zone imposed by the Nato powers, who then unleashed relentless bombardment on Libya, destroying key infrastructure and wreaking havoc.

“Before the Arab Spring and the killing of Gaddafi, there were no refugees flocking to European countries – it was quiet in North Africa. The killing of Libya’s leader led to serious tension and conflict in the country, and opened the floodgates.

“The beginning of the refugee crisis was triggered by Libya’s security situation. We must not forget this – we forget easily,” Zuma said.

Gaddafi had gone to great extremes to hold back the waves of refugees seeking passage to Europe from Libya during his rule. Libya had played a crucial role as a barrier against Europe’s unwanted refugees, and Gaddafi had demanded financial support from the EU to keep the waves of refugees at bay.

“We need support from the EU to stop this army trying to get across from Libya,” Gaddafi had told his EU partners in 2010. “Pay me £4 billion and I’ll stop Europe from turning black.”

Even though refugees were held in appalling conditions in camps in Libya, Gaddafi had kept the floodgates from being burst open.

Some British opposition politicians have articulated similar sentiments as those espoused by Zuma recently, claiming Prime Minister David Cameron is partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of refugees who have drowned off the Libyan coast due to his “fanaticism” in ousting Gaddafi.