Libya Protest - And Role Of The UN, NATO and The US

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

As the noose is closing on Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi, gun fire has again erupted in the capital Tripoli. Protesters flooded out of mosque Friday morning. Troops and gunmen loyal to Ghadafi fired in the air, which send some protesters running. Witnesses said that they hadn't seen any wounded but that gunfire could also be heard in other parts of the city.

Meanwhile the UN Security Council met yesterday as did the UN Human Rights Commission. The UN has agreed on a strong condemnation of Ghadafi's action against its own people. While it appears that Ghadafi has lost control of much of the country, troops loyal to the dictator are still in control of the capital.

While there is no accurate figures on exactly how many people have been killed in the protests that started February 18th, UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navy Pillay told the top UN Human Rights body that:

"Tanks, helicopters and military aircraft have reportedly been used indiscriminately to attack the protesters. According to some sources, thousands may have been killed or injured."

Pillay urged the the Human Rights council to use all means possible to establish an independent panel to investigate alleged abuses and hold those responsible accountable.

European nations have led the charge for strict sanctions and order a UN led investigation into possible human rights abuses and to expel Libya from the council.

NATO is planning a special emergency meeting on Friday and said it had no requests to intervene and would only do so with a mandate of the UN. This is unlikely to happen.

The United States has also condemned the actions of the Ghadafi forces and is advocating sanctions against Libya.

The priority for the EU, NATO and the US is to evacuate its citizens and NATO said it would facilitate such operations. Canada had one aircraft land in Tripoli this morning, but it left empty as no Canadians were available for the flight. A second flight is planned for later on today.

In an interview, to be aired later today on Turkish television, Ghadaffi's son, Seif el-Islam Gahdafi, said that his family had a Plan A, B, and C:

"We have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C." Plan A is to live and die in Libya, Plan B is to live and die in Libya, Plan C is to live and die in Libya."

Short of condemnation, an arms embargo and sanctions, it appears that the UN is incompetent to take further action. Rescuing Western citizens seems to be the main effort of the United Nations, the United States, the EU and NATO.

It would appear that after the evacuation, citizens of Libya, who will not have the novelty of being evacuated are on their own. Once again, a brutal dictator, who has been propped up for the sake of oil, will be able to punish his people for opposing him. One can only hope that the Libyan people are successful in toppling Gahdaffi and his family.