Tripoli, Libya - As relentless unrest entered a 14th day Monday, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi remained defiant and gave no indication of stepping down -- even though a Libyan official said doing so would be in the interest of the country.
Abdullah Alzubedi, the Libyan ambassador to South Africa, told journalists Monday that Gadhafi "should take the ultimate decision to step down in the interest of Libya."
Speaking in Pretoria, South Africa, Alzubedi said he will not leave his position despite resignations by other Libyan officials because he must continue to "serve the needs of Libyans living in South Africa and help South Africa evacuate its citizens." But Alzubedi said he would not continue working for Gadhafi if the longtime ruler ultimately crushes the people's rebellion.
The recent protests -- which began February 15 -- have been fueled by protesters demanding freedom and decrying high unemployment. Crowds have chanted for an end to Gadhafi's nearly 42-year regime.
Gadhafi control wanes outside Tripoli
Libya: Stranded in Benghazi
Gadhafi's history of tension with the West
Wolfowitz on Bush and Libya
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced violence by Libya's military on its people.
"The use of military force against the civilian population, as it happened in Libya where hundreds of civilians were killed, is unacceptable," Lavrov said Monday at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
Gadhafi seemed increasingly cornered as security forces defected to the opposition in a town near the capital and the United Nations Security Council voted for tough restrictions and possible war crimes charges against the Libyan regime.
On Sunday, Gadhafi criticized the Security Council resolution, passed over the weekend, telling private Serbian station Pink TV by phone that council members "took a decision based on media reports that are based abroad." He added, "If the Security Council wants to know about something, they should have sent a fact-finding committee."
The Security Council measures -- which include an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel bans for Gadhafi and members of his family and associates -- also refer the situation unfolding in Libya to the International Criminal Court.
Security forces said they had switched sides and joined the opposition in Zawiya, a town about 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of the capital, Tripoli, on Sunday.
About 2,000 people took part in an anti-government protest there, some standing atop tanks or holding antiaircraft guns. They said they wanted the government overthrown, calling Gadhafi a "bloodsucker."
The opposition now controls several Libyan cities after weeks of protests inspired by demonstrations that toppled longtime leaders in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt.
The death toll from the recent unrest has topped 1,000, according to an estimate from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Security Council measures form "one of the speediest international responses to a government targeting its own people."
"We recognize the killings are ongoing," Clinton told reporters en route to a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Switzerland. "We recognize we need to advance the humanitarian, the military, judicial, and even forensic planning already under way."
And Britain announced it was freezing the assets of Gadhafi, five of his children, and those acting on their behalf.
"Show me a single attack," he said. "Show me a single bomb. Show me a single casualty. The Libyan air force destroyed just the ammunition sites."
No comments:
Post a Comment