Top diplomats agree that Libya's Gadhafi must go
LONDON, England
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and British
Foreign Secretary William Hague led the crisis talks in London
between 40 countries and institutions, all seeking an endgame aimed
at halting the Libyan leader's bloody onslaught against Libya's
people.
Although the NATO-led airstrikes on Gadhafi's forces aren't
aimed at toppling him, dozens of nations agreed in the talks that
Libya's future does not include the dictator at the helm.
"Gadhafi has lost the legitimacy to lead, so we believe he must
go. We're working with the international community to try to
achieve that outcome," Clinton told reporters.
As she spoke, U.S. officials announced that American ships and
submarines in the Mediterranean had unleashed a barrage of cruise
missiles at Libyan missile storage facilities in the Tripoli area
late Monday and early Tuesday -- the heaviest attack in days.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle echoed Clinton's
words.
"One thing is quite clear and has to be made very clear to
Gadhafi: His time is over. He must go," Westerwelle said. "We
must destroy his illusion that there is a way back to business as
usual if he manages to cling to power."
Both Clinton and the representatives of Libya's opposition -- who
held a raft of talks on the margins of the London summit --
acknowledged there were few signs that Gadhafi is heeding those
demands. There was no immediate comment from Russia, which
abstained in the U.N. vote authorizing the airstrikes that began
March 19.
"He will have to make a decision," Clinton said. "And that
decision, so far as we're aware, has not yet been made."
Diplomats rejected suggestions that Gadhafi could be granted
immunity but said work was under way to find a possible sanctuary
for him.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said negotiations on
securing Gadhafi's exit were being conducted with "absolute
discretion" and that there were options on the table that hadn't
yet been formalized.
"What is indispensable is that there be countries that are
willing to welcome Gadhafi and his family, obviously to end this
situation which otherwise could go on for some time," he said.
But the Italian diplomat insisted there was no option of
immunity for Gadhafi. "We cannot promise him a 'safe-conduct'
pass," he stressed.
Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa visited Tunisia briefly, but
there was no word if this was linked to the secret talks.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe insisted it was up to the
Libyan people to decide the dictator's fate. "They have to
organize the future of their country and to decide what Gadhafi
will become," he said.
Hague said Tuesday's meeting brought clarity between allies and
offered a key opportunity to discuss Libya's post-Gadhafi future
with Libya's opposition Interim National Council, whose envoy,
Mahmoud Jibril, held meetings with Hague, Clinton, British Prime
Minister David Cameron and several European foreign ministers.
Guma El-Gamaty, a Libyan opposition official, told reporters in
London that Gadhafi must be held accountable for his brutalizing of
civilians.
"These crimes must not go unpunished. They should be punished
at a fair trial held in a fair court," El-Gamaty said.
U.N. special envoy Abdelilah al-Khatib, a former Jordanian
foreign minister, will be returning to Libya to hold talks with
both Gadhafi's regime and opposition figures. And the U.S. and
France are both sending diplomats to the rebel-held Libyan city of
Benghazi to bolster ties with opposition leaders.
Those at the summit agreed to form an international contact
group of at least a dozen nations and institutions aimed at
coordinating political action and liaising with Libya's opposition.
Sweden, while not a member of NATO, said it would send eight
fighter jets to help enforce the U.N.-authorized no-fly zone over
Libya. Turkey said it also will likely join the group.
Still, the summit left a number of important questions open:
Nations didn't discuss whether or not they should -- or legally can
-- supply weapons to Libya's rebel fighters. There was also no open
discussion of how to lure Gadhafi into exile and Qatar gave few
details on its offer to help rebels sell crude oil on the
international market.
British diplomats also acknowledged there was no decision about
the makeup of the contact group, though its first meeting is
expected in Qatar in two weeks.
In Washington, Adm. James Stavridis, the NATO Supreme Allied
Commander in Europe, told Congress that officials have seen
"flickers" of possible al-Qaida and Hezbollah involvement among
the rebel forces.
Some officials attending the London meeting acknowledged they
had little knowledge of the opposition figures, including some on
the 33-member interim council.
However, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez discounted
the concerns, saying there was little evidence of al-Qaida
involvement in the Libyan opposition.
"When the first demonstrations and revolutions started in
Tunisia and Egypt there was also speculation about who would join
the street demonstrations," Jimenez said. "The reality was that
the vast majority were demanding more democracy, more freedom and
more rights. That is the impression we also have in Libya."
Despite those worries, Clinton and Juppe both hinted that the
international community may need to consider offering weapons to
the rebels.
"It is our interpretation that (UN Security Council resolution)
1973 amended or overrode the absolute prohibition on arms to anyone
in Libya, so that there could be a legitimate transfer of arms if a
country should choose to do that," Clinton said.
Jimenez disagreed, saying the arms embargo applies to all those
involved in fighting and suggested that any decision to arm the
rebels would require a new U.N. resolution.
Mahmoud Shammam, a spokesman for the Libyan opposition, told
reporters in London that, properly equipped, rebels "would finish
Gadhafi in a few days."
"We do not have arms. We ask for the political support more
than we are asking for the arms, but if we get both that would be
great," Shammam said.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jabr al-Thani said the
issue could be addressed later if the aerial campaign falls short
of its goal of protecting Libyan civilians.
"We have to evaluate the airstrike after a while to see if it's
effective," he said. "We are not inviting any military ground
(troops) ... But we have to evaluate the situation because we
cannot let the people suffer for so long. We have to find a way to
stop this bloodshed."
Opening the talks, Cameron told diplomats that Gadhafi was
pounding Misrata, the main rebel holdout in the west, with attacks
from land and sea, and unleashing snipers to shoot people in the
streets. The Libyan leader "has cut off food, water and
electricity to starve them into submission," he said.
"The reason for being here is because the Libyan people cannot
reach their future on their own," Cameron said. "We are all here
in one united purpose, that is to help the Libyan people in their
hour of need."