THE Western “allies” under the umbrella of a United Nations resolution have launched a bombardment by air and sea on Libya. The ostensible reasons are humanitarian concerns for the welfare and safety of a group of people trying to overthrow the 40-year-old regime of Mr Moammar Gadhafi.

Ironically, the press has consistently referred to this group as the “rebels” not liberation fighters. No one can be sure what kind of governance would follow the removal of Mr Gadhafi, but we hope it won’t be another dictatorship, or just as bad, political chaos.

Mr Gadhafi is a despot who should be removed from political office and brought to justice for human rights violations and other atrocities. He is a tyrant who has ruled with a combination of force and charisma and survived plots, assassinations and airstrikes. He is reputed to have stolen hundreds of millions of Libya’s oil revenue.

Mr Gadhafi has ruled over a militant Moslem state opposed to the dominance of the Western powers and the existence of Israel. He has financed and allowed Moslem militants to be trained in Libya. He has supported radical leaders and governments not favoured by the West. He welcomed home the man convicted of the terrorist bombing of a PanAm flight over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Because of oil, the Western powers have tolerated him and made accommodations with him. He has been able to sustain his economy because of oil revenues and Libya has been an important market, especially for arms.

Eventually, many of the less powerful Western allies opted to coexist because Gadhafi bought huge amounts of their armaments and machinery. Economic interests have prevailed over morality and concerns about human rights, terrorism and democracy in the policy of western powers towards Mr Gadhafi.

The West has always wanted to remove him to control Libya’s oil and end his refusal to conform to the edicts of the superpowers. But he cleverly did not present them with a justification. Humanitarian concerns to prevent Mr Gadhafi from extermination of his opponents is the pretext being used by the Western powers for creating the conditions for regime change.

We have no illusions. Might is still right in the world as it has always been, hence the plan to remove Mr Gadhafi. There is a specious double standard since these countries have not intervened in the uprising in Tunisia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Clearly regime change is for non-compliance but not for acquiescent “allies”.

The decision on which regimes should be changed and when they should be removed from power remains the prerogative of the superpowers and their allies. The ultimate criterion is whether the maintenance of the government is in the interest of the superpower or whether the leader or ruling family is an ally of the superpower.

Superpowers — democratic or one-party, capitalist or Socialist, western or eastern — have supported some of the most despicable dictators, as in China-backed North Korea, Soviet Union-backed Eastern Europe and US-backed Chile and Nicaragua.

All states, particularly, small states, must be concerned about the arbitrary decision of superpowers and stand up for the rule of international law. Let us not forget that regime change has been prosecuted in the Caribbean at the behest of great powers, eg Manuel Noriega, Cheddi Jagan, Maurice Bishop and Bertrand Aristide.