"屠夫暴君"卡扎菲不值得懷念

He was supposed to be the dictator no one would ever miss. Treacherous and volatile, Muammer Gaddafi had far less diplomatic value than his neighbour, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, a dependable western ally. He did not compare to Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, whose obsessive secularism had its attraction, too. And he could not compete even with Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh, who at least had a sharp sense of humour.

他理應是無人懷念的獨裁者。穆阿邁爾•卡扎菲(Muammer Gaddafi)狡詐且喜怒無常，他的外交價值遠遠低於其鄰國埃及前總統、西方的可靠盟友胡斯尼•穆巴拉克(Hosni Mubarak)。他也比不上突尼斯的宰因•阿比丁•本•阿里(Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali)，後者對世俗主義的注重有其吸引力。他甚至都比不上也門的阿里•阿卜杜拉•薩利赫(Ali Abdullah Saleh)，後者至少有很強的幽默感。

By the time the Arab revolutions erupted in 2011, Gaddafi had not a single friend left in the Middle East, and only a few beyond. Even though he gave up his mischief in later years — surrendering his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, for example — no one knew whether or when he would be back to his old terrorist tricks. So as his troops prepared for an assault on the eastern city of Benghazi — whose people had risen against him — Nato bombs rained down on them, paving the way for the dictator’s demise. The reaction was, broadly, good riddance.

到2011年阿拉伯革命爆發時，卡扎菲在中東沒有一個朋友（在地區以外有幾個）。即使在執政後期他不再製造禍端（例如放棄他的大規模殺傷性武器），但沒人知道他是否——或者何時——會重拾老一套的恐怖主義把戲。因此，當他的軍隊準備進攻東部城市班加西（那裏的人民奮起反抗他）時，北約(NATO)的炸彈像雨點般落向了他們，爲這位獨裁者的滅亡鋪平了道路。世人對此的普遍反應是，他走了最好。

And yet, barely four years on, there are many in Europe who quietly wish the mad colonel — killed by rebels in late 2011 — was still running things in Tripoli. Such is EU angst over the Mediterranean migrant crisis — where as many as 1,200 people have drowned crossing to Europe in recent weeks — that Gaddafi is held up as the one man able to keep boat people away from European shores.

然而，僅僅4年後，許多歐洲人卻在默默希望這位瘋子上校（2011年末被叛軍處死）仍在的黎波里管理這個國家。歐盟對地中海移民危機的焦慮（最近幾周，多達1200名偷渡歐洲的移民在地中海溺亡）如此嚴重，以至於有人把卡扎菲擡出來，稱他本來是唯一能夠讓船民遠離歐洲海岸的人。

There is plenty of scope for regret when one looks back at the Arab uprisings, and particularly at the catastrophe that has befallen Libya, which is riven by sectarian strife. But the tragic loss of life at sea in recent weeks is no excuse to be nostalgic about Gaddafi, or to long for the return of his iron grip.

當回首阿拉伯起義時，有很多令人遺憾的地方，尤其是降臨利比亞的災難，這個國家正被教派衝突撕裂。但是，最近幾周發生的移民葬身地中海的悲劇，絕不是懷念卡扎菲、或者渴望他的鐵腕統治迴歸的藉口。

Yes, Libya is a failed state and a haven for human traffickers. It is a mess that no one should think will be resolved by the current UN-backed peace process between its warring militias. There is no one in charge that the EU can credibly work with to stem the flow of illegal migration.

沒錯，利比亞是一個失敗國家、蛇頭們的天堂。沒人會認爲當前聯合國在各派武裝分子之間斡旋的和平進程能解決這個國家的爛攤子。利比亞沒有任何掌權者可讓歐盟與其展開靠譜的合作，共同阻止非法移民流動。

But it is useful to remember that Nato intervened in Libya in March 2011 to prevent another unfolding tragedy: the likely massacre of hundreds of thousands of Benghazi residents. The European and Arab mistake was to overestimate the will or ability of Libyans, in the aftermath of Gaddafi’s fall, to put the broken pieces of their country back together.

