WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has urged the world to unite to hold Libya accountable for a vicious protest crackdown, stiffening a US response that critics had cast as too mild. In his first televised response to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's decision to unleash vengeance on demonstrators, Obama reached out to US allies on Wednesday and promised to deploy a "full range of options" to halt "outrageous" bloodshed.
Obama spoke as Washington was considering fresh sanctions and other steps against Libya, and as political pressure mounted for a tougher response.The administration's careful previous line on violence that a former Libyan minister said had killed 1,000 people appeared to be dictated by fears that American diplomats and citizens in Libya could face reprisals.But by late Wednesday, a US-chartered ferry with a capacity of 575 passengers was riding out bad weather in Tripoli harbor ready to cast off on an evacuation mission to Malta.
"The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous, and it is unacceptable," Obama said at the White House."So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms, and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop."
Obama defended his administration against claims its response to the latest wave of unrest crashing across the Middle East, had been too tempered. "Over the last few days my national security team has been working around the clock to monitor the situation there and to coordinate with our international partners about a way forward," he said.
Human Rights First international policy advisor Neil Hicks welcomed Obama's response, saying it "sends an important signal that the United States stands with those demanding their human rights."But he urged Washington to impose targeted sanctions on Kadhafi and others close to him, lead efforts to impose multilateral sanctions on the regime, suspend all US exports to Libya and call for an arms embargo and a no fly zone.
Though officials said sanctions were among options being discussed, it was unclear whether calls for NATO to establish a no fly zone over Libya to protect civilians were on the table. Obama did not mention Kadhafi, who has ruled for four decades and frequently defied the United States, by name. In an angry rambling speech on Tuesday, Libya's ruthless and unpredictable leader threatened to purge opponents "house by house" and "inch by inch" and vowed to fight to the finish.
"The army is still very strong," Kadhafi's son Saadi Kadhafi told the Financial Times. "If we hear anything, we will send some battalions. When people see the army, they will be afraid." Seeking to corral international action on Libya, Obama said that in such a volatile situation, it was "imperative" for nations to speak with one voice.
He dispatched Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a ministerial level meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday. "Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need and to respect the rights of its people," Obama said. "It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities and face the cost of continued violations of human rights."
Obama's call to US allies appeared to be a signal that Washington, which has sought to avoid injecting itself into the Middle East revolts, preferred the safety in numbers of multilateral action. Europe had already moved to isolate Kadhafi, readying sanctions that one diplomat said could include an assets freeze, a travel ban, an arms embargo and the legal pursuit of those involved in violent repression.
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