Foreign Office ‘active on all fronts’ as Libya falls apart
By Ian Dunt
Britain has been maintaining diplomatic efforts on all fronts, amid what appeared to be the final moments of Colonel Gadaffi’s regime.
There were efforts taking place involving British delegations in London, the EU and in Libya itself.
Meanwhile, the Libyan delegation to the United Nations, which is meant to represent the Libyan government, called the shootings “genocide” and called for international action against its own state.
Two pilots from Libya managed to fly their jets to Malta today in a desperate bid to escape the regime. The news was treated as further evidence that Libya’s state apparatus was falling apart.
Several news agencies carried reports that Libyan jets were bombing many locations in the capital.
The Foreign Office earlier summoned the Libyan ambassador in London to a grilling, where it conveyed “in the strongest terms our absolute condemnation of the use of lethal force against demonstrators”.
Mr Hague, who met with European foreign secretaries today, warned that Libya’s relationship with the UK would be conditioned by the way it behaves now.
“This is a historic test for the European Union,” Mr Hague said as he left the meeting.
“If we can succeed in bringing democracy and stability to north Africa and the Middle East that will be the greatest achievement of the EU since enlargement.
“If we don’t succeed then the dangers of extremism and instability on our frontiers are immense.”
Mr Hague said that he had heard that Colonel Gadaffi was trying to fly to Venezuela.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister, who is currently conducting a visit to Egypt, viewed the Libyan government’s actions as “horrifying and unacceptable”.
Britain’s relations with Libya have slowly begun to improve since Tony Blair’s now-famous visit to the country, which was met with considerable acclaim.
But the recent row over the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi highlighted the complexity of the relationship, with internal communications revealing that Britain considered it in its national interest to support the release on compassionate grounds.
The Foreign Office said it was advising against all but essential travel to Libya.
The developments come as Mr al-Islam, Colonel Gaddafi’s son, took to state television to warn of civil war if unrest continued in the country.
Looking visibly nervous, he insisted that “Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt”, attacked the foreign media for exaggerating the number of protest deaths and warned of a return to colonialism if the demonstrations continued.
During the address, Mr al-Islam marked out his conversation with Mr Hague as evidence of a potential British invasion.
“The British FM [foreign minister] called me,” he said.
“Be ready for a new colonial period from American and Britain. You think they will accept an Islamic Emirate here, 30 minutes from Crete? The West will come and occupy you.
“Europe and the West will not agree to chaos in Libya, to export chaos and drugs so they will occupy us.”
Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 233 people have been killed in the violence so far, after tear gas and live ammunition were used on protestors.
Witnesses said demonstrators in Green Square were hit by snipers firing indiscriminately from the rooftops.
Fresh demonstrations have been reported in the cities of Tobruk, al-Bayda and Misrata, as tribal leaders start to distance themselves from Colonel Gadaffi’s rule.