但值得記住的是，2011年3月北約對利比亞的干預是爲了阻止另一起即將發生的悲劇：數十萬班加西居民可能遭到屠殺。歐洲和阿拉伯國家的錯誤在於，他們高估了利比亞人民在卡扎菲倒臺後重建國家的意志或能力。

Left on their own after a bloody revolt in which the state collapsed and everyone took up arms, they embraced their freedom with bullets as much as ballots. A fair question to ask is whether more could have been done to help them.

結果，利比亞人在經歷一場血腥的起義（其間政府崩潰，人人都拿起武器）後陷入“自找出路”的境地，他們用子彈和投票箱來擁抱自己的自由。中肯的問題是，我們是否本應做更多事來幫助他們？

There’s also cause to regret the world’s betrayal of Syria, the origin of most of the migrants who crossed the Mediterranean last year. When more than 8m of them have been displaced from their homes in the war waged by President Bashar al-Assad and another 4m are refugees [SOURCE OF NUMBERS?], why are we shocked to see some of them braving death for the fleeting hope of a better future in Europe?

世界對敘利亞的背叛同樣令人遺憾。去年大多數橫渡地中海的移民都來自敘利亞。當逾800萬敘利亞人在總統巴沙爾•阿薩德(Bashar al-Assad)發動的戰爭中流離失所，另有400萬人淪爲難民時，爲什麼我們會震驚於他們中的一些人願意爲了到歐洲尋覓更美好未來的渺茫希望而冒險渡海？

In any case, Gaddafi was not as useful on illegal migration as he liked to advertise. True, on his good days he would shut the spigot by terrorising or paying off the tribes that facilitated the boats’ passage; sometimes he agreed to joint patrols with Italians, whose coasts the migrants aim for. But, on his bad days, he flung the doors open.

無論如何，卡扎菲在非法移民問題上並不真像他喜歡吹噓的那樣有用。沒錯，在他心血來潮的時候，他會通過恐嚇或收買那些爲船隻通行提供便利的部落來堵住移民流動；有時，他會同意與意大利人聯合巡邏（意大利海岸是移民的登陸目標）。但當他心情不好的時候，他會把所有大門敞開。

For him destitute refugees — at that time mostly from sub-Saharan Africa — were a card he cynically bargained with, warning in 2009, for example, that he could turn Europe “black”.

對卡扎菲來說，赤貧的難民（當時主要來自撒哈拉以南非洲地區）是他手中一張牌，可以用來爲一己私利討價還價。例如，他在2009年警告稱，他可以將歐洲變成“黑色”。

Rumour has it that by 2011, he had worked out an understanding — probably with Italy — that so long as he was welcomed in European capitals, he would help keep the migrants away. That changed when Nato launched air strikes in March 2011. A government spokesman threatened to retaliate by opening the floodgates. Trafficking was a lucrative business for Libyans, he said, and the government would do nothing to stop it.

有傳言稱，到了2011年，他已經（很可能是與意大利）達成諒解：只要歐洲各國首都歡迎他，他將幫助歐洲擋住移民。當北約在2011年3月發動空襲時，這一默契發生了變化。一位政府發言人威脅要打開“閘門”以進行報復。他稱，販運人口對利比亞人是一份有利可圖的生意，政府不會採取措施進行阻止。

Back then it was a relief that Gaddafi’s authority lasted only a few months longer. It should still be: given how much Libyans have suffered since, surely we should wish them better than another Gaddafi.

當時讓人寬慰的是，卡扎菲政權僅僅再支撐了幾個月。世人依然應該感到寬慰：鑑於自那以來利比亞人民遭受了那麼多苦難，我們當然應該希望他們得到比又一個卡扎菲好一點的領導人。