Indian political party accuses US-NATO for Gaddafi killing

Left parties on Friday blamed the US and NATO for the killing of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, accusing them of launching a 'blatant aggression' for a regime change to gain control over oil reserves and for strategic dominance. 'The main aim of the US-NATO intervention in Libya has been fulfilled with the killing of Gaddafi. From the outset, the blatant aggression of the US-NATO was to effect a regime change in Libya even though it was proclaimed as an intervention to save the Libyan people and for establishment of democracy,' the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) Politburo said in a statement here. It said the claim that Gaddafi's killing marked the end of despotic rule was 'sheer hypocrisy since it is the US and its allies which prop up the most despotic regimes.' Maintaining that the Libyan people have to decide what type of government and political system they want in their country, the CPI(M) said, 'This is not something which can be imposed by the US and NATO by force of arms.' In a statement, CPI-ML (Liberation) blamed NATO-backed fighters for Gaddafi's killing 'in cold blood', saying it was 'ironic that such a blatant war crime is being welcomed by the imperialist US and its allies'. 'The US-NATO aggression on Libya is yet another instance when the imperialist quest for oil and strategic dominance in the region is being dressed up as an altruistic support for democratic regime-change,' party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said. After its costly military 'misadventures' in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US was trying a new tactic in Libya to usurp the spirit of the Arab Spring, capture precious resources like oil and strengthen its geo-political stranglehold in this region of strategic importance, he said, adding that the US-NATO 'gameplan in Libya must be condemned and resisted'.