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UN Votes Unanimously to Apply Sanctions on Gaddafi
by dasha Saturday, Feb 26 2011, 10:53pm
international / imperialism / commentary

also refers Libyan regime to a war crimes tribunal

The fact is these sanctions/actions occurred mainly because Gaddafi wouldn’t quietly surrender his oil fields to Western Corporate interests – gutless Russia and China watch from a distance. If anyone labours under the misapprehension that the U.S. is really concerned over the loss of innocent human life, just take a long hard look at the IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL; the USA could CARE LESS for the lives of Muslim Arabs and North Africans. It demonstrates this almost daily with CONTINUING civilian killing DRONE ATTACKS on innocent Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa! Take a dose of hard reality before swallowing the propaganda and garbage you are fed by the Western Corporate media.

Nevertheless, the situation is not entirely lost, it NEVER IS; the WORLD is easily ABLE to FREE ITSELF from ALL dictators and place them on trial, WITH MEMBERS OF THE BUSH and OBAMA CIVILIAN KILLING REGIMES alongside – why should WE tolerate civilian killing and war crimes from America? Is Washington somehow immune from criminal prosecution and the common justice that is applied to all other nations? Whitehouse and Pentagon officials continue to engage in heinous criminal activity, which the overwhelming majority of legal advocates classify as WAR CRIMES and crimes against humanity. So let’s file all the criminals out and march them straight to trial, shall we?

The more America pursues, persecutes and prosecutes others, the more it DAMNS ITSELF, do your worst, Uncle, but remember the sword of JUSTICE is double-edged.

You are fooling no one but your own intellectually deficient, isolated and cowardly population, Uncle. SPAIN has already issued a viable arrest warrant for George W Bush to face a war crimes investigation. The WORLD is closing in on the REAL terrorists, those in the USA that have unnecessarily wreaked so much bloodshed and mayhem upon OUR WORLD.


Report from the ‘Washington Post’ follows:

U.N. votes to impose sanctions on Gaddafi
by Colum Lynch

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday night to impose military and financial sanctions against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and his inner circle and to refer his regime's crackdown on protesters to a war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity.

The move came as President Obama for the first time called on Gaddafi to step down, deepening the Libyan leader's international isolation as he struggles to contain a revolt that threatens his 41-year rule. It also marked the first U.S. vote in support of a Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court, which the United States has not joined.

Speaking by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama said that "when a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," according to a White House account of the conversation. The statement brings U.S. policy in line with the position that European leaders adopted several days ago.

Obama had taken a more cautious approach, in part because he feared that hundreds of Americans in Tripoli could be in danger if he called for regime change. Those diplomats and other citizens have now been evacuated.

In a statement Saturday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. would work with others to provide humanitarian assistance to Libyans in need. "We will continue to look at the full range of options to hold the Libyan government accountable and support the Libyan people," she said. "Moammar Gaddafi has lost the confidence of his people and he should go without further bloodshed and violence."

The hardening U.S. position came as Gaddafi's renegade U.N. envoy endorsed a draft Security Council resolution Saturday that would impose a range of military and financial sanctions on the Libyan government and authorize the International Criminal Court to investigate.

In a letter to the Security Council president, Libyan envoy Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgam wrote that his delegation "supports the measures proposed in the draft resolution to hold to account those responsible for the armed attacks against the Libyan civilians, including [through] the International Criminal Court."

A day earlier, Shalgam announced in a tearful appearance before the Security Council that he had broken ranks with his longtime friend, mentor and leader. That announcement followed a wave of defections by Gaddafi's diplomatic corps, leaving the Libyan ruler essentially without a voice or influence outside the country.

The drama unfolded as the 15-nation council considered a package of sanctions, including an arms embargo, a travel ban and an asset freeze on Gaddafi and his associates.

Shalgam's missive appeared calculated to overcome resistance to an international criminal investigation, particularly from China, Russia and India, which have expressed concern that an investigation could inflame, rather than calm, the situation on the ground.

After Shalgam's appeal, Russia and India agreed to support the provision authorizing an investigation. China, whose delegation requested time to seek instruction from Beijing, was the only holdout. It ultimately reversed its position and backed the vote, citing broad African and Arab support for the initiative.

The resolution imposed a travel ban on Gaddafi and 15 relatives and loyalists. Six of those individuals, including Gaddafi himself and his immediate family members, are also subject to a freeze of their assets.

In addition, the resolution calls on Libya to respect press freedom and to permit the entry of relief workers, medical supplies and other humanitarian assistance. It also urges Libya "to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals and facilitate the departure of those wishing to leave the country."

The arms embargo is designed to prevent Gaddafi from resupplying loyalist forces, including thousands of African mercenaries.

Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, secured a provision precluding the United States and European powers from using the resolution as a pretext for military intervention in Libya.

The original text of the resolution, drafted by Britain, included broad language authorizing states "to adopt all measures necessary" to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance. European diplomats said the language was not intended as a legal basis for a military invasion of Libya.

© 2011 The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/26/AR2011022603386.html

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