Last week, longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak resigned from his post as Egypt's president after two weeks of relentless protesting. It didn't take long for the situation in Egypt to have a domino effect on the rest of the Arab world. However, the other countries are dealing with the protests ruthlessly and violently. In Libya, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi sent teams of snipers to shoot protesters and demonstrators. Libyan hospitals are overwhelmed, but it's good to see people streaming in to donate blood.
As of Friday night, 84 people are believed to be dead in a downright cruel government response. In 42 years, there has not been a greater challenge to Gaddafi's rule. In Egypt and Tunisia, Facebook was used by protestors to coordinate protests, but the Libyan government has blocked both the popular social networking site and Al-Jazeera.
We are living in interesting times to say the least. The latest uprising in Libya is just another example of how people desire to be free from the reigns of tyranny. However, the Libyan military (under the thumb of Gaddafi) is making many protestors regret their decision to rise up against the government. Soldiers are indiscriminately firing upon innocent crowds of civilians. Women and children are jumping off bridges to their death in Benghazi to escape being ruthlessly gunned down by tanks and artillery. This is quite possibly the largest human rights violation of the century. Gaddafi has hired thugs to be indiscriminate killers of innocent people. "They shoot from helicopters and from the roofs and they don't care who they kill" says one Benghazi resident.
I've been thinking that some bloodshed is necessary to get these ruthless thugs out of power. Gaddafi has been in power for 42 years, making him the longest standing leader in the Arab world. Although he is growing old, the Libyan people realize that when he cedes power, it will be given to someone who shares his thirst for absolute power.
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