Britain recognises Libya rebels, expels Gaddafi envoys
UK: Tripoli slammed Britain’s “irresponsible and illegal”
decision to recognise rebels as Libya’s legitimate ruler and expel
diplomats loyal to strongman Moamer Kadhafi from the London embassy.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday he had invited
the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) to take over the mission
and appoint an official envoy in a major boost for the movement fighting
Kadhafi’s regime.
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim said the decision was
“irresponsible, illegal and in violation of British and international
laws.”
He said the Kadhafi regime “will take necessary actions,” and would
argue against London’s decision before tribunals in Britain and other
international courts.
Rebel supporters unfurled the red, black and green flag of the Libyan
opposition outside the embassy after Hague’s announcement, although the
Kadhafi regime’s green flag still flew from the building itself on
Wednesday afternoon.
Outside the embassy in the plush Knightsbridge district, about 20
demonstrators chanted: “We want to say thank you UK.”
Demonstrator Muftah Abdelsamad, 57, who has lived in Britain since
1976, told AFP: “I was so happy I cried. We have been wanting this for
six months now.
Hamad Khatab added: “They deserve this decision. Get out! We call
them Kadhafi’s rats because they support the killer, the murderer, they
deserve to be kicked out.”
“The prime minister and I have decided that the United Kingdom
recognises and will deal with the National Transitional Council as the
sole governmental authority in Libya,” Hague told a news conference in
London.
“We are inviting the National Transitional Council to appoint a new
Libyan diplomatic envoy to take over the Libyan embassy in London.”He
added: “We summoned the Libyan charge d’affaires to the Foreign Office
today and informed him that he and the other regime diplomats from the
Kadhafi regime must leave the UK. We no longer recognise them as the
representatives of the Libyan government.”
Britain would also unlock £91 million ($149 million, 102 million
euros) of Libyan oil assets frozen under a UN Security Council
resolution so that the rebels could benefit from them, Hague said.
London, Thursday, AFP |