April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

y the present revolutionary wave and has been unable to intervene
decisively to steer the course of events in their favour.
In the face of imperialism’s manoeuvres, and also the inconsistent manner
in which they deal with the matter of “human rights” and “crimes against
humanity”, Venezuela and Cuba are correct in exposing the hypocrisy of
imperialism and agitating against any foreign powers intervening in Libya.
However, the case that is being made by both countries, and most
prominently by Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, is undermined by the fact
that they are perceived as being supportive of Gaddafi, instead of
supporting the masses of the Libyan people who have risen up against his
regime.
It is true that Venezuelan ambassador to the UN said in his speech that
Venezuela “greets the Arab peoples who are in a process of peaceful and
justice seeking rebellion, and looking for a better future through peaceful
roads”. But at the same time Fidel Castro has argued that the problems
faced by Libya are different to those faced by Tunisia and Egypt. He has
added that while “there is no doubt that the faces of those protesting in
Benghazi expressed real indignation”, there has been a “colossal campaign
of lies, unleashed by the mass media, which led to great confusion on the
part of the world’s public opinion”.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has also said that he “refuses to
condemn Gaddafi” who has been “a long-time friend of Venezuela”
because apparently there is not enough information on the situation. He
has used the example of April 11, 2002, when the world’s media accused
Chavez of having ordered the army to fire on unarmed demonstrators in
order to justify the coup against him. As we all know, it was later on
proven that it had all been a set up, with hired snipers firing on opposition
and revolutionary demonstrators alike.
However, in the case of Libya, the situation is completely different. In
Venezuela what we had was a reactionary movement against a
democratically elected government attempting to implement progressive
reforms and standing up against imperialism. In Libya we have a popular
uprising against an oppressive regime which had made all sorts of deals
with imperialism.
To a certain extent, it can be understood why there is confusion in
Venezuela about the real nature of what is really happening in Libya. The
Venezuelan people no longer trust the capitalist media, completely
discredited by the role they played in the coup in 2002. Furthermore, the
Venezuelan counter-revolutionary opposition is attempting to jump on the
bandwagon of the Arab revolution, saying that “the next dictator to fall
will be Hugo Chavez”.
It is a matter of public record that the Venezuelan counter-revolutionary
opposition receives funding, training and support of all kinds from
Washington. On a number of occasions they have organized their forces on
the streets to make it look as if Chavez were a tyrant facing popular
opposition (in the run up to the April 11, 2002, coup, during the oil lock
out in December 2002, during the guarimba in 2004, the student protests
in defence of RCTV, etc). They will not hesitate in doing it again.
However, what we are seeing in the Arab world is precisely the opposite: a
series of revolutionary uprisings against US backed dictatorial regimes.
It is true that the Libyan regime of Gaddafi came to power at the head of a
movement with large popular support against the rotten monarchy of Kind