BREAKING: LIBYA ANNOUNCES HALT TO ALL MILITARY OPERATIONS - IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

[pinboy3niner]

Just announced on CNN, no link yet.

Edit:


Statement of Libya's Foreign Minister via AJE:

2:35pm

Libya's foreign minister:

Libya, after having seen the resolution, would like to explain the following.

As the country will try to deal with this resolution. Libya now has knowledge of this resolution, and according to article 25 of the UN charter, and taking into consideration that Libya is a full member of the UN, we accept that it is obliged to accept the security council resolution.

Therefore, Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire, and the stoppage of all military operations.

Libya takes great interest in protecting all civilians, and offering them all necessary humanitarian aid, and respecting all human rights, and obliging to the international and humanitarian laws and it is also obliged to protect all of the foreigners in Libya and protecting their assets.

In doing so, Libya is in accordance with the resolutions of the security council and the articles of the charter of the United Nations.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18

[KeepItReal]

1. AlJazeera has people on the ground there confirming that

It may be a ploy by Q to circumvent the resolution and buy time

[Bluerthanblue]

2. this would be really good-

if it actually happens.

:hi:

[yellowcanine]

4. Actually not so good. Transparent attempt to forestall intervention. They will continue operations

just with a lower profile. Make no mistake. Ghadaffi has no intention of accepting the status quo, let alone leaving.

[originalpckelly]

15. It should be noted that he's recaptured the rebels headquarters.

They were trying to establish their new free government from none other than Benghazi, the city that bastard's forces just recaptured.

[EFerrari]

16. Ghadaffi is the status quo. n/t

[originalpckelly]

18. Exactly.

Most people don't understand how the west has been supporting this asshole. Honestly, they don't give a shit about the rebels, they just want it to go away so oil prices don't continue to rise. That's it.

[EFerrari]

21. It's a complex situation.

The rebels themselves are split on what they want or don't want from the international community.

[yellowcanine]

20. Yes but what I mean is he will keep going after the rebels, ceasefire or not.

[EFerrari]

25. That's probably right. On the other hand, any government would

after an armed insurrection.

[pinboy3niner]

5. But who in his right mind trusts Gaddafi?

His tanks have been shelling Misurata for hours this morning, hitting mosques, hospitals, houses. He's already in violation of the resolution.

:hi:

[The Straight Story]

3. Should make it easier to bomb them then :) (nt)

[old mark]

6. K&R- I think Ghadaffi is trying to hang on to what he has and not get thrown out...

We will see what happens, but I hope he leaves.

mark

[Distant Observer]

7. The Libyan Gov has been ASKING THE REBELS FOR A CEASE FIRE and negotiations

since they took over Benghazi and started the rebel march on Tripoli.

The Western reporting, usually ignoring this fact, has been worse that than during the Bush run-up to War in Iraq.

[pinboy3niner]

11. Asking for ceasefire WHILE SHELLING LIBYAN CITIES?

Pardon me for doubting Gaddafi's sincerity. :sarcasm:

[Distant Observer]

17. This was a CIVIL WAR from the start. The Eastern forces began the march against Tripoli

They have been in conflict with Gaddafi for decades. Nothing new. The Gov repeatedly requested
diplomacy, ceasefire and a negotiated end to the conflict. The requests were vocally rejected these
appeals.

It was an opportunistic land grab leveraging the protest movements in Tunisia and Egypt.

[pinboy3niner]

22. Very convenient to omit regime gunning down unarmed, peaceful protesters

THAT is how it started, not with "forces" marching on Tripoli.

Revisionist history is not history. Good luck with that narrative!

[Distant Observer]

27. Anyone who does this should be arrested and held accountable -- IN WHATEVER COUNTRY

Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Israel ...

But PLEASE LET US HAVE INVESTIGATIONS AND EVIDENCE, not rumor, propaganda and imputed blame.

In Libya the rebels captured armories and have been massively armed from the beginning. All the pictures I have seen have rebels wastefully firing off expensive high-powered weapons and missiles

[pinboy3niner]

31. You must have tuned in late

The protesters had no arms until after Gaddafi responded to peaceful protests by unarmed civilians with bloody repression.

Use the google and look up the ACTUAL origins of the protests. If you tuned in later, you could have gotten the wrong impression.

[originalpckelly]

32. I mean it's like Kent State x1000.

It's ridiculous!

[pinboy3niner]

34. Exactly

And now it's happening in Yemen--today. News of dozens shot down by security forces, hundreds wounded. Another revolution may just have been ignited...

