.Russian FM knocks down no-fly zone for Libya
GENEVA (AP) - Top Russian diplomats ruled out the idea of creating a no-fly zone over Libya on Tuesday as embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi unleashed bombing raids, special forces and army troops in a desperate bid to stay in power.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the idea of imposing limits on Libyan air space as "superfluous" and said world powers must instead focus on fully using the sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council over the weekend.
Leaders in the U.S., Europe and Australia have suggested the military tactic - used successfully in northern Iraq and Bosnia - to prevent Gadhafi from bombing his own people. But Russia's consent is required as a veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
Russian NATO ambassador Dmitry Rogozin cautioned against moving militarily against Gadhafi without U.N. authorization.
"If someone in Washington is seeking a blitzkrieg in Libya, it is a serious mistake because any use of military force outside the NATO responsibility zone will be considered a violation of international law," Rogozin told Russia's Interfax news agency in Brussels.
"A ban on the national air force or civil aviation to fly over their own territory is still a serious interference into the domestic affairs of another country, and at any rate it requires a resolution of the U.N. Security Council," Rogozin said Tuesday.
U.N. council members have not considered imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, and no U.N.-sanctioned military action was planned. NATO says any intervention in Libya would have to be U.N.-authorized.
Still, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that even more action beyond U.N. sanctions might be needed, because in Libya "a regime that has lost legitimacy has declared war on its own people."
"It is up to us, the community of nations, to stand against this crime," Ban said in New York.
Libya was expected to be suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council later Tuesday by the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
"Those who have abused human rights have no place in the Human Rights Council," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters.
Libyan embassy staff in Vienna said Tuesday that "what is happening today in Libya in terms of repression and premeditated murder of the Libyan population is terrible and indescribable" - and urged Gadhafi to resign.
Italy voiced support for a no-fly zone over Libya, which is critical given that Italian bases would likely be used to enforce it. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says a no-fly zone would be useful to prevent Gadhafi from attacking his own people, but insisted that it would have to be enforced.
"In the Balkans, it had important results: it prevented Milosevic's planes from bombing unarmed populations," Frattini told the Il Messaggero newspaper in Rome. "I believe it could be successful also in Libya, because it would prevent bombing in Cireniaica and the areas taken from Gadhafi's control."
Italy just suspended a treaty with Libya that had a nonaggression clause, removing a possible obstacle to the use of military bases in Italy for a no-fly zone. The 2008 "friendship treaty" signed by Gadhafi and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had called for Rome to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year colonial rule. Libya in return promised to help Italy crack down on illegal immigrants.
There are several U.S. and NATO bases in Italy, and the U.S. 6th Fleet is based near Naples.
The U.N. Security Council's sanctions so far include an arms embargo on Gadhafi, four of his sons and a daughter, and leaders of revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against opponents. The U.N. also urged its 192 member nations to freeze Libyan assets and authorized an investigation into Gadhafi's regime for possible crimes against humanity.
The Europe Union added its own sanctions Monday to try to force the dictator to stop attacks on civilians and step down after 42 years of iron-fisted rule. It issued travel bans and an asset freeze against senior Libyan officials, and ordered an arms embargo on the country. Germany went further, proposing a 60-day economic embargo to prevent Gadhafi from using oil revenues to hire mercenaries to repress his people.
Westerwelle said Germany was working out how to legally freeze all financial transactions with Libya so "the dictatorial Gadhafi family does not get any fresh money in their hands that it could use for its civil war against the Libyan people."
The EU sanctions against Libya were significant because Europe has much more leverage over Libya than the United States; 85 percent of Libyan oil goes to Europe, and Gadhafi and his family are thought to have significant assets in Britain, Switzerland and Italy. The United States, the EU, Switzerland, Britain and Canada already have frozen Libyan assets.
The European Union will hold a summit of its 27 heads of state in Brussels on March 11 to discuss the situation on Libya.
The Libyan uprising that began Feb. 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, putting entire cities there out of Gadhafi's grasp. But he and his backers hold the capital of Tripoli and have threatened to put down protests aggressively.
The U.N. and other groups hope diplomats can unlock access to western parts of Libya that are now off-limits to humanitarian workers. Anna Nelson, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said her agency had "credible" reports of some patients being executed in hospitals in Libya.
"We still do not have access," she said.
The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open, including patrolling the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.
France said it was flying aid into the opposition-controlled eastern half of Libya to help the rebels.
MyWay
And we would need the Russians, because?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the idea of imposing limits on Libyan air space as "superfluous" and said world powers must instead focus on fully using the sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council over the weekend.
Leaders in the U.S., Europe and Australia have suggested the military tactic - used successfully in northern Iraq and Bosnia - to prevent Gadhafi from bombing his own people. But Russia's consent is required as a veto-wielding member of the Security Council.
Russian NATO ambassador Dmitry Rogozin cautioned against moving militarily against Gadhafi without U.N. authorization.
"If someone in Washington is seeking a blitzkrieg in Libya, it is a serious mistake because any use of military force outside the NATO responsibility zone will be considered a violation of international law," Rogozin told Russia's Interfax news agency in Brussels.
"A ban on the national air force or civil aviation to fly over their own territory is still a serious interference into the domestic affairs of another country, and at any rate it requires a resolution of the U.N. Security Council," Rogozin said Tuesday.
U.N. council members have not considered imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, and no U.N.-sanctioned military action was planned. NATO says any intervention in Libya would have to be U.N.-authorized.
Still, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday that even more action beyond U.N. sanctions might be needed, because in Libya "a regime that has lost legitimacy has declared war on its own people."
"It is up to us, the community of nations, to stand against this crime," Ban said in New York.
Libya was expected to be suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council later Tuesday by the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
"Those who have abused human rights have no place in the Human Rights Council," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters.
Libyan embassy staff in Vienna said Tuesday that "what is happening today in Libya in terms of repression and premeditated murder of the Libyan population is terrible and indescribable" - and urged Gadhafi to resign.
Italy voiced support for a no-fly zone over Libya, which is critical given that Italian bases would likely be used to enforce it. Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says a no-fly zone would be useful to prevent Gadhafi from attacking his own people, but insisted that it would have to be enforced.
"In the Balkans, it had important results: it prevented Milosevic's planes from bombing unarmed populations," Frattini told the Il Messaggero newspaper in Rome. "I believe it could be successful also in Libya, because it would prevent bombing in Cireniaica and the areas taken from Gadhafi's control."
Italy just suspended a treaty with Libya that had a nonaggression clause, removing a possible obstacle to the use of military bases in Italy for a no-fly zone. The 2008 "friendship treaty" signed by Gadhafi and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had called for Rome to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year colonial rule. Libya in return promised to help Italy crack down on illegal immigrants.
There are several U.S. and NATO bases in Italy, and the U.S. 6th Fleet is based near Naples.
The U.N. Security Council's sanctions so far include an arms embargo on Gadhafi, four of his sons and a daughter, and leaders of revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against opponents. The U.N. also urged its 192 member nations to freeze Libyan assets and authorized an investigation into Gadhafi's regime for possible crimes against humanity.
The Europe Union added its own sanctions Monday to try to force the dictator to stop attacks on civilians and step down after 42 years of iron-fisted rule. It issued travel bans and an asset freeze against senior Libyan officials, and ordered an arms embargo on the country. Germany went further, proposing a 60-day economic embargo to prevent Gadhafi from using oil revenues to hire mercenaries to repress his people.
Westerwelle said Germany was working out how to legally freeze all financial transactions with Libya so "the dictatorial Gadhafi family does not get any fresh money in their hands that it could use for its civil war against the Libyan people."
The EU sanctions against Libya were significant because Europe has much more leverage over Libya than the United States; 85 percent of Libyan oil goes to Europe, and Gadhafi and his family are thought to have significant assets in Britain, Switzerland and Italy. The United States, the EU, Switzerland, Britain and Canada already have frozen Libyan assets.
The European Union will hold a summit of its 27 heads of state in Brussels on March 11 to discuss the situation on Libya.
The Libyan uprising that began Feb. 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, putting entire cities there out of Gadhafi's grasp. But he and his backers hold the capital of Tripoli and have threatened to put down protests aggressively.
The U.N. and other groups hope diplomats can unlock access to western parts of Libya that are now off-limits to humanitarian workers. Anna Nelson, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said her agency had "credible" reports of some patients being executed in hospitals in Libya.
"We still do not have access," she said.
The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open, including patrolling the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.
France said it was flying aid into the opposition-controlled eastern half of Libya to help the rebels.
MyWay
And we would need the Russians, because?
posted by madtom at 12:27 AM
2 Comments:
i really would like to know why russia is being so stubborn and stupid, they are clearly benefititng form tis in some way
It's because authoritarian regimes all over the world work together to subjugate the masses
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