Việt Nam hãy học bài học Tunisia, Egypt
Free the people, Free yourself
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible,
make violence inevitable." - John F. Kennedy
Peaceful Revolution Hopeless
Non-violence Hopeless With Vietnam Communists
Tự do không phải ngồi đó mà có,
phải trả giá bằng sự quyết tâm, bằng xương, bằng máu ..
không phải van xin, thắp nến hiệp thông,
cầu nguyện chỉ có ở trong chùa chiền, nhà thờ.
teolangthang
****
- U.S. to hit Libya with sanctions, shuts embassy
February 26, 2011, 10:52 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States announced on Friday it would soon impose sanctions on Libya and bluntly said the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had been "reduced to zero."
White House spokesman Jay Carney did not specify what the measures were or when they would be imposed but said the sanctions would be coordinated with European allies.
With the Libyan crisis also being taken up at the United Nations, European Union governments agreed on the idea of imposing an arms embargo, asset freezes and a travel ban on the oil-producing North African nation, with diplomats saying a formal decision would be taken early next week.
Washington announced the sanctions move -- along with the closing of its embassy and withdrawal of U.S. diplomats -- after a chartered ferry and a plane carrying Americans and other evacuees left Libya earlier on Friday.
The Obama administration had been criticized for its relatively restrained response so far to Gaddafi's bloody crackdown on an uprising against his four-decade rule.
But U.S. officials said fears for the safety of the Americans had tempered Washington's response to the turmoil.
"(Gaddafi) is overseeing the brutal treatment of his people ... and his legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people," Carney said after Libyan security forces shot protesters in the streets of Tripoli on Friday.
"We are initiating a series of steps at the unilateral level and multilateral level to pressure the regime in Libya to stop killing its own people."
President Barack Obama discussed Washington's sanctions plan with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy on Thursday and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.
CLINTON TO DRUM UP SUPPORT
The Obama administration said earlier this week it was studying a wide range of options, including the freezing of assets, a travel ban on members of Gaddafi's government, a "no-fly" zone over Libya and military action.
In a first step, the U.S. Treasury has told American banks to closely monitor transactions that may be related to unrest in Libya for possible signs that state assets were being misappropriated.
Several U.S. energy companies in Libya -- including Marathon, Hess and Occidental -- have continued working through the crisis as other foreign firms have curtailed or suspended operations.
If sanctions gain traction internationally, then Libya's oil output could be restricted.
"Although Libya is not a big supplier to the U.S., any sanctions imposed by the U.S. -- particularly on doing business with that country -- means the U.S. or other countries affected will still have to tap other suppliers," said Peter Beutel, president of trading consultants Cameron Hanover.
In New York, the U.N. Security Council was considering a French-British draft proposal for an arms embargo, financial sanctions and a request to the International Criminal Court to indict Libyan leaders for crimes against humanity.
The White House did not express direct support for the proposal but said it was discussing it with members of the Security Council, including the other four permanent members -- China, Russia, Britain and France.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will push for unity against Gaddafi on Monday at the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Washington once dismissed the Geneva-based council as toothless but Charles Ries, director of the Centre for Middle East Public Policy at Rand Corporation, said it might be a good venue to build consensus.
"The U.N. Security Council is a very risky proposition if, for example, the Chinese were not in favour of voting a resolution, and I don't think the administration feels confident that it has all of those ducks lined up," Ries said.
The United States resumed diplomatic ties with Libya in 2004 after Gaddafi agreed to abandon his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
U.S. economic sanctions were progressively removed after Libya agreed to accept civil responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland in 1988.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Patricia Zengerle, Alister Bull, Andrew Quinn, Paul Eckert, David Morgan and David Lawder and Luke Baker in Brussels; writing by Ross Colvin; Editing by John O'Callaghan and Peter Cooney)
- Gaddafi son says fighting limited, sees end soon
Maria Golovnina, Reuters
February 26, 2011, 11:27 am
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi tried on Friday to minimise the extent of fighting with rebels who have seized much of the country, and said he expected negotiated ceasefires in two flashpoint cities within a day.
Speaking in English to foreign journalists flown to Tripoli under official escort, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said rebels who surrendered would not be harmed and that Libya needed reforms.
