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UK Politics
Libya revolt: Hague urges 'legal basis' for no-fly zone
William Hague said any action would need support from across the Arab world There must be a sound "legal basis" and wide international support for any no-fly zone in Libya, William Hague has told opposition groups there.
In a conversation with a senior anti-Gaddafi official, the UK foreign secretary said a no-fly zone was one of several responses being considered.
He told the BBC there were "mounting" calls from the Arab world for the move.
Nato have said there must be a "demonstrable need" and a "clear UN mandate" for any such action.
As fierce fighting continues between government and rebel forces, EU foreign ministers and Nato defence ministers have been meeting to discuss their response to the escalating crisis.
The UK and France have been seeking to build support for the UN to draft a resolution urging an air exclusion zone in Libya - as a means of reducing the violence and facilitating humanitarian assistance.
The Foreign Office said Mr Hague had told Mahmoud Jabril, Special Envoy of the Libyan Transitional National Council that planning was under way on a number of options including a no-fly zone.
But it said that Mr Hague had made it clear that any no-fly zone would "need international support, a clear trigger and a legal basis" to proceed.
Mr Hague, who has reiterated the UK's condemnation of the "appalling and unacceptable" use of violence by the Gaddafi regime, later told the BBC that Morocco and six Gulf states - as well as the Libyan opposition - now supported a no-fly zone.
"The demand is mounting from the Arab world," he said. "That is absolutely crucial in bringing a no-fly zone into being."
He said the case for a no-fly zone would be "massively strengthened" if the Gaddafi regime mounted "large scale bombings" on built-up areas and targeted civilians.
'Ready to act'Speaking after a separate meeting of Nato defence ministers, the organisation's secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said these were the "three guiding principles" that would determine any future action.
Nato was "vigilant" and "ready to act" in regard to Libya, he said, but would only do so in response to a "specific request" for assistance and in concert with action on other fronts - such as proposals for further EU sanctions against the Gaddafi regime.
“Start Quote
End Quote Anders Fogh Rasmussen Nato Secretary GeneralNato is vigilant and ready to act”
Mr Rasmussen also said Nato had not discussed direct military intervention in the conflict.
BBC chief political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said it was significant Mr Hague had spoken to Mr Jabril at this time and that the Foreign Office had made details of the conversation public.
France has recognised the opposition as the official representatives of the Libyan people - the UK has stopped short of this but Mr Hague said they were a "legitimate" group that had to be engaged with.
Military concernsBut our correspondent said there was still widespread concerns in Westminster about the UK's involvement in any future action in Libya and scepticism about how effective a no-fly zone would be.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned that a no-fly zone could only be enforced after military action to destroy air defences.
Asked whether a no-fly zone would require an attack on the country, Defence Secretary Liam Fox told the BBC there were "alternatives" and this had not been the basis for action in Iraq in the early 1990s.
Rather than "taking out" air defences in a pre-emptive strike, he said Nato leaders could say that, if an enemy locked its air defence radar on Nato planes, they could "regard that as a hostile action and take subsequent action".
He added: "That's one military option but there are other military options that we have used."
'International outlaw'Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has warned that the UK and other countries face "real dangers" whatever course of action they take in Libya.
Nato defence ministers did not discuss direct military intervention in Libya He told Sky News he believed a no-fly zone would be implemented as long as there was sufficient support within the Arab world and within Libya itself.
"If we move into a no-fly zone, it could escalate," he said. "There are dangers, let me make that absolutely clear. There are real dangers in going ahead.
However, he described Col Gaddafi as an "international outlaw" and said there were "real political and diplomatic dangers" in not pursuing such a course of action.
"If he (Col Gaddafi) is not finished the world will regret it subsequently," he added.
"If he wins, there will be many bloody reprisals. It will be a very messy and bloody affair. And the world would have stood by and let him win.
"I wonder, firstly, what that does for the prestige of the rest of the world and what it does to encourage other would-be dictators to believe they can act in the same sort of way elsewhere.
"And I wonder how we would feel, if nothing is done, when we see the extent and scale of reprisals this vengeful man will undoubtedly exact afterwards."
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus said other options included imposing a "no-drive zone" - preventing government tanks and armoured vehicles from entering parts of Libya, "direct air action" to put air force bases out of action, and encouraging the arming and training of rebel forces.
During Thursday's meeting in Brussels, Mr Hague urged EU members to explore ways of imposing more sanctions on Libya to increase efforts to isolate the regime.
Meanwhile, Sir George Young, leader of the House of Commons, reassured MPs that there would be a parliamentary debate beforehand in the event that any UK forces were to be deployed in Libya.
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Feed: BBC News - Home
Posted on: Thursday, March 10, 2011 11:36 PM
Author: BBC News - Home
Subject: Hague sets out Libya conditions
| William Hague tells opposition groups in Libya there must be a sound "legal basis" and wide international support for any no-fly zone. |
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