When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Geopolitics

How The Japanese Catastrophe Is Helping Gaddafi

While the events in Japan have captured the world's attention, Muammar Gaddafi is regaining the upper hand in Libya. And authorities in other Arab countries are also taking advantage.


"We're looking death in the face," says Ali M., from the Libyan town of Zawiyah. "There was another explosion just now at an oil well." Muammar Gaddafi's troops have recaptured the city and other locals in eastern Libya tell Tages-Anzeiger that they are preparing to flee.

While the world watches spellbound as events unfold in Japan, Gaddafi has stepped up air attacks on the opposition rebels. The Libyan dictator must view the disaster in Japan as a gift from heaven. Lisa Holland, a reporter for Sky News in Tripoli, told her news channel: "They can apply the kind of force they've used in cities like Zawiyah, the world is no longer watching. It has turned its back. Its attention is elsewhere."

As aid workers and experts from across the globe rush to Japan, Gaddafi, who just a few weeks ago seemed on his last legs, is reportedly preparing to storm the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. The dictator has regained the upper hand, not least thanks to his air force, as the opposition implores the West to implement a no-fly zone.

The UK and France are pushing for a no-fly zone, as are the 22 member states of the Arab League. The United States is mired in indecision, while German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told a meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Paris on Tuesday that his country was "very skeptical" about imposing a no-fly zone. He explained that Germany does not want to get "stuck in a war in North Africa." The comment promptly earned Westerwelle praise from Gaddafi himself.

Gaddafi has Ensnared China and Russia with Promises of Oil

Like Iran, both China and Russia have condemned Gaddafi's violence against the Libyan people, but neither country seems prepared to act with more than words. Their solution seems to be to sit this one out. The disaster in Japan is helping them to do just that. According to reports from Nouvelobs.com and Stern.de, Gaddafi has already promised Chinese and Russian companies oil drilling licenses – following the departure of most foreign companies from Libya.

Libya is not currently exporting any oil. Although the country is one of the world's main exporters, its contribution to global exports is not big enough for a short-term disruption of supplies to spell disaster. "The international community is more concerned about a disruption of supplies from major producers like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq or Iran," Bill Farren-Price, CEO of the oil consulting firm Petroleum Policy Intelligence in London told Tages-Anzeiger. Unrest in these countries would likely cause the West to act far more decisively than they have done during the crisis in Libya.

Rulers in Yemen and Bahrain have in recent days intensified their efforts to quell the insurgencies in their countries, and have begun to shut out world media. At the same time the beleaguered royal family in Bahrain has welcomed thousands of troops from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states into the country to strengthen its forces against the rebels. The presence of foreign troops has served to exacerbate the already tense situation. But is the world still watching?

Read the original article in German.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

That Man In Mariupol: Is Putin Using A Body Double To Avoid Public Appearances?

Putin really is meeting with Xi in Moscow — we know that. But there are credible experts saying that the person who showed up in Mariupol the day before was someone else — the latest report that the Russian president uses a doppelganger for meetings and appearances.

screen grab of Putin in a dark down jacket

During the visit to Mariupol, the Presidential office only released screen grabs of a video

Russian President Press Office/TASS via ZUMA
Anna Akage

Have no doubt, the Vladimir Putin we’re seeing alongside Xi Jinping this week is the real Vladimir Putin. But it’s a question that is being asked after a range of credible experts have accused the Russian president of sending a body double for a high-profile visit this past weekend in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

Reports and conspiracy theories have circulated in the past about the Russian leader using a stand-in because of health or security issues. But the reaction to the Kremlin leader's trip to Mariupol is the first time that multiple credible sources — including those who’ve spent time with him in the past — have cast doubt on the identity of the man who showed up in the southeastern Ukrainian city that Russia took over last spring after a months-long siege.

Russian opposition politician Gennady Gudkov is among those who confidently claim that a Putin look-alike, or rather one of his look-alikes, was in the Ukrainian city.

"Now that there is a war going on, I don't rule out the possibility that someone strongly resembling or disguised as Putin is playing his role," Gudkov said.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest