Gaddafi's Latin American allies show solidarity

HAVANA, Cuba (AP): The bloody upheaval in Libya is creating an uncomfortable challenge for Muammar Gaddafi's leftist Latin American allies, with some keeping their distance and others rushing to the defence of a leader they have long embraced as a fellow fighter against United States (US) influence in the world.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said Tuesday that the unrest may be a pretext for a NATO invasion of Libya, while Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega offered support for Gaddafi, saying he had telephoned to express solidarity.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, on the other hand, has stayed mute. Bolivia came closest to criticising the government in Tripoli, issuing a statement expressing concern over "the regrettable loss of many lives" and urging both sides to find a peaceful solution.

common cause

Latin America's leftist leaders have found common cause with Gaddafi over his opposition to US foreign policy and sympathised with his revolutionary rhetoric. Gaddafi has responded over the years by awarding the Muammar Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize to Castro, Ortega, Chavez and Evo Morales of Bolivia.

Now those ties are being tested as Libya's security forces repress protesters emboldened by the fall of pro-Western strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia. Human rights groups say more than 200 people have died.

Gaddafi vowed Tuesday to fight to his "last drop of blood" and roared at his supporters to strike back at opponents.

While the United States, Europe and the United Nations Security Council have forcefully denounced the crackdown, Ortega has been Gaddafi's staunchest ally. He said in remarks excerpted by state radio Tuesday that he had kept in communication with the Libyan leader, expressing his solidarity over the "moments of tension".

"There is looting of businesses now. There is destruction. That is terrible," Ortega said. He added that he told Gaddafi "difficult moments put loyalty to the test".

Castro, meanwhile, said in a column published Tuesday by Cuban state media that it is too early to criticise Gaddafi.

"You can agree or not with Gaddafi," Castro said. "The world has been invaded by all sorts of news ... . We have to wait the necessary time to know with rigour how much is fact or lie."

But he did urge protests of something that he says is planned: A US-led invasion of the North African nation aimed at controlling its oil.

"The government of the United States is not concerned at all about peace in Libya and it will not hesitate to give NATO the order to invade that rich country, perhaps in a question of hours or very short days," Castro wrote.

"An honest person will always be against any injustice committed against any people in the world," Castro said. "And the worst of those at this instant would be to keep silent before the crime that NATO is preparing to commit against the Libyan people."

While Chavez has not com-mented publicly on the unrest in Libya, Venezuela's foreign minister issued a statement Monday saying he had phoned his Libyan counterpart to express hopes that Libya can find "a peaceful solution to its difficulties ... without the intervention of imperialism, whose interests in the region have been affected in recent times."