The Arab revolt - Lives given trying to win the vote

THE contrast between Ireland and Libya could not have been greater yesterday.

We were free to vote for a new Government but the defiant and plainly insane dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi unleashed Eastern European and African mercenaries to terrify and murder his own people. Gaddafi and his supporters seem prepared to use whatever means they can pay for to prolong his 42-year autocracy even if that means civil war. Already reports indicate thousands may have been killed or injured as the crackdown escalates “alarmingly”, UN human rights head Navi Pillay has said.

The strengthening international consensus to punish Col Gaddafi may not be enough to save the lives of all of those brave enough to join the Arab revolt against decrepit dictatorships sweeping the region.