His account of the state of the country, however, seemed at odds with the control exercised for the past few days in much of the east by groups intent on ending Gaddafi's 41-year rule and with reports from residents in and around the capital itself.
The London-educated younger Gaddafi said there was no violence outside two western cities and branded as "lies" media reports that troops bombed civilians or were using mercenaries.
"We are laughing at these reports," he said, speaking amiably but with passion, dressed in a sweater and jeans and plainly at ease in a luxury hotel.
"Apart from Misrata and Zawiya, everything is calm ... Negotiations are going on and we are optimistic," the 38-year-old Gaddafi said, while acknowledging trouble in the east. "Peace is coming back to our country," he said.
"In Misrata, in Zawiya, we have a problem. We are dealing with terrorists. But hopefully they are running out of ammunition. Hopefully there will be no more bloodshed. By tomorrow we will solve this. The army decided not to attack the terrorists, and to give a chance to negotiation. Hopefully we will do it peacefully and will do so by tomorrow."
Since revolt broke out last week following the toppling of veteran strongmen in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia, the east of the country has slipped from the control of Gaddafi's forces and residents have reported fighting ever closer to Tripoli.
"DESPERATE"
Residents of Misrata, Libya's third largest city, and Zawiya in the west, have said opposition fighters have taken control and have beaten back counter-attacks by the army.
As journalists from Reuters and other news organisations were driven by Libyan officials from Tripoli airport into the city late on Friday, the streets of the capital seemed unusually empty for what is normally a busy part of the weekend.
Earlier in the day, residents spoke of fighting and of some areas appearing to be in the control of Gaddafi's opponents.
In a characteristic show of defiance, the 68-year-old Gaddafi appeared before thousands of supporters in the central Green Square to vow he would "crush any enemy."
His son said opposition leaders were in a weak position: "The top people in these groups are desperate. We are telling them -- lay down your arms and we will not harm you."
Earlier, Turkish television aired comments Saif al-Islam made on Thursday, including the defiant statement: "We have plans A, B and 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."
On Friday, the younger Gaddafi, who was seen as a potential reformer before the revolt struck this month, told the news conference: "We believe we do need to reform our country. We need to introduce many reforms.
"We are strong. We are united, all fighting for our country. We are all united against dark forces," he said. "There is a big conspiracy against our country. There are countries behind this campaign. This is what's happening in the east. They want to introduce an Afghan model to Libya ... It's not a secret. Al Qaeda issued a statement supporting these groups.
"It was a mistake not to allow foreign journalists to visit," he said. "That gave a chance to hostile TV channels to say whatever they liked. We were the victim of the media.
"They want to show Libya is burning, that there is a big revolution there. You are wrong. We are united."
At several points, his remarks were interrupted by applause from journalists working for Libyan state controlled media.
(Writing by Alastair Macdonald, editing by Alison Williams)*** 
From correspondents in Tripoli
From: AFP February 26, 2011 7:02AM
THOUSANDS of people have been killed in the Libya unrest, but strongman Muammar Gaddafi may kill himself rather than be caught by his opponents, Libya's deputy UN ambassador says.
Protesters shot dead in Tripoli
A UN ambassador says thousands of people have been killed in Libya as Muammar Gaddafi hardens on opponents.
"There are already thousands of people who have been killed, we expect more," said the diplomat, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Gaddafi regime.
Mr Dabbashi said that Gaddafi is "psychologically unstable".
"Gaddafi has the choice between being killed or commit suicide," said the envoy.
"He might seek to send some of his family members abroad but I believe he prefers to die in Libya because of his narcissistic character - he wants to act like a hero," he said.
His comments came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Libya crisis. Western nations are pressing for international sanctions against Gaddafi's regime to force an end to the violence, which other accounts say has left hundreds dead.
Mr Dabbashi said "the dictator regime in Tripoli is in its last moments" and that thousands of people have headed for the main Martyrs Square in Tripoli in a standoff with Gaddafi's forces.
"The dictator, to show that he is still in control, he took all his army and his defenders to occupy the square before them," Dabbashi said.
"At the same time he sent terrorists in front of the demonstrators and they are shooting on all the demonstrators, trying to prevent them to move to the Martyrs Square."
The envoy said there are "mercenaries" from Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Chad and Ethiopia fighting with Gