The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Colonel Gaddafi, as well as two of his top aides, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi. All of them are charged with crimes against humanity and of ordering attacks against civilians.
When the issue was first presented to the ICC in May, Libyan leaders dismissed the Court as merely a tool to extend European imperialism. “The ICC is not important for us. We are not part of the Rome statute. We will not show any attention to the decision,“ Khaled Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister, said in a statement. “This has nothing to do with democracy, protecting civilians or implementing the UN resolution. Britain and France have been showing no respect for civilian lives. It is blood for oil instead of protecting civilian lives.”
Mr. Saif al-Islam does not hold an official position in the Libyan government, but he is one of the most influential members of his father’s circle of advisers, and he organized the recruitment of mercenaries to put down the armed rebellion in eastern Libya. It is believed that Mr. Abdullah al-Sanussi personally ordered the military to attack civilians in Benghazi. The two men met with Col. Gaddafi to plan how to best crush the rebellion inspired by uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, and ordered security forces and mercenaries to attack civilians in their homes, use heavy weaponry on funeral processions, and set up snipers to shoot at worshippers leaving mosques.
Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng announced the decision on behalf of a three-judge panel in The Hague, stressing that the warrants were not proof of guilt, which must be proved at trail. The charges against the three Libyan officials claim that "state policy was designed at the highest level of the state machinery, and aimed at quelling by any means, including by the use of lethal force, demonstrations of civilians against the regime of Muammar Muhammad Gaddafi.”
The announcement comes on the 100th day of NATO operations in Libya, but unfortunately will make bringing the conflict to a diplomatic solution quickly highly improbable. Because the U.N. Security Council referred the issue to the ICC, all U.N. member states are obligated to arrest the leaders if they enter their territory, leaving Col. Gaddafi no place to go if he were to decide to voluntarily go into exile and end the conflict. It is unknown if the ICC’s order will be at all effective. The ICC has no police force, and must rely on the cooperation of member states to enforce its rulings. This warrant is only the second one leveled against a ruling head of state, while the other leader, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, has been able to visit Qatar, Chad, and Egypt without incident.
The Libyan conflict is unlikely to end in a diplomatic solution also because at least a dozen countries, including Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Britain, France, and the United States, have officially recognized the Libyan National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, pushing Col. Gaddafi and his advisers into an outlaw position.
NATO governments are facing strict austerity measures and a high level of anti-war sentiment going into domestic elections at home, and a war with chances of a political solution fading fast in Libya. On Friday, House Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner (R-OH) admitted to Foreign Policy's The Cable that U.S. Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, Italy, told him in May that NATO forces are actively targeting and trying to kill Qaddafi. This would possibly necessitate ground troops, but would bring an abrupt end to NATO involvement in the conflict, leaving Libyans to deal with the aftermath of a civil war. It is impossible to tell when or how this situation will end.
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ICC Issues Warrant for Arrest of Libya's Gaddafi
June 27, 2011
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Colonel Gaddafi, as well as two of his top aides, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi. All of them are charged with crimes against humanity and of ordering attacks against civilians.
When the issue was first presented to the ICC in May, Libyan leaders dismissed the Court as merely a tool to extend European imperialism. “The ICC is not important for us. We are not part of the Rome statute. We will not show any attention to the decision,“ Khaled Kaim, Libya's deputy foreign minister, said in a statement. “This has nothing to do with democracy, protecting civilians or implementing the UN resolution. Britain and France have been showing no respect for civilian lives. It is blood for oil instead of protecting civilian lives.”
Mr. Saif al-Islam does not hold an official position in the Libyan government, but he is one of the most influential members of his father’s circle of advisers, and he organized the recruitment of mercenaries to put down the armed rebellion in eastern Libya. It is believed that Mr. Abdullah al-Sanussi personally ordered the military to attack civilians in Benghazi. The two men met with Col. Gaddafi to plan how to best crush the rebellion inspired by uprisings in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, and ordered security forces and mercenaries to attack civilians in their homes, use heavy weaponry on funeral processions, and set up snipers to shoot at worshippers leaving mosques.
Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng announced the decision on behalf of a three-judge panel in The Hague, stressing that the warrants were not proof of guilt, which must be proved at trail. The charges against the three Libyan officials claim that "state policy was designed at the highest level of the state machinery, and aimed at quelling by any means, including by the use of lethal force, demonstrations of civilians against the regime of Muammar Muhammad Gaddafi.”
The announcement comes on the 100th day of NATO operations in Libya, but unfortunately will make bringing the conflict to a diplomatic solution quickly highly improbable. Because the U.N. Security Council referred the issue to the ICC, all U.N. member states are obligated to arrest the leaders if they enter their territory, leaving Col. Gaddafi no place to go if he were to decide to voluntarily go into exile and end the conflict. It is unknown if the ICC’s order will be at all effective. The ICC has no police force, and must rely on the cooperation of member states to enforce its rulings. This warrant is only the second one leveled against a ruling head of state, while the other leader, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, has been able to visit Qatar, Chad, and Egypt without incident.
The Libyan conflict is unlikely to end in a diplomatic solution also because at least a dozen countries, including Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Britain, France, and the United States, have officially recognized the Libyan National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, pushing Col. Gaddafi and his advisers into an outlaw position.
NATO governments are facing strict austerity measures and a high level of anti-war sentiment going into domestic elections at home, and a war with chances of a political solution fading fast in Libya. On Friday, House Armed Services Committee member Mike Turner (R-OH) admitted to Foreign Policy's The Cable that U.S. Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of the NATO Joint Operations Command in Naples, Italy, told him in May that NATO forces are actively targeting and trying to kill Qaddafi. This would possibly necessitate ground troops, but would bring an abrupt end to NATO involvement in the conflict, leaving Libyans to deal with the aftermath of a civil war. It is impossible to tell when or how this situation will end.
