CANADIAN PRESS), MARCH 19, 2011 (CBC.CA) Libya's foreign minister has declared a ceasefire in the Gadhafi government's fight against rebel forces after the UN Security Council imposed a no-fly zone over the country.
With U.S., British, French and Canadian forces poised to attack Libyan air force installations to ensure airborne weapons stay on the ground, Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa said Friday that his government was obliged to accept the resolution.
[PHOTO - Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, seen here in 2009. TRIPOLI, Libya - Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa says Libya is declaring an immediate cease-fire and stopping all military operations. Friday's decision comes after the U.N. voted to authorized a no-fly zone and "all necessary measures" to protect the Libyan people, including airstrikes. Koussa says the cease-fire "will take the country back to safety" and ensure security for all Libyans. But he also criticized the authorization of international military action, calling it a violation of Libya's sovereignty. By Hadeel Al-Shalchi,Ryan Lucas, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press]
Moammar Gadhafi's government "takes a great interest in protecting all civilians … respecting all human rights," Kusa said at a news conference in Tripoli. "It also recognizes its obligation to protect all foreigners and their assets."
However, Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the national opposition council based in Benghazi, dismissed the ceasefire announcement, claiming Gadhafi's forces were still shelling the eastern city of Ajdabiya and Misrata, the last rebel-held city in the western half of the country.
In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was unimpressed with the regime's statement.
"We are going to be not responsive or impressed by words," Clinton said. "We would have to see actions on the ground, and that is not yet at all clear. We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to press Gadhafi to leave and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people."
To be sure, the Libyan foreign minister's conciliatory tone differed dramatically from statements hours earlier by Gadhafi.
Gadhafi told a Portuguese TV interviewer in Tripoli that the United Nations had no right to intervene in Libyan affairs.
"This is craziness, madness, arrogance," he said in a Reuters transcript. "If the world is crazy then we'll be crazy too .… We'll answer them, we'll respond to them, we'll make their lives hell as well, because this is injustice.''
Kusa said the government wanted to "take the country back to safety and security for all Libyans."
On Thursday, the UN Security Council authorized "all necessary measures" to stop attacks on civilians in Libya — including strikes by sea and air — hours after Gadhafi vowed to launch a final assault and crush the weeks-old rebellion against him.
Initially, it appeared Gadhafi was preparing to fight.
Libya closed its airspace to all traffic Friday after the Security Council passed its no-fly zone resolution, and authorized the use of force to protect Libyan citizens from their government.
Europe's air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol, told airlines "the latest information from Malta indicates that Tripoli [air control centre] does not accept traffic."
In Ottawa on Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the country will deploy six CF-18 fighter jets to help enforce the no-fly zone, joining HMCS Charlottetown, which is en route to the Mediterranean Sea off Libya.
British Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament that he, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Arab leaders would meet in Paris on Saturday to discuss immediate action against Libya.
"There will be a meeting in Paris tomorrow which President Sarkozy has called," Cameron said. "I will be attending, and there will also be representatives from across the Arab world."
The prime minister said the U.K. will start moving fighter jets to bases from which they can help enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.
"Britain will deploy Tornadoes and Typhoons as well as air-to-air refuelling and surveillance aircraft," he told Parliament.
Speaking at a public meeting later, Cameron said three things were needed for the UN to act: "a need on the ground, strong regional support, and a clear legal basis for anything that was proposed.
"These three conditions have now been met."
The prime minister also reminded his audience of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec, 21, 1988, killing 243 passengers and 16 crew. A Libyan was found to have been responsible, and many blamed Gadhafi.
"We must also remember that Gadhafi is a dictator who has a track record of violence and support for terrorism against our country and against Scotland specifically. The people of Lockerbie, just 100 miles away from here, know what he's capable of."
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Friday his country will allow its military bases to be used for the UN-backed military intervention. As well, Italy will offer its "active" participation in the intervention. Italy has NATO bases in Sigonella and in Aviano in northern Italy.
The Canadian jets would take at least 24 hours to arrive at their destination, a source said. Between 100 and 200 support personnel would be involved, the source said, adding the announcement was imminent.
Eurocontrol said Friday it had no information on how long Libya's airspace would be closed, but the agency said it had halted all air traffic for 24 hours.
Reporting from Cairo, the CBC's Nahlah Ayed said the no-fly zone is an unusual situation.
"It's not often that the UN allows military intervention, and certainly it is a sensitive subject here in the Middle East," she said. "On the other hand, though, the Arab League has given its OK for a no-fly zone."
Ayed said there appeared to be widespread sympathy for the UN action, especially with the Arab League involved.
"But for that sympathy to continue, for that sort of allowance of a foreign intervention, for the Arab world, it has to be short and focused, and it has to be successful as quickly as possible," she said.
In Ottawa, the CBC's James Cudmore said as many as 200 Canadian personnel could be involved in the Libyan action.
"We're looking at between 100 and 200 Canadian air crew sent along in order to support the operations," he said. "We're talking about technicians, mechanics … as well as communications people, intelligence folks, that kind of thing."
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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