[pinboy3niner]

36. P.S.--Human Rights Watch has investigated & documented Gaddafi's abuses for decades

Interestingly, it is only now--after his brutal suppression of peaceful, unarmed protesters and 'disappearing' of same that HRW took the unusual step of calling for international intervention. Look up their website and check it out.

[originalpckelly]

29. Are you high?

No, it wasn't a war to begin with. It was peaceful protests, until the asshole started killing his own people. Then it turned into a war.

[malaise]

12. Well the rebels are pro-Western

They are allowed to attack the government with impunity.
Do you expect anything else from the Western press?
Perhaps people should do their own research on Libya's role in Africa and other developing countries. The West is not too happy with that - they prefer greedy Emirs and king's who spend their citizens' money in casinos. They are governments but Gadaffi leads a regime.

They hypocrisy is breathtaking - how many protesters were killed by the pro-Western regime in Yemin this morning? Where is the UN? Have they discussed Bahrain yet? Yemin yet? Whose tear gas was used in Bahrain - what about the Saudi mercenaries?

I am not fooled - this is naked imperialism on steroids.

[originalpckelly]

14. God forbid they want to fight against a dictator..

who I must also note has been supported by the world, because he was attacking "the terrorists" for us.

And I agree, the world must support the other revolutions too. But the most egregious offenses have occurred in Libya.

The people of those other countries can slink back home at the end of the day, these people are going to be systematically exterminated.

[myrna minx]

8. He's just trying to buy time. n/t

[KharmaTrain]

9. More Like A Truce...

Last evening the BBC had a very interesting report about the on-the-ground sitatuion. Much of it verifies the many excelent posts here on DU.

The upshot is the UN resolution now opens a backdoor to supply arms and other needed supplies to the "rebels"...many who are Libyian military who are tired of Gadaffi...while Gadaffi relies on many foreign mercenaries. The cease fire is more a game to buy time as Gadaffi in many ways has boxed himself in yet another corner.

Yes, he's got the "rebels" on the run but in the long term he's facing isolation. Many foreign workers will not return so his oil fields will be limping along and other sanctions could put a serious strain on much need supplies and money to pay his mercenaries. A protracted civil war is not in his favor and thus looks like he's trying to cut some kind of deal in hopes that the international focus will shift elsewhere. But again, attempting to understand what a psycopath like Gadaffi is a hit or miss game.

[CJvR]

10. Clever boy.

Doesn't want to give the UN any reason to blast his remaining loyalists to bits.

I seriously doubt this will extend into the areas Gaddafi controls where there will no doubt be serious purges while media reports on the cease fire at the frontlines.

If the rebells want to win they really need to push hard so that the UN get an excuse to blast Gaddafi to hell.

[originalpckelly]

13. Yeah, now that he's re-captured Misruta, it's all butter.

There is fighting in Benghazi, the rebels are fighting sleepers there, and then I conflated that with Misruta where the real action is going on. I'm a dipshit sometimes!

[pinboy3niner]

26. He hasn't taken Benghazi

His forces made a tank assault on Misurata this morning, shelling the city for hours (a violation of the UN resolution).

"He's almost like a Bond villain that doesn't monologue." VERY NICE (except he monologues plenty, giving 3-hour speeches!)

[pinboy3niner]

19. MORE of Libyan FM's statement:

We emphasise in the resolution 1973 for the year 2011, we emphasise and agree to the article regarding the protection of civilians and the territorial unity of Libya.

"And therefore, building on this, we are opening all dialogue channels with everyone interested in the territorial unity of Libya.

"And my country is very serious about continuing the development, economic, political, humanitarian and social development of the Libyan nation.

"And we have indeed taken serious steps in continuing this development for the good of the Libyan people. And we believe that this will take the country back to safety and security for all Libyans.

"We also express our sadness towards what the resolution has included, of procedures against the Libyan nation, such as the no-fly zone, which includes commercial and civilian flights.This will increase the suffering of the Libyan people, and will have a negative impact on the general life of Libyan people.

"The international community should have exempted civilians from the resolution to secure their quality of life.

"Also, the total and inclusive freezing of all Libyan assets and investments will have a very negative impact on normal Libyans and also on Libya's ability to fulfill its contracts locally and internationally.

"Libya also finds that its very strange that the UN allows in its resolution the use of military power and there are signs that this might indeed take place.

"This goes clearly against the UN Charter, and its a violation of the national sovereignty of Libya. And it's also in violation of Article 4(2) of the UN Charter.

