Doha summit considers international fund for rebels in eastern Libya, as William Hague repeats call for Muammar Gaddafi to go
The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, his British counterpart, William Hague, and the UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, at the Libya summit in Doha. Photograph: Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images
Arab and western leaders are discussing creating an international fund to help the Libyan opposition in the east of the country, amid renewed demands that Muammar Gaddafi step down at once.
In the Qatari capital, Doha, William Hague, Britain's foreign secretary, and the Qatari prime minister, Hamed bin Jassem, chaired a first session of the international Libya "contact group" to explore ways ahead in the face of military impasse between the Gaddafi regime and the rebels – and a sense that the crisis has turned into a long haul. Diplomats said the group would meet once a month, with the next session due in Italy.
Plans for what Hague called a temporary financial mechanism to channel cash to the Benghazi-based opposition are being discussed, although officials shied away from comparisons with the UN oil-for-food programme used to alleviate sanctions against Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
Any aid to eastern Libya would need to be legally consistent with existing UN sanctions, diplomats warned. But the ability to supply basic services would bolster the position and credibility of the rebel interim transitional council.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, underlined the scale of the challenge when he told delegates that up to 3.6 million Libyans could need humanitarian aid.
Hague emphasised that the Libyan leader must leave office. "The vast majority of the world agrees that Gaddafi must go," he said. "Sitting tight will not be a successful strategy for this regime. The pressure on them will mount, not weaken." Tripoli's rulers, he said, were pariahs.
Nato's "decisive action" had saved thousands of lives, Hague told the conference's opening session. But there were signs of divisions over the military campaign, with the UK and France pressing other countries, especially Italy, to take part in attacks on Libyan ground forces. Belgium is also resisting.
"We have sent more ground strike aircraft in order to protect civilians," Hague said. "We do look to other countries to do the same, if necessary, over time."
Libyan opposition officials urged Nato to do much more. "When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it was more leaning toward protecting civilians," said their spokesman, Mahmud Shammam. Opposition officials are due to leave later for Washington to lobby the Obama administration.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's Danish secretary general, defended the alliance's record after more than 2,000 sorties. Since its mandate was to protect civilians, it had to be cautious, he said. "We do our utmost to strike the right balance," he said.
Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, said his country was ready to contribute to humanitarian efforts but declined to comment on Nato military operations, in which it is refusing to take part.
The most conspicuous absentee from the conference was Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister and most high-profile defector from the regime. Koussa flew to Doha from London to "offer insights" to the Qataris after being questioned about the Lockerbie bombing.
But opposition figures made clear they were not welcoming him into their ranks because of his long and loyal service to Gaddafi, including 14 years as his intelligence chief.
Other items on the agenda in Doha include plans for humanitarian aid and stabilisation assistance, with the UN and the International Red Cross tasked to deploy assessment missions in eastern Libya and rebel-controlled enclaves in the west such as Misrata, which is under siege by regime forces.
Talks on Libya shift to Cairo on Thursday. The UN secretary general is expected to join the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, the African Union commission chairman, Jean Ping, and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton.
The meeting is expected to discuss a Turkish roadmap for peace under which Gaddafi's forces would withdraw from besieged cities. That would evidently require the agreement of the government in Tripoli, which is not forthcoming. The rebels insist on clarification of a Turkish reference to the "aspirations" of the Libyan people – which as far as they are concerned cannot possibly include tolerating the "brother leader of the revolution" any longer.
curtsy-guardian.co.uk
In the Qatari capital, Doha, William Hague, Britain's foreign secretary, and the Qatari prime minister, Hamed bin Jassem, chaired a first session of the international Libya "contact group" to explore ways ahead in the face of military impasse between the Gaddafi regime and the rebels – and a sense that the crisis has turned into a long haul. Diplomats said the group would meet once a month, with the next session due in Italy.
Plans for what Hague called a temporary financial mechanism to channel cash to the Benghazi-based opposition are being discussed, although officials shied away from comparisons with the UN oil-for-food programme used to alleviate sanctions against Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
Any aid to eastern Libya would need to be legally consistent with existing UN sanctions, diplomats warned. But the ability to supply basic services would bolster the position and credibility of the rebel interim transitional council.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, underlined the scale of the challenge when he told delegates that up to 3.6 million Libyans could need humanitarian aid.
Hague emphasised that the Libyan leader must leave office. "The vast majority of the world agrees that Gaddafi must go," he said. "Sitting tight will not be a successful strategy for this regime. The pressure on them will mount, not weaken." Tripoli's rulers, he said, were pariahs.
Nato's "decisive action" had saved thousands of lives, Hague told the conference's opening session. But there were signs of divisions over the military campaign, with the UK and France pressing other countries, especially Italy, to take part in attacks on Libyan ground forces. Belgium is also resisting.
"We have sent more ground strike aircraft in order to protect civilians," Hague said. "We do look to other countries to do the same, if necessary, over time."
Libyan opposition officials urged Nato to do much more. "When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it was more leaning toward protecting civilians," said their spokesman, Mahmud Shammam. Opposition officials are due to leave later for Washington to lobby the Obama administration.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato's Danish secretary general, defended the alliance's record after more than 2,000 sorties. Since its mandate was to protect civilians, it had to be cautious, he said. "We do our utmost to strike the right balance," he said.
Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, said his country was ready to contribute to humanitarian efforts but declined to comment on Nato military operations, in which it is refusing to take part.
The most conspicuous absentee from the conference was Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister and most high-profile defector from the regime. Koussa flew to Doha from London to "offer insights" to the Qataris after being questioned about the Lockerbie bombing.
But opposition figures made clear they were not welcoming him into their ranks because of his long and loyal service to Gaddafi, including 14 years as his intelligence chief.
Other items on the agenda in Doha include plans for humanitarian aid and stabilisation assistance, with the UN and the International Red Cross tasked to deploy assessment missions in eastern Libya and rebel-controlled enclaves in the west such as Misrata, which is under siege by regime forces.
Talks on Libya shift to Cairo on Thursday. The UN secretary general is expected to join the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, the African Union commission chairman, Jean Ping, and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Lady Ashton.
The meeting is expected to discuss a Turkish roadmap for peace under which Gaddafi's forces would withdraw from besieged cities. That would evidently require the agreement of the government in Tripoli, which is not forthcoming. The rebels insist on clarification of a Turkish reference to the "aspirations" of the Libyan people – which as far as they are concerned cannot possibly include tolerating the "brother leader of the revolution" any longer.
curtsy-guardian.co.uk
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