IRISH REACTION:MINISTER FOR Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has called for Muammar Gadafy to leave Libya without further violence.
Mr Gilmore said he welcomed the apparent end to the dictator’s 42-year rule and said Gadafy had no role in the country’s future government. The Minister said his officials had remained in close contact with Irish families in Libya and had arranged for possible evacuations. All are safe, he said.
“Yesterday I watched the hope and emotion as the pace of events quickened and the rebels surged towards and entered Tripoli, and the population celebrated what looks like the end of the dictatorship which has ruled Libya for 42 years,” Mr Gilmore said. “In the end the forces of the dictator, which had no real popular support, seem to have withered away.
“The fighting is probably not yet over, but we can hope now that the Libyan revolution can be brought quickly to a successful end with the minimum of bloodshed.”
The Labour leader said the National Transitional Council was the only authority in the country and said he hoped it would be able to establish an effective government.
“I have met their representatives, and was impressed by their vision of an inclusive and democratic future for all Libyans, and the thought-out plans they had for achieving it,” the Minister said.
“The international community will look to them to respect human rights and the rule of law, including in respect of prisoners, and to restore peace and stability.”
Mr Gilmore offered his congratulations to Libyans living in Ireland for a “hopeful new beginning in their homeland”.
Politicians in Northern Ireland have pressed Col Gadafy’s regime since 2009 for compensation in recognition of the human cost of Gadafy’s decision to ship tonnes of arms and explosives to the IRA.
The Democratic Unionist Party’s Nigel Dodds welcomed developments in Libya.
“In the midst of the celebrations in Libya, we must also remember the victims of Gadafy-sponsored IRA terrorism.
“In Ulster, and throughout the United Kingdom, we suffered over many decades from the appalling consequences of IRA terrorism, heavily funded and sponsored by rogue states such as Libya.
“Fuelled by a hatred of Britain, Col Gadafy supplied the Provisional IRA with weapons and cash for many years.”
Party colleague Jeffrey Donaldson said discussions had taken place with the alternative Libyan government, and he argued the potential handover of power would not derail the compensation hopes. Mr Donaldson said: “We are not starting from scratch with a potential new government, we have a memorandum of understanding with them.”
In 2009 the two politicians met officials in Libya to argue their case. They have not put a value on the scale of compensation, but called for measures including “substantial business and infrastructure investment, wide-ranging community development projects, bringing closure for those who have suffered in the past . . . [and] resolution of existing claims by UK citizens involving Libya”.
Mr Dodds said: “As a result of Libya’s prolonged and persistent support for the IRA, many innocent men, women and children are dead, and their relatives scarred, physically and psychologically, for life. We may be living in more peaceful times in Ulster today, but those scars will never heal, and the victims must never be forgotten.
– (PA)
US REACTION: Obama pledges aid and support
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama said yesterday the era of Col Muammar Gadafy was "coming to an end", calling on Libya's leader "explicitly" to relinquish power as he lauded the international coalition that contributed to the regime's demise.
"The situation is still very fluid. There remains a degree of uncertainty, and there are still regime elements who pose a threat," Obama said from Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.
"But this much is clear: the Gadafy regime is coming to an end, and the future of Libya is in the hands of its people." Pledging aid and support for the new government of Libya, Obama said Gadafy still had the "opportunity" to reduce bloodshed by "explicitly relinquishing power". But he also said the rebels closing in on victory should not engage in reprisals.
Calling Nato the "most capable alliance in the world", Obama said the ousting of Gadafy was evidence of "what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one".
Earlier yesterday, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton held a conference call from New York with her counterparts on the Libya Contact group, including the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Qatar. The agenda included financial support for the national transitional council and the Libyan people, as well as efforts to ensure the protection of civilians, a state department spokeswoman said. The group agreed that political directors would meet in Istanbul on Thursday to "co-ordinate next steps". – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)