Related: U.N. is Racist
You know, I think they have a point.
"Court issues warrant for Libyan leader’s arrest; Crackdown on protesters brings charges" by Colum Lynch, Washington Post / June 28, 2011
NEW YORK — Judges from the International Criminal Court issued a warrant yesterday for the arrest of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, his son, and a top military intelligence chief, calling for them to stand trial for crimes against humanity in connection with a violent crackdown on antigovernment protesters.
I expect that the leaders of Bahrain and Yemen will soon be following?
The three-judge pretrial chamber ruled that ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had established “reasonable grounds’’ to charge Khadafy, his son Seif al-Islam Khadafy, and Abdullah al-Senussi, the chief of military intelligence. They are accused of killing and persecuting hundreds of Libyan civilians since the government began suppressing public protests Feb. 15.
The ruling adds to the mounting international pressure on Khadafy to yield power.
Actually, it probably made him dig his heels in more, but....
The regime has been the target of daily NATO airstrikes, and alliance officials hope the court’s action will encourage more countries to abandon the Libyan leader.
Yeah, haven't seen much about those airstrikes lately.
Related: NATO Violates U.N. Resolution in Libya
Oh, that is probably why.
U.N. going to serve up war crimes charges against NATO, too?
But it could also give Khadafy less incentive to accept a peaceful settlement because he may be unable to arrange an amnesty.
In issuing the ruling, Judge Sanji Monageng of Botswana said there was sufficient evidence to believe that the three Libyans have committed the crimes and that their arrest was necessary to ensure they appear before the Hague-based court and to prevent them from continuing further crimes....
And yet western war criminals walk the planet.
“This decision once again highlights the increasing isolation of the Khadafy regime,’’ said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. “It reinforces the reason for NATO’s mission to protect the Libyan people from Khadafy’s forces.’’
But not from their own.
“Khadafy and his henchmen need to realize that time is rapidly running out for them,’’ Rasmussen said. “NATO is more determined than ever to keep up the pressure until all attacks on civilians have ended, until all regime forces have returned to their bases, and until there is unhindered access to humanitarian aid for all those who need it.’’
Related: Zero Hour Approaches For Khadafy
He's still there?
Libyan officials did not immediately react to the issuance of the warrant, but the regime has long said it does not recognize the legitimacy of the court.
“All of its activities are directed at African leaders,’’ government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Sunday. “Is it really trying to protect the people from war crimes? Or is it just conducting a hidden agenda for the West?’’
Yup.
***********************
The decision to charge the Libyan leader has sparked a debate among scholars, military officers, and government officials over the role of such a politically sensitive prosecution in the midst of an armed conflict. Some officials fear it will complicate efforts to get Khadafy to step down; others maintain that the charge will send a powerful message to other dictators to not use lethal force against civilians....
Unless they are U.N.-approved.
The Libyan leader has shown remarkable staying power, surviving an onslaught of bombing strikes, one of which resulted in the death of one of his sons.
But the clock is ticking.
Much of the evidence of Khadafy’s intent to violently repress the demonstrations rests on his own public statements.
On Feb. 22, in a speech on state television, Khadafy described the protesters as “garbage’’ and “rats’’ and threatened to “clean Libya inch by inch, house by house, small street by small street, individual by individual, corner by corner, until the country is clear from all garbage and dirt.’’
Isn't that just political bluster and hyperbole? A
And isn't that what the U.S. did in Iraq and Afghanistan?
The prosecutor charged Khadafy’s son with playing an active role in recruiting foreign mercenaries who were placed under the command of the Libyan security services and ordered to attack suspected dissidents and protesters.
Then the "rumors" about Israel supplying Khadafy with contract killers is TRUE!
The prosecutor cited Senussi for his alleged role in leading a crackdown on opposition figures and demonstrators in the restive city of Benghazi, which has emerged as the capital of resistance to Khadafy’s rule. He charged that Senussi, acting on Khadafy’s request, “expressly ordered the shooting at civilians’’ in Benghazi.
