Photo: allAfrica.com President Obama says it is imperative that the world speak "with one voice" to condemn the suppression of peaceful demonstrators in Libya and to support their universal rights, and adds that the administration is preparing "a full range of options" that the United States can take unilaterally and multilaterally in response to the ongoing violence.
Speaking at the White House February 23, Obama said the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need and respect the rights of the Libyan people.
"It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities and face the cost of continued violations of human rights," he said.
"I have also asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis. This includes those actions we may take and those we will coordinate with our allies and partners, or those that we'll carry out through multilateral institutions," the president said.
Obama said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will be meeting with her counterparts on the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 28, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns will continue to hold discussions in the region on Libya and other areas of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to press reports, after a week of protests, as many as 300 people have been killed in recent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi.
Obama said the bloodshed, threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters in Libya are outrageous and unacceptable. "These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency," he said.
The United States strongly supports the universal rights of Libyans and all people to enjoy the freedoms of peaceful assembly, free speech and the ability to determine their own destiny, Obama said.
"These are human rights. They are not negotiable. They must be respected in every country and they cannot be denied through violence or suppression," Obama said.
"The change that is taking place across the region is being driven by the people of the region. This change doesn't represent the work of the United States or any foreign power. It represents the aspirations of people who are seeking a better life," he said.
The most basic human aspirations are driving the current unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, Obama said. Throughout the current time of transition, the United States will continue to stand up for freedom, justice and "the dignity of all people," he added.
Secretary Clinton said February 23 that "this is now the moment for the international community to act together" in response to the situation in Libya.
"Everything will be on the table. We will look at all the possible options to try to bring an end to the violence, to try to influence the government," she said.
State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley told reporters February 23 that the Obama administration is considering "a full range of tools and options," including "sanctions that could be imposed, either bilaterally or multilaterally," as well as the possibility of freezing the financial assets of Libyan leaders in response to the violence.
Asked why the Obama administration has not yet taken action in response to the violence, Crowley said that many of the steps that the United States is contemplating will "require some preparation," such as legal and executive orders, and will need to have "a standard of due diligence" in order to have support.
Crowley also said that it is not up to the United States or any other power to "dictate who should rule or not rule a particular country."
"Who leads Libya is a matter between the government and the Libyan people," he said. The Obama administration is continuing to encourage political, social and economic reform in Libya and other countries in the Middle East, to allow all people in the region the ability to participate in a free, fair and transparent political process.
"They are the ones who ultimately will make the decisions as to ... who are their rulers, who are their legislators and what the policies of their country should be," he said.
U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS VIOLENCE IN LIBYA
The United Nations Security Council discussed the situation in Libya on February 22 and issued a presidential statement that condemns the use of violence against Libyan civilians and urges the Libyan government to immediately take steps to "address the legitimate demands of the population, including through national dialogue."
The Libyan government has a responsibility to protect its population, the Security Council said and called on authorities to "act with restraint, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law and to allow immediate access for international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies," including ensuring the safe passage of humanitarian and medical supplies, as well as humanitarian workers, to help address reported shortages in Libya.
Libya must also "respect the freedom of peaceful assembly and of expression, including freedom of the press," the Security Council said, as it called for "the immediate lifting of restrictions on all forms of the media."
The Security Council statement also stressed "the importance of accountability," with the "need to hold to account those responsible for attacks, including by forces under their control, on civilians."
Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, the deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations, expressed strong U.S. support for the Security Council statement. In remarks after the statement was issued, she said she hopes that it "will help bring an immediate end to this unacceptable situation."
"The international community has said in one clear and unified voice that it condemns the violence against civilians in Libya, that the violence must cease immediately and that the government of Libya must exercise restraint and protect the rights of its people," DiCarlo said, adding that the United States will continue to "stand up in support of the legitimate aspirations and universal rights of people everywhere."