"And finally, we insist and emphasise our request for all international governments, NGOs and others to check the facts on the ground by sending fact-finding missions so that they can take the right decision by seeing the facts on the ground.

"Thank you."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18

[Motown_Johnny]

24. Ahhh..... "The Freezing Of All Libyan Assets".......

Now I Get It!!!!

[eShirl]

28. +1

[WilliamPitt]

23. So the no-fly zone was...a good thing?

Going to be some bruised egos around here today.

[pinboy3niner]

30. UK PM Cameron: We'll judge Gaddafi "by his actions, not his words"

Via AJE:

3:32pm

David Cameron, the UK's prime minister, says that the international community will judge Gaddafi's government by "his actions not his words". In comments to the BBC, he said:

We will judge him by his actions not his words. What is absolutely clear is the UN Security Council resolution said he must stop what he is doing, brutalising his people. If not, all necessary measures can follow to make him stop.

"That is what we agreed last night, that is what we are preparing for and we'll judge him by what he does."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18

[pinboy3niner]

33. "He's been lying to the world for 42 years" ...Misurata STILL under attack by Gaddafi's tanks!

--Resident of Misrata calling into CNN live, with sounds of Gaddafi's tanks shelling the city--moments ago!

Many casualties...caller begs world to bomb Gaddafi into submission and bring him to justice for all his crimes, all the killings he's done going back to 1969.

Call over.

Ceasefire, my ass! Gaddafi's forces are continuing their tank assault on Misurata.

[pinboy3niner]

35. Spain's PM: "International community not going to be fooled by Gaddafi regime"

From AJE:

4:11pm

Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, says the "international community is not going to be fooled by the Gaddafi regime".

One thing must be clear: the international community is not going to be fooled by the Gaddafi regime. The international community, with all the means it has available, will carry out the resolution to the letter."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18

[pinboy3niner]

37. WHAT ceasefire? asks Misurata resident while under attack by Gaddafi tanks

AJE reports:

4:50pm <10:50am EDT>

Abdul Basit Abu Muzairik, a resident of Misurata, tells Al Jazeera that government forces continue to shell the city, despite the announcement of the ceasefire.

Yes, there is shelling by the artillery and the tanks. Although they have been chased to the outskirts of the city, they continue to shell towards the centre of the city. It is still under the control of the revolutionaries and the whole city more or less is under their control."

Responding to a question about the ceasefire, he said:

What sort of ceasefire is he talking about? The ceasefire has not taken place. He is still continuing up till now to shell and kill the people in the city. He is trying to show the world that there are two equal forces fighting each other, while in fact he is shelling unarmed civilians, people living in the city without any protection are being severely harmed. And their homes, streets and commercial places as well as the hospitals have been severely damaged. A large number of people have been killed."

Regarding the no-fly zone imposed by a UN Security Council resolution:

It is very important for us, and I think what's more improtant for us now is to select targets of Gaddafi forces outside other cites and misurata as well ... and these forces are attacking civilian people committing aggression against civilians and they need to be stopped."

And finally, responding to a question about whether or not he believes that pro-democracy fighters can hold on to Misurata:

Yes, I do believe that we can hold on, because the people of the city are persistent and they are resiting the aggression with all their forces ... but he may kill more people ... but he will never break the will of the people in Misurata. There are 600,000 people in this city, and they are very determined, because they have strong faith in their cause beacuse they will not give up and they will not surrender."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18

[bhikkhu]

38. He's a lying sack - from "Libya Live Blog" a little bit ago:

"What sort of ceasefire is he talking about? The ceasefire has not taken place. He is still continuing up till now to shell and kill the people in the city. He is trying to show the world that there are two equal forces fighting each other, while in fact he is shelling unarmed civilians, people living in the city without any protection are being severely harmed. And their homes, streets and commercial places as well as the hospitals have been severely damaged. A large number of people have been killed."

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-18#update-15196

[Baclava]

39. Agreed. Getting in some last killings under clear skies.

Has he moved western journalists into hotels near his command and control buildings yet?

Human shields are the likely next move.

[Distant Observer]

40. Not serious, I hope. All western press report little use of Air force for bombing anything

except a few military targets. PLEASE CITE SOME FACTS IF YOU HAVE ANY.

[Baclava]

41. I'm thinking Baghdad - when the CNN crews were the first to witness shock and awe in their hotel

No FACTS - I'm not on the ground in Tripoli.