Yesterday’s ICC ruling marks only the second time that the ICC has sought the arrest of a sitting head of state.
In 2005, the court issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who stands accused of orchestrating a genocidal campaign against civilians in Darfur. The court has been unable to arrest Bashir, who is preparing for a visit to Beijing.
After he was in Tehran for the terrorism conference.
Libya is not a signatory to the treaty, known as the Rome Statute, that established the ICC, and is subject to the court’s jurisdiction only if the United Nations Security Council authorizes it.
Neither is the U.S. In fact, we UNSIGNED IT!
In a sign of Khadafy’s isolation, staunch opponents of the ICC, including China and Russia, voted to approve the ICC investigation of his actions.
The Feb. 26 adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1970, which approved the ICC prosecution in Libya, marked the first time that the United States had voted in favor of a measure empowering the International Criminal Court.
President Obama’s administration has previously encouraged the court to pursue cases that are consistent with US interests.
They really have SOME NERVE, huh?
And why the obfuscation regarding U.S. membership?
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"First, get him out of Libya" June 28, 2011
AT LEAST in the abstract, the International Criminal Court served the cause of justice by issuing an arrest warrant yesterday for Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy. But the warrant has come at the wrong time. If it prevents Khadafy from striking a deal that grants him safe exile abroad, the arrest warrant could cost more lives than it saves....
Why does western justice always seem to work that way?
It’s an encouraging sign that, according to Tunisia’s state news agency, three of Khadafy’s ministers are in Tunisia conducting talks with “several foreign parties’’ about sending the dictator into exile.
The ICC is not supposed to let political or tactical considerations enter into its decisions about whom to indict. But....
It is all political as the selective prosecutions and charges show.
--more--"
"Prosecutor urges Khadafy’s inner circle to turn him in" by Mike Corder, Associated Press / June 29, 2011
THE HAGUE — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court urged Moammar Khadafy’s aides yesterday to arrest the Libyan leader and turn him over for trial on murder and persecution charges — or risk prosecution themselves....
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo was optimistic that Khadafy’s regime would be over within three months....
That is nowhere close to zero, and have I ever had it with war lies.
The prosecutor said the other option for arresting Khadafy is through the rebels fighting to end his more than four decades in power.
The court’s enforcement problems were underscored this week by the trip to China by President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who was charged last year by the international court with genocide in Darfur.
China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which authorized the court to investigate the Darfur conflict.
“China is not a signatory of the ICC . . . and we reserve our opinion on the ICC’s prosecution of Bashir,’’ Hong Lei, Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a news conference in Beijing. The United States also is not a signatory to the court’s statute....
Moreno-Ocampo cited the arrest last month of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic after 15 years on the run as an example of how internationally wanted suspects almost always end up in court....
Related: Mladic Moved to U.N. Cell
Speaking in Cambodia, where the trial of four Khmer Rouge leaders has begun, Stephen Rapp, US war crimes ambassador, agreed that the long-awaited Cambodian trials and Mladic’s arrest sent a clear signal: “If you commit these crimes, there will be consequences.’’
See: Globe Court Report: Asian Exception
Hundreds of civilians were killed, injured, or arrested in the last two weeks of February, and the court’s presiding judge, Sanji Monageng of Botswana, said there were “reasonable grounds to believe’’ that Khadafy and his supporters were responsible for the murder and persecution of civilians as well as attempting to cover up the crimes.
So how is he different from any other government?
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"In win for Obama, panel OKs US operation in Libya
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WTF, Globe?
Would a "friend" keep doing that to us?
"Senate panel votes to back US actions in Libya that House rebuked" by Donna Cassata, Associated Press / June 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — In a victory for President Obama, a Senate panel voted yesterday to approve participation in the military campaign against Libya and Moammar Khadafy’s forces.
The 14-5 vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sharply contrasted with the House’s overwhelming rejection of a similar resolution last week, muddling the message about congressional support for the commander in chief’s actions and the NATO-led operation....
As the operation continues forward unchecked.
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