Editorial: Aid for Libyans
They are facing the regime’s brutality and a humanitarian crisis
The leaders of the Libyan opposition say they do not want any outside help in the fight to rid themselves of Muammar al Qaddafi and his regime. By that they mean military help. They do not want tanks rolling in from Egypt or the US Air Force bombing Qaddafi’s barracks in Tripoli. It is a courageous stand but how long they stick to it remains to be seen. Humanitarian aid, however, is another matter.
There is clearly a humanitarian crisis on the Libyan-Tunisian border, which needs immediate help. In the past week some 70,000 refugees — mostly Egyptians — have crossed the frontier and while the Tunisians are doing their best to provide food, medical aid and what shelter they can, they have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the crisis.
The Egyptian authorities have been slow on the uptake. Other countries have managed to rescue their citizens from Libya itself. China India, Italy, Turkey and others have sent boats to pick them up. The UK and Germany even mounted air rescues. Egypt could have easily got boats to the Tunisian ports of Gabes or Sfax by now if they had been better organized. The excuse that fleeing Egyptians could cross the Libyan-Egyptian border carries no weight. For a week now, the authorities in Cairo have been well aware that Egyptian workers in and around Tripoli could flee only westward. They knew the route people would take.
Nor can the Egyptian authorities claim to be preoccupied by events at home. Egypt has a navy. It has not been involved in the country’s political crisis. The task of sailing along the North African coast — a two-day trip at most — to pick up stranded Egyptian citizens is a simple one. In the present climate, this delay is not going to help the Egyptian military’s reputation.
But for the refugees on the Tunisian-Libyan border, while it may seem long in coming, there will be a passage home soon. For the people of Libya, the immediate situation is far less certain. Quite apart from the fear of a protracted and bloody military struggle, there is a looming food crisis, particularly in those cities in the west of the country, such as Misurata and Zuara, now held by the opposition. Unable to take them by force, Qaddafi may try and starve them out. There is also a possible health crisis. The opposition has spoken of severe shortages of medicines in places they control.
France has led the way on humanitarian front, sending two planes to Benghazi with medical supplies as well as doctors and nurses. Whatever the political motives, it is a welcome move.
So what aid is the Arab world sending? What aid is Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries sending?
Saudi Arabia has always been very generous in helping others in a crisis but often the perception is that it sends help only after everyone else has done so or after it is criticized for not doing anything. That must not be allowed to happen this time. Food and medicine must not be used as a weapon against the Libyan people. Saudi Arabia should be ready to provide humanitarian aid to Libya immediately.