Courtesy People’s Daily Online

The military attacks on Libya by multinational forces comprising British, French and American personnel have lasted more than 10 days. Reports show that following the development of the situation, the civilian casualties are increasing and the living conditions in the war zone have become unbearable.

The original intention of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 is to restrain violence and protect civilians. Given what has happened in Libya over recent days, people cannot help but raise questions on the intent of the military attacks launched by the multinational forces.

According to statistics by the United Nations, the war in Libya has forced at least 300,000 refugees to flee the country. The tide of Libyan refugees has not only put an unbearable burden on Libya’s neighboring countries but also severely overwhelmed international humanitarian actions.

In fact, despite the excuse of protecting the interests of the civilians, these Western countries are seeking to protect their own, including not only economic interests but also the established illusion of dominating the world held by some Western leaders. To them, the hegemony is more important than the U.N. Security Council resolutions and Libyan civilians. The illusion has prompted France, the United Kingdom and the United States to unscrupulously launch the war against Libya.

Following the multi-polarization of the world structure over recent years, many Western countries have seemingly become more mild and humble. They have sometimes been willing to listen to the opinions of developing countries, condescend to discuss global issues with developing countries and even urge developing countries to join them in handling world affairs.

Meanwhile, disputes and friction among Western countries appears to be increasing, leading some scholars to believe that the West is no longer an integrated entity, and generally speaking, the jargon of “the West” is not correct.

However, most Western countries took the same stand on the Libya issue and quickly agreed on military intervention without much discussion. The invisible bond linking them together is their common goal of maintaining Western dominance in international affairs. Western leaders still think they have the final say on all international affairs, despite the changing world pattern. Although there is a growing internal rift in the Western world, they will still hold together when they feel their dominant status is threatened.

Therefore, the future of Libya depends not only on how much longer Muammar Gaddafi will soldier on, but also on whether Western counties will change their old mindset.

It is dangerous to resort to violence in dealing with international affairs. History has proven that violence only makes things more complicated. Western countries are not unaware of the hidden risks, but as long as they hold fast to the old high-handed attitude towards the rest of the world, they will continue to just pay lip service to resolving disputes peacefully through talk.

It is still not too late to bring the Libya issue back to the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. If Western countries can fully respect the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Libya as well as the will of the international community, especially Arab countries, it will be possible for all parties involved to achieve a ceasefire so the violence may not escalate and a bigger humanitarian catastrophe may be avoided.

Certain Western countries have learned their lessons when trying to dominate the world in the past, and repeating the same old mistakes will not be good for the long-term interests of Western countries. They need to better adapt to a changing world. If they are too stubborn to change their outdated mindset, they will only hurt themselves while hurting others.

By People’s Daily Online