Middle East & North Africa

On Saturday afternoon French warplanes
were the first to bomb Libya, in what one can only describe as open
imperialist aggression. This was followed by US and UK ships and
submarines launching 110 Tomahawk Cruise missiles. The French are
strengthening their position by sending their Charles de Gaulle aircraft
carrier into waters off the Libyan coast

Yesterday the United Nations Security
Council voted by 10 votes in favour against 5 abstentions to impose a
no-fly zone over Libya. The resolution authorises UN member states "to
take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian
populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any
form on any part of Libyan territory".

To say that a revolution has begun is
not to say that it has been completed, much less that victory is
assured. It is a struggle of living forces. Revolution is not a one-act
drama. It is a complicated process with many ebbs and flows. The
overthrow of Mubarak, Ben Ali and Gannouchi marks the end of the first
stages, but the Revolution has not yet succeeded in completely
overthrowing the old regime, while the latter has not yet succeeded in
re-establishing control.

In the first instance the demands of the Revolution are democratic. Of
course! After 30 years of a brutal dictatorship the youth long for
freedom. Naturally, their desire for democracy can be abused by
bourgeois politicians who are only interested in their future careers in
a “democratic” parliament. But we are obliged to take up the democratic
demands and give them a sharply revolutionary content. This will
inevitably lead on to the demand for an even more fundamental change in
society.

After taking one town after another in
the early days of the Libyan revolution, now the insurgents are having
to come to terms with the fact that Gaddafi has managed to hold together
a significant section of his special security forces and is hitting
back. How does one explain this dramatic turnaround?

We publish this statement by Hands Off
Venezuela Britain on the recent attempt by imperialism to spread
misinformation about the relationship between Gaddafi and the Bolivarian
revolution.

The Arab Revolution is a source of
inspiration to workers and young people everywhere. It has rocked every
country in the Middle East to their foundations and its reverberations
are being felt all over the world. The dramatic events in North Africa
and Egypt mark a decisive turning point in human history. These events
are not isolated accidents apart from the general process of the world
revolution.

Here are some images from the ULU Marxists meeting held in London on Thursday evening

Hundreds of thousands marched today in
the streets of the main cities and towns of Tunisia against the
Gannouchi government and demanding a Constituent Assembly

The mighty power of revolution has
been demonstrated with the resignation of Mubarak. It has shown that the
staunchest, most vicious and stubborn of despots can be overthrown when
the masses enter the arena of struggle and their resolve becomes
absolute. But the most unique feature of this movement is that even
after the tyrant has gone it refuses to relent.

Power is rapidly slipping out of the
hands of Muammar Gaddafi, as anti-government protests continue to sweep
the African nation despite a brutal and bloody crackdown. As city after
city falls to the anti-Gaddafi forces his only base is now Tripoli. The
East is in the control of the insurgents and most of the West has fallen
into the hands of the rebels, including cities very close to the
capital.