"International Community" – Synonym for Imposing Anglo-American Values on Whole World

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"International Community" – Synonym for Imposing Anglo-American Values on Whole World

Foreign Office Minister Visits Libya in Context of Encircling Iraq

Ashdown Orders Bosnia: "Reform or Fail"

The jargon of the "international community" is taking on a reactionary content in the mouths of British and American political leaders. It is being used as synonymous with those countries which come within the aegis of Anglo-US imperialism and the European powers, those that uphold the values of the multi-party system, economic liberalism and conceptions of the rights of individuals commensurate with imperialist globalisation. It even carries with it the connotations of anti-communism and the religious right suitable for the Cold War era, in this period of the "war against terrorism".

The way the propaganda of bringing countries into the fold of the "international community" is being used is to delegitimise those countries which are made the target. Thus it is being used to attempt to justify the violations of sovereignty, just as the conception of "failed states" was immediately after September 11 last year. The conception of "international community" is being used in tandem with that of "failed states" but appears wider in its scope. Being outside the "international community" covers those states which the US, Britain and the European powers wish to "civilise", in order to confer the "benefits" of neo-liberal globalisation on their people. In this scenario, Israel comes within the orbit of the "international community", while countries like Libya and Bosnia-Herzegovina do not.

Britain, as is the norm, is one of the foremost propagandists for this notion of the "international community", with the New Labour government taking the lead. In fact, Anglo-American interests are openly made paramount in this doctrine of the "international community". This exposes the notion and the practice as being one of attempting to impose enslavement on these countries, as during the days of empire and colonialism.

The British working class and people must reject the conception of the "international community" as used by the British government. It stands against genuine internationalism, relations based on mutual benefit and respect for sovereignty. It is being used as the human face opposed to the so-called "axis of evil" and those states accused of producing "weapons of mass destruction", as though the imperialist powers were peaceful lambs, rather than following the drive for annexation and the pursuit of domination and sources of superprofits.

Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gaddafi held talks lasting nearly three hours with Foreign Office minister Mike O'Brien on Wednesday, the first British minister to visit the country in 20 years.

During the discussions, Colonel Gaddafi is reported to have given support to the "war against terrorism" and the fight against the al-Qaida network, and brought up the subject of possible military action against Iraq.

It is also reported that Colonel Gaddafi sought assurance that Libya would not face court action if it accepted responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The Libyan foreign minister, Abdul Rahman Shalgam, said the country was "as matter of principle" prepared to comply with the UN resolution that compensation be paid to the victims' families.

The visit was also very timely in the sense that Britain is attempting to secure Tripoli's co-operation in the US-led "war against terrorism" and other Middle Eastern issues. Despite this ulterior aim, Mike O'Brien's visit signals the strength of Libya’s positions, despite Britain’s attempt to present its status as a pariah state.

Britain’s position is that it is "very much in Britain's interests" for Libya to be brought back into the "international community", as Mike O'Brien said.

"Our hard-headed judgement all along has been that we are more likely to achieve that by encouraging rather than isolating Libya. It is more likely Libya will move away from terrorism if it is part of the international community and that's why I am meeting with Colonel Gaddafi," he told Radio 4's Today programme.

But the minister added that it would be a "long haul" to make progress on some outstanding issues such as the Lockerbie bombing and the war on terrorism. "Our judgement is that encouraging and establishing relations with Libya is more likely to produce results," he said.

O'Brien said that if Libya met the requirements of the United Nations Security Council resolution, imposed in the wake of the Lockerbie bombing, then "the UN will no doubt be in a position to bring them back into the international community".

Another aim of the visit is the hope by Britain and the US that Colonel Gaddafi will agree to provide them with intelligence on al Qaida. The Foreign Office said the visit would continue the process of dialogue that has seen Libya re-build links with the "international community" in recent years.

A Foreign Office spokesman said that Britain wanted Libya to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention and warned there would be "no compromise or ambiguity" in Britain's position on weapons of mass destruction.

Mike O’Brien in the radio interview also "set out the difference" between the leaders of Libya and Iraq, characterising it in this way: "Libya is moving towards compliance with international law and Iraq is not...just as Libya is making very difficult steps for it to comply with international law, I hope Saddam Hussein will comply by allowing inspectors to get into Iraq."

The picture is being presented that the visit was a big step towards ending Libya’s "international isolation". Besides everything else, such statements betray an ineradicable Eurocentrism and deep chauvinism. Libya has been at the forefront of the struggle of the African nations to end their marginalisation on the global stage and affirm their rights as nations and peoples, strengthening their unity and common interests in the process. It is doubly ironic when the whole world is opposed to Anglo-US adventures against Iraq, that is, when Britain itself is so isolated internationally.

Paddy Ashdown, who is the "international community's high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina", announced on Wednesday the establishment of a system of councils that will appoint and monitor the work of judges and prosecutors in Bosnia. He said that the country "must reform or it will fail". Ashdown's remarks came during a visit to Mostar, where he called on local authorities to strengthen the rule of law, conduct economic reforms and achieve functioning institutions.

Paddy Ashdown’s measures target the reinforcement of the criminal justice system in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The special councils will appoint and oversee judges and prosecutors. The reforms are said to be aimed at combating corruption, inefficiency and ethnic bias in the judicial system. Ashdown also established a state level prosecutor's office and special panels for organised crime, economic crime and corruption.

Local and international officials will make up the councils, which start work in September. Observers note that all significant reforms or decisions in Bosnia since the Dayton agreements were signed at the end of 1995 have been the result of decrees by the high representative and not the national leaders in Bosnia.

Paddy Ashdown officially took office as the "international community's high representative in Bosnia" on May 27. He has two deputies, one German and the other French. The outgoing high representative was Wolfgang Petritsch, a member of Austria's Slovenian minority with a professional background in Balkan affairs and a political career in the Socialist Party.