So it seems that Libya has to some extent been freed from Gaddafi; the rebels have chased him from his compound and out of Tripoli, but they haven’t yet captured him.

I’ve always been a slightly wary supporter of what’s going on in Libya, especially in the light of the western intervention in the region. Indeed at the time I felt that it was deeply hypocritical for the west to act in the case of Libya, but not in other comparable countries, such as Syria, or in other countries where human rights are being abused, such as in Palestine and the Occupied Territories. But then again, the intervention has, for now, rid the world of a foul dictator.

I hope that what happens from here on is democratic, that it is open, and that ultimately it survives. Many a revolution lapses back into the old ways, the old orthodoxy and the old authoritarian nature - especially in countries that have known little else. Like Russia in 1917, there is no real concept of a meaningful democracy, and to an extent that undermines the democrats among the rebels. But more than anything, I hope that those who gain from the revolution are not those seeking to create another Middle Eastern theocracy, or those companies who would seek to turn Libya into another source of profit and oil in our now increasingly oil starved world.

Let’s hope that again, democracy can triumph, and that the West can let democracy take its course, even if ultimately that is contrary to our financial interests.