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THE US PRESIDENTIS BY FAR STILL PANDERING TO RHETORIC AND HIS IMPERIALIST AGENDA HAS MUCH MORE PRE`CEDENCE.THE AMERICANS FOUND IT TRYININGLY HARD TO CONDEMN MUBARAK AND ACTUALLY SUPPOTED HIS LONG STANDING FRIENDSHIP WITH MUBARAK AND HIS REGIME. THE US HAS AVERY UNIQUE POLICY THRU OUT AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST.WHAT THE WORLD SAW IN EGYPT WAS REVOLUTION BASED ,,"NOT ON ISLAMIC RIGHTS ARAB RIGHTS BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN AND DIVINE RIGHS THE UNIVERSAL RIGHTS OF FREEWISE" THE INTEGRITY OF THE PEOPLE WERE CLEAR OPPRESSION ,PEPRESSION AND SUPPRESSION WERE NOT ACCEPTABLE.THE UNITED STATES PLAYED A INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN THE OPPRESSION OF EGYTIANS;MUBARAK SIGNED AND DELIVERED HIS COUNTYRY OVER TO THE US AND ISRAEL A PACT THAT DISABLED THE CIVIL AND EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL ITS CITISENS;THE US COMPLICITLY AIDED AND ABETTED THE EGYPTIAN OPPRESSION BY SUPPLYING WEAPONS OF HIGH AND SOPHISTICATED LEVELS OF PEOPLE DESTRUCTION. THE LEVEL OF VIOLENCE IN EGYPT WAS MINIMISED BECAUSE THE EGYPTIANS WROTE AND DESIGNED THRU FAITH THE DISMANTLING OF A STATE THAT WAS COMPLETELY AWASHED IN VILE AND DESPICABLE CORRUPTION;THE EGYPTIANS HAD THE STATE OF MIND TO REFRAIN FROM ANY PROVACATIVE OR VIOLENT BEHAVIOR,THIS FORCED THE MUBARAK REGIME TO STAND DOWN.THE US IS NOT A CHAMPION OF HUMAN RIGHTS,SOFOR LBYANS TO SEEK JUSTICE FROM THE US IS QUITE UNIQUE THE US AND THEIR ALLIES PRACTICE WHAT WE KNOW TO BE HYPOCRITS; WHILE THE CONTINUED FIGHTING WAS GOING ON IN LBYA AND BAHRAIN THE BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER WAS SELLING ARMS TO SAUDI ARABIA, NOW WHO DOYOU THINK THESE HIGH VOLUMES OF ARTILLERY ARE FOR;THERES NO MAJOR WAR IN THE AREA BUT I, WILL TEEL YOU SHOULTHE SAUDIS ATTEMPT TO DEFY THE KING THE WEST EXPECTS HIM TO DESTROY ANY FORM OF SEDITION WITH BRUTAL FORCE,THEY DONT EXPECT COMPROMISE.SO BE VERY CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR.THE LBYAN CRISIS IS QUITE UNIQUEAS WE KNOW LBYA DOESNT HAVE THE TYPE OF INFRASTRUCTUR THAT TUNISIA OR EGYPT HAD,SO THE MENTALLITY OF THIS REVOLUTION IS SOME HOW DIFFERENT TO THE EVENTS WE SAW IN EGYPT;THE REVOLUTION IN EGYPT WAS THE HUMBLING OF A TYRANT AND GIANT WHO HAD TREMENDOUS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT AND WAS MADE ECCEEDINGLY WEALTHY BY THESE PEOPLE; WHAT OTHER RVOLUTIONARIES WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS THE LBYAN YOUTHS RESTRAIN FROM ESCALATING THE VIOLENCE.BE WARNED THAT GADAFFI IS ALSO A REVOLUTIONARY AND HE WILL EMPLOY THE SUPPORT OF MANY HES GAINED THRUOUT THE YEARS;AFRICA IS THE CONTINENT WHERE YOU LIVE LBYA IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE AFRICAN UNION;AFRICA AS A WHOLE HAS THE PROBLEM OF LONG TIME DICTATORS WHOVE COCCUPIED AND RETAIONED POWER THRU WESTERN AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITTES;THE PLIGHT OF THE AFRICAN IS NOT UNIQUE;WHAT IS UNIQUE IS THAT THE REVOLUTIONS TH AT HAS TAKEN HOLD IN AFRICA HAS RESISTED THE POWER OF VIOLENCE;TO ANY WAY RVERT TO ANY FORM OF VIOLENCE IS ENHANCING THE VERY HANDS THAT WEVE DEFEATED,VIOLENT BEHAVIOR BEGETS VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AS SOON AS IT RAGES THE REVOLUTION TAKES A DIFFERENT DIRECTIO9N AND THE CANBECOME HIJACKED BY ELEMENTS WHO THRIVE ON VIOLENCE;THE CALL FOR EGYPTIANS AND TUNMISIAN TO EMBARK ON SOME SORT OF HOLY WAR IS UNQUETIONABLE;THAT WAS NOT HOW AND AHT THE REVOLUTION CONTAINED THIS WAS AREVOLUTION OF HONOUR AND INTEGRITY THE EGYPTIANS