Post by wheelspinner on May 5, 2011 4:34:20 GMT -5
Here we go again. As documented in Naomi Klein's superb book, yet another crisis is being used as an opportunity to inflict loans on a country and steal their assets.
There is no way that any rebel army should be allowed to take out loans in the name of the general citizenry, especially when they propose taking power at hte point of a gun. If somebody wants to donate to them, fine, but I somehow doubt that's being considered.
Libya's rebels seek funds
Benghazi
May 5, 2011
Libya's rebel government (N.B. under what accepted law is this anonymous bunch of gun-toters a "government"?) is asking international donors for up to $US3 billion ($A2.7 billion) in loans, warning that without the cash injection it will be unable to pay civil servants and provide food and medicine to civilians.
Rebel leaders have urged countries that froze Libyan assets to shift that money to them, but diplomats say there are legal obstacles. A US official said the coalition wanted to financially support the rebels, but had not committed to a precise amount and was trying to work out how to do so legally.
Top diplomats from around the world, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are to discuss ways to meet the financial needs of the rebels at a meeting in Rome today.
After more than two months of fighting, the economy in the eastern portion of the country has been badly battered. While most of the country's oil comes from the east, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have disrupted production, denying the rebels a potential lifeline. The effective partitioning of the country interrupted pay for the majority of workers here, who are employed in the public sector and had been paid from Tripoli.
Until now, rebels had managed to keep those salaries coming. But, they warned, money was running out.
Ali Tarhouni, the rebels' interim finance minister, said the Benghazi government has only enough to carry it through ''three weeks, at the most four weeks''.
''I need about $2 to $3 billion, and we are hoping to get most or all of this,'' he said, adding that he expects the United States, France, Italy and Qatar to grant loans backed by frozen Libyan assets. Those funds could arrive in seven to 10 days, he said, and would be enough to fund the rebel government for three or four months.
The senior US official, who was not authorised to speak on the record and so talked on the condition of anonymity, said it was unclear how the Libyan rebels had come up with the figure of $2 billion to $3 billion. ''I think we have to wait and see what the breakdown is,'' he said.
WASHINGTON POST
Read more: www.theage.com.au/world/libyas-rebels-seek-funds-20110504-1e8c0.html#ixzz1LT78Wygg
There is no way that any rebel army should be allowed to take out loans in the name of the general citizenry, especially when they propose taking power at hte point of a gun. If somebody wants to donate to them, fine, but I somehow doubt that's being considered.
Libya's rebels seek funds
Benghazi
May 5, 2011
Libya's rebel government (N.B. under what accepted law is this anonymous bunch of gun-toters a "government"?) is asking international donors for up to $US3 billion ($A2.7 billion) in loans, warning that without the cash injection it will be unable to pay civil servants and provide food and medicine to civilians.
Rebel leaders have urged countries that froze Libyan assets to shift that money to them, but diplomats say there are legal obstacles. A US official said the coalition wanted to financially support the rebels, but had not committed to a precise amount and was trying to work out how to do so legally.
Top diplomats from around the world, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are to discuss ways to meet the financial needs of the rebels at a meeting in Rome today.
After more than two months of fighting, the economy in the eastern portion of the country has been badly battered. While most of the country's oil comes from the east, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have disrupted production, denying the rebels a potential lifeline. The effective partitioning of the country interrupted pay for the majority of workers here, who are employed in the public sector and had been paid from Tripoli.
Until now, rebels had managed to keep those salaries coming. But, they warned, money was running out.
Ali Tarhouni, the rebels' interim finance minister, said the Benghazi government has only enough to carry it through ''three weeks, at the most four weeks''.
''I need about $2 to $3 billion, and we are hoping to get most or all of this,'' he said, adding that he expects the United States, France, Italy and Qatar to grant loans backed by frozen Libyan assets. Those funds could arrive in seven to 10 days, he said, and would be enough to fund the rebel government for three or four months.
The senior US official, who was not authorised to speak on the record and so talked on the condition of anonymity, said it was unclear how the Libyan rebels had come up with the figure of $2 billion to $3 billion. ''I think we have to wait and see what the breakdown is,'' he said.
WASHINGTON POST
Read more: www.theage.com.au/world/libyas-rebels-seek-funds-20110504-1e8c0.html#ixzz1LT78Wygg
