Telegraph
Libya: Barack Obama calls on Col Gaddafi to step down
Barack Obama has for the first time called on Col Muammar Gaddafi to step down, saying that the Libyan government must be held accountable for its brutal crackdown on dissenters.
By Alex Spillius
Late on Saturday night, the UN Security Council unanimously approved international sanctions against the Libyan regime and voted unanimously to refer evidence of atrocities in Libya to the International Criminal Court.
The US administration earlier announced new unilateral sanctions against the country.
The White House said that in a conversation with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, the president stated “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".
Until Saturday, US officials had held back from openly throwing all their support behind the protest movement, insisting that it was for the Libyan people to determine how they want to be led and to determine whether or not Col Gaddafi should leave the country.
The impact of Mr Obama’s statement was still open to question however, as it lacked the force that a televised statement would have had.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8350246/Libya-Barack-Obama-calls-on-Col-Gaddafi-to-step-down.html
No comments:
Post a Comment