The U.K. government is notorious for its anti-human rights foreign policy. Rejecting the call by France to impose no-fly zone over Libya so that Gaddafi would not commit genocide should not come as a surprise. No wonder people around the world despise the morally bankrupt government of the U.K. that sells weapons to genocidal dictators like Gaddafi of Libya and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia.
(Guardian) — Nicolas Sarkozy is leading the calls for a NATO-imposed no-fly zone to be enforced over Libya to “prevent the use of that country’s warplanes against [its] population”.
Sarkozy, the current president of the G8 and G20 economic forums, has also called for the European Union to impose sanctions against Libya and suggested that the assets of the family of the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, should be frozen.
William Hague, the British foreign secretary, did not join the calls for a no-fly zone, but David Cameron held out the prospect of imposing sanctions on Libya if Gaddafi continued to respond to the protests with violence. The government is wary of antagonizing the Libyan leadership while it attempts to repatriate British citizens.
In an interview with al-Jazeera television in Doha, the prime minister said: “Sanctions are always an option for the future if what we are seeing in Libya continues. Of course, if Libya continues down this path, there will be a very strong argument [for sanctions].”
Cameron’s remarks appeared to be a hardening of his position from earlier in the day, when he sidestepped questions about whether he would endorse the French president’s call for sanctions.
But the prime minister moved to play down the prospect of military action against Libya, saying: “I do not think we are at that stage yet. We are at the stage of condemning the actions Colonel Gaddafi has taken against his own people.”
It is likely the British attitude towards a no-fly zone will toughen if and when its citizens are evacuated.
The government is also concerned that Russia and China could veto a no-fly zone at the United Nations security council, leaving the international community weakened.
Demands for a ban on flights over Libya have been made by Ibrahim al-Dabashi, the country’s deputy ambassador to the UN, who is among diplomats who have abandoned Gaddafi.
He said the measure would prevent mercenaries, weapons and other supplies from reaching Gaddafi and his security forces. There have also been fears that Gaddafi could resort to bombing his own people.
Hague said he was canceling a planned trip to Washington to handle the crisis from London, adding that it would be difficult to get a security council resolution. The council has, though, made a statement condemning Libya’s actions.
Hague stressed he wanted an international inquiry into possible war crimes, saying this represented the best chance to stop murder and atrocities by the regime. “They will be held to account. They should hear that message loud and clear,” he said.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the former foreign secretary Lord Owen became the first British politician to call for a no-fly zone, adding that the west should be concerned about the possibility that Gaddafi would unleash chemical weapons.
“We know that this is a person who could unleash either chemical or biological weapons, which he possibly still has. He is one of the worst despots we have seen for many a century. He is deeply unstable, and has been for 42 years,” Owen said.
He called for a UN charter chapter 7 intervention – meaning the authorization of military and non-military means to “restore international peace and security” – to be enforced by Nato air forces with Egyptian military support to demonstrate regional backing for the effort.
He argued a no-fly zone similar to the one imposed on Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in 1991 was feasible and wholly desirable. He said he believed the US would already have put its planes on alert.
Sarkozy went further than any other leading EU politician in calling for military action. “The continuing brutal and bloody repression against the Libyan civilian population is revolting,” he said. ” The international community cannot remain a spectator to these massive violations of human rights.”
The scale of the threat to world security was underlined by reports suggesting Gaddafi had ordered the destruction of oilfields, as well as the growing likelihood that he was willing to see a massive death toll rather than relinquish power.
8 thoughts on “UK rejects call by France to impose no-fly zone over Libya”
What is the UK government thinking? Unless such restrictions are imposed on Ghaddafi, he is going to use whatever is left of his air force to bomb the opposition strongholds such as Benghazi. This Bedouin knucklehead does not give a flying tickling about human lives. He had murdered his people in thousands before using his version of the ‘Agazi’ special assassins before. He is one heck of a coward murderer. I hope one of his close lieutenants betrays him and shoot his you know what before he kills more civilians.