SUBMITTED BEFORE GOD THAT HE WAS THE ONLY MASTER THAT THEY WILLBECOME PASSIONATE ABOUT FOR IN HIS WILL DO THEY PUT THEIR TRUST.THE YOUTHS HAVE TO CONSIDER THE PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO TRY TO FIGHT DEATH FOR DEATH IS NOT EVEN IN THE TRADITION OF THE UNIVERSAL TRADITION OF EQUAL RIGHTS. ISRAEL AND THE WEST WILL USE THIS FORCE OF VIOLENCE TO CONTINUE THEIR WICKED OPPRESSION OF PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND INN ASIA;SO BE CAREFUL HOW YOU TAKE THE REVOLUTION TO DIFFERENT HEIGHTS.ITS IS DEPLORABLE THAT THIS VILLANOUS FORM OF OPPOSSITION TO UNIVERSAL RIGHTS IS TRULY DESPICABLE;HOWEVER THE RIGHT OF LIFE IS MUCH MORE A PESCEDENT;"HE WHOLIVES TO RUN AWAY LIVES TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY" THE BATTLE IS NOT FOR THE SWIFT BUT WHO ENDURETH";SO TEK TIME YOUNG BLOODS THE REVOLUTION IS YOURS WITH THE POWER OF CONCIOUSNESS AND RIGHTOUSNESS ANYU POWER CAN BE DEFEATED BUT YOU NEED TO SIMMER DOWN AND NOW THAT YOUVE GARNISHE MORE SUPPORT COME OFF THE STREETS AND DECLARE A DAY FOR THE POULAR REVOLUTION FOR ALL PEIPOLE TO IN A NON VIOLENT WAY TAKE TO THE STREETS WITH ALL YOUR HEART IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY YOU PRESENT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND IN SO DOING THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT WHO CAN DENY THE OVERWHELMING RIGHTS OF THE MAJORITY OF ITS PEOPLE.NOW THAT THE WORLD HAS SEEN YOUR HEARTS DESIRE TO CONTINUE TOFIGHT FIRE WTH FIRE IS NOT THE WAY FORWARD;FOR YOU TO EVEN ASK EGYPTIANS TO ENGAGE INFIRE FIGHTS AND BETRAY THEIR TRUST WITH THE ALLMIGHTY IS NOT FEASIBLE;ALREADY YOU PEAK OF THE AFRICANS AS THOUGH YOURE NOT AFRICANS ;UNDER NO MEANS IS SEPPERATISM AND STEREOTYPING BIAS A PART OF THIS UNIVERSAL VALUES OF INTEGRITY THAT EGYPT WHO NOW LEADS THIS FORE FRONT;VIOLENCE AT TIMES IS NECESSARY BUT TO DECLARE WAR IS NOT FEASIBLE TO NORTH AFRICA OR AFRICA ON A WHOLE . THE INTYERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS NOT WHOM YOU ASK FOR YOUR FREEDOM THAT IS NOT THE WAY;EGYUPT AN TUNISIA DID NOT INVOLVE THE UN THE SO CALLED INTERNATIOAL COMMUNTIY OR THE EU,THES PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE YOUR INTERST AT HEART; THE ALLMIGHTY IS A SAFE PLACE OF REFUGE; YEMEN BAHRAIN THEYVE SEEN THE POWER OF WHAT OUR CREATOR WHOS ALIVECAN DO FOR ALL THEY THAT PUT YOUR TRUST IN HIS HANDS YOU MUST NOT ALLOW WHOLE SCALE S OF PEOPLE TO BE MURDERED THAT IS NOT THE WAY FORWARD LIFE MY YOUTHS IS SACRED;YOU CANT PRAISE GOD WHEN YOU DEAD;HAVE FAITH IN THE MOST HIGH AND BRING THE PEOPLE TOETHER IN PEACE AND UNITY AND BELIEVE ME GADDAFI WILL SURRENDER;PRIDE COMES BEFORE HUMILITY SO BE WISE IN HOW YOU PROCEED;"UNIVERSAL AFRICAN REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC IMPROVEMENT ALLIANCES"
I think it is time we stopped blaming the US and the rest of the West for our woes. If at this point in life, African cannot fight and solve their own problems, then we do not deserve to live. In Tunisia, it was the people, not the US. In Egypt, the people did it. The people should do it in Libya and Zimbabawe. With or without the support of the west, the African people must know they need and fight for it. Freedom is a call in the human sould. kwabena, www.talkafrique.com
