Opposition to NATO war on Libya in Perth Voice report

The Perth Voice report on the April 30 rally by Libyan community in Perth gives voice to antiwar viewpoints.

Under the headline "Libyans wary of NATO", rally organiser Abdullah Sheikhi is quoted saying that the Libyan community is wary of the western intervention.

"We know as Libyans that in this world these days, nothing comes for free, and we know that NATO or the coalitions, they don't come to Libya because they love Libyans, we know this. They come because they have their own interests."

The article also quotes Socialist Alliance WA co-convenor Alex Bainbridge saying that "a regime change imposed by western missiles and western military action is not going to result in a genuine democratic Libya".

"Under the guise of opposing Gaddafi, they're taking the struggle to oppose Gaddafi out of the hands of the people."

"The biggest danger is that we're going to get a Gaddafi-like regime without Gaddafi, backed by the west."

Around 100 people attended the rally which was addressed by both Sheikhi and Bainbridge as well as Giovanni Torre and Alex Whisson. Most placards focused on the need to remove Gaddafi with popular chants including "1, 2, 3, Libya must be free".

The rally demanded recognition by the Australian government of the National Transitional Council in Libya as the "sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people" whereas genuine popular democracy for Libya is actually more complicated than that. The leading figures of the Transitional Council are now more likely to be former representatives of the Gaddafi regime and/or people aligned with the CIA than the grassroots revolutionaries that began the democracy movement.

Photos from the rally