Tag: foreign influence

As Fighting Continues, Western Corporations Eye Libya’s Oil

Although the Libyan rebels have insisted that Western nations and NATO leave their country once they have finished defeating Gadhafi’s forces, there is one group of Westerners they’re happy to host: oil company executives.

Already, the New York Timesreports, oil companies from Italy, France, Britain, and the United States, among others, have begun preparing for a return to Libya. Most of these companies already had oil exploration agreements with the Gadhafi administration, but it is unclear whether their agreements will be honored by a new rebel government. Still, the rebels appear to look favorably on the Western companies because their countries assisted them in overthrowing Gadhafi.

“We don’t have a problem with Western countries like Italians, French and U.K. companies,” Abdeljalil Mayouf, a spokesman for the Libyan rebel oil company Agoco, was quoted as saying by Reuters. “But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil.”

Russia, China and Brazil did not back strong sanctions on the Qaddafi regime, and they generally supported a negotiated settlement to the fighting. All three countries have large oil companies that are seeking deals in Africa for oil reserves.

Of course, the fact that Western oil companies are getting favorable treatment from the new Libyan government casts aspersions on their reason for intervening in Libya in the first place. The United States, which “led from behind,” imports less than 1 percent of its oil from Libya. But countries like France and Italy depend heavily on Libyan oil.

Italy in recent years has relied on Libya for more than 20 percent of its oil imports, and France, Switzerland, Ireland and Austria all depended on Libya for more than 15 percent of their imports before the fighting began. Libya’s importance to France was underscored on Monday when President Nicolas Sarkozy invited the head of the rebels’ national transitional council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, to Paris for consultations.

Libyan Rebels Vow To Resist Foreign Influence Post-Gadhafi

As the Libyan rebels continue their advance and claim control of most of Tripoli, the world has begun to speculate about what a post-Gadhafi Libya might look like.

The tumultuous civil war has simultaneously strengthened the Libyan people’s resolve and — as is the case in many armed conflicts — made them vulnerable to outside influences. After months of fighting in a conflict that has involved action by NATO, some have voiced concerns that foreign powers might capitalize on the power vacuum once Gadhafi falls.

Libyan rebel leaders, however, are aware of this possibility and have clearly stated their intention to maintain full autonomy by forbidding NATO and other Western powers from remaining in Libya after the conflict. According to the BBC and Egypt’s Mena state news agency, Abdel Moneim al-Huweini, the Libyan rebel envoy to the Arab League, firmly stated that the rebels will not allow NATO bases on Libyan soil after Gadhafi falls. “Libya is an Arab and Islamic nation before NATO and after NATO,” he said. “Libyans revolted from the 1970s against Western bases, and there will be no non-Libyan bases.”

This resolve to keep outside powers at bay in a new Libya is a sign that the freshly-liberated country would adamantly oppose foreign control and influence. In fact, it was Gadhafi himself who closed American and British bases on Libyan territory following his 1969 coup. The rebel statement suggests that while the rebels hope to end Gadhafi’s oppression, they plan to continue his tradition of Libyan autonomy.