REVOLUTIONS IN AFRICA HAS BEEN REFRESHING ENERGISING AND EXHILERATING; THE PEOPLE WER WITHOUT DOUBT ON A MOMENTUS WAY TO BURN THE SHACKLES OF THE IMPERIALIST. THE PEOPLE OF BAHRAIN ,YEMEN SEEM TO HAVE SOMEHOW ACHIEVED THE STRENGTH AND DIRECTION OF THE WAY TO TRUE DEMOCRACY;THE WEST WAS LOST; WHATS DEVELOPED IN LBYA HAS SOMEHOW IN MY ESTIMATION GIVEN THE WEST A TOE HOLD BACK INTO AFRICA.WHETHER GADAFFI IS GUILTY OF VIOLENCE OR NOT THEIR IS NOW IN LBYA CIVIL WAR;WHEN THERE IS VIOLENCE THERE ARE NO GOOD GUYS. THE US ,UK, AND THESE HYPOCRITS GO AROYND THE WORLD PLYING THEIR WEAPONS OF DEATH. WOULD YOU BELIEVE WHILE THE STREETS OF LBYA WAS BURNING THE B RITISH FOREIGN MINISTER WAS IN SAUDI ARABIA SELLING HIGH TECH WEAPONS; WHO IS HE SELLING THESE WEAPONS TO BE USED AGAINST?THESE ARE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO! LETS BE CLEAR THE WEST AGENDA IS NOT FOR WORLD PEACE OR HARMONIOUS SOCIETIES BASED ON EQUALITY AND CIVIL JUSTCES AN RIGHTS, WESTERN TRADITION HAS BEEN TO EXPLOIT AND SUBJUGATE. FIRSTLY WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN EGYPT IS A NEW DEVLOPING OF CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS THAT DOESNT DESCRIMINATE OR HAS ANY DISPARITIES TOWARDS ITS CITZENS IT WILL BE UNBIASSED AND THE PEOPLE WILL BE THE CONVEYORS OF POWER; ITS FAIR TO SAY THAT THE SOUTH SUDAN GOVERNMENT IS ALSO RALLYING ALON THOSE POINTS. THIS FORM OF GOVERNMENT FROM GRASSROOTS BOTTM UP POWER TO THE PEOPLE IS WITHOUT DOUBT THE WAY FORWARD.THE WEST NOW THAT THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON IN LIBYA HAS SOMEONE TO TARGET AND FOR THE UNIVERSAL RVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC REFORMS THAT ARE SO VITAL FOR AFRICAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN TRANSFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE ARE SOME HOW BEING HIJACKED BY THIS WICKED CIRCLE OF VIOLENCE THATS NOW ENGULFING LIBYA. THE TERMINOLOGY AND RHETTORIC SUGGEST A VIEW WHERE THE TRANSFER FROM WESTERN IDEOLOGY IS BEING REINTRODUCED THRU THIS LIBYAN REVOLUTION; THE WEST AS WE KNOW DOES NOT PRACTICE DEMOCRACY,THEIR WHOLE IDEOLOGY IS BUILT ON GREED THEFT CORRUPTION AND LIES SO THE ULTIMATE IS MURDER;THESE TYPE OF BEHAVIORS IS NOT A CONCEPT TO EMBRACE;THE MENTALITY OF THE PEOPLE IS FOR THE EQUALITY OF ALL RIGHTS AND THE SHAREING OF ALLITS NATURAL RESSOURCES;THIS WAY FORWARD IS NOT THRU DESTRUCTION AND WAR BUT COOPERATION AND FAIRNESS THE CONSTITUTION HAS TO INVOLVE THE NATION AS SAID EARLIER THE PEOPLE ARE THE CONSTITUTION THEY HAVE THE POWER;DO NOT ALLY YOURSELVES WITH YOUR FORMER COLONIZWERS THATS A STEP BACKWARDS ;TH REVOLUTION IS THE FUTURE OF ALL THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA ;THERE IS NO SEPPERATISM THIS IS REVOLUTION FOR THE UPLIFTMENT FOR A WISE AND TRIUMPHANT CONTINENT THAT CAN STABLEISE AND MAINTAIN THE STONG VALUES OF TRUE DEMOCRACY.AFRICANS NEED TO FIND A WAY FORWARD IN LIBYA . MANY AFRICAN LEADERS HAS A LOVE FOR GADAFFI FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS WHAT AFRICANS NEED TO REALISE THAT ITS TIME FOR CHANGE FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL AFRICANS ; HAVING ALL OF EUROPE BACK ON AFRICAN SOIL IS DEFINITELY THE WAY FORWARD ALSO THE DEATH OF MANY IS NOT THE WAY FORWARD. I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU THEIR HYPOCISY IN COTE d IVOIRE THEY DESIGNED AND FORCED CONFLICT THERE EVEN WHEN THE SITUATION WAS RELATIVELY MILD THEY DID EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO CREATE A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS ENHANCED RHETTORIC WAGEING WAR CALLING FOR BLOOD SHED WANING THE WEST AFRICAN FORCES TO SPILL BLOOD; THESE BEHAVIOURS WE MUST NOT CHOOSE TO ADAPT ITS ALL COUNTERPRODUCTIVE AND IT DOESNT TRIUMPH UNITY!! ALL AFRICA HERE AT THE CROSS ROADS ITS TIME TO UNITE THERE MUST BE A WAY FORWARD ALL THESE LEADERS WHO IS INTOXICATED WITH POWER HAS TO GO BUT AFRICANS HAS TO CLEAN THEIR OWN MESS !!!!!!!