It is difficult to get China & Russia the two similar ideology states consent easily. Expecting both to agree with the three west super powers with converse ideology, especially having observed the past attitude and behaviour of the lot towards universal human rights,appears to be the case.
In relation to chapter VII of the UN Charter, cometence of the UN Security Council to maintain international peace and security, there are a number of available options to use at its disposal in principle, however, in practice it is rather a very complex one.
As much as I would like to go further over it, I may better cut it short not to make it look like as if I am in the business of lecturing fellows.
Thanks,
It is all about the money. The Brits have contracts in Libya, and they don’t want to be cut off if Ghadafi survives, remember the libyan terrorist Al-Meghrahi who was convicted of Lockerbie Pan Am bombing. He was released by the Brits in exchange for a lucrative oil and defence business in Libya. The reason given was he is a cancer patient who have left one month to live, the guy still lives in Tripoli and maybe he is one of the shooters at this time.
SHAME ON THE BRITS WHO ARE SUPPORTERS OF TYRANNY ALL OVER THE WORLD. THEY SUPPORT ZENAWI WHATEVER HE DOES, AND THEY SUPPORT GHADAFI EVEN WHEN HE IS BOMBING HIS OWN CITIZENS.
ghadafi is the best man of the year for British oil Industry. So no wonder to UK plays nice.
I recived order from UK to send some millitia to Libya for peace keeping, not for killing the innocent. I have no fear from my opposation group, they are powerless. I can govern the country till my end of life
I would like to informe to any one that Gaddafi is the best man in Africa
The Brits are always behind every single problem in the world, even the problem we have with Eritrea is the one they created a long time ago during the reign of Emperor Yohannes resulting 2 devastating wars with Italy, war with Eritrea and our past and present dictator regimes as a result of instability the Eritrean question created, its all because of England, they prospered by theft and deceit. India used to be the richest country in the world till the Brits colonized them. Even the crowns of their monarchs is adorned by stolen gems. The crown Queen Elizabeth wears is jeweled by precious stones stolen from rich maharajas of India and from mines in South Africa orchestrated by hugely racist English businessman John Cecil Rhodes who later founded the De Beers Conglomerate that controls the world’s diamond supply including that of South Africa’s. Anyway, it doesn’t surprise me the Brits did it again. Lebotch
Now I like this article…..It hits the bulls eye…….. It gets to the core of the problem….. Those western nations, particularly the UK, France& US who have a history of helping despots, who are submissive to the western interest, a free hand & acostly tools to use for the supression of people’s democratic & human right aspirations…… Yet it is oxymoron & hypocrite of the west talking of the spreading of democracy & human right despite undermining & helping destroy those very values.
Actions speaks louder than words……. We should judge them on their deeds, not on their empty words of promises.
We can only move forewards & progress, if we first identify the cause of the very obstacle to our freedom & Economic independence…….. Puppets & their handlers interpret “Freedom” to include the freedom to serve the interest of these western powers at the expense of the people. This way is so unsustainable as all those western backed regimes are seeing the rag they are standing on is violently dragged from underneath their feet. It’s about time, but the west are so adaptable that they should never be allowed to hijack the people’s legitimate revolutionary ideas……I’m enjoying these revolutions hitting all the puppets and seeing the west not mentioning democracy in their statement should not be surprising as they themselves helped prop up such regimes who take away the the democratic right of the people in te first place by denying the people of their basic economic rights & opportunities.
The British most likely support Ghadafi because of the country’s oil. For Western powers, oil is their god, thus morality and principle is inconceivable, so they will grovel at the boots of any blood-sucking tyrant.
We have seen how the British government of Tony Blair hated Ethiopia. We need to remember also that it was the British who trained and provided arms to Meles’ Federal Police and the Security Apparatus which tortures innocent victims in ‘Maekelawi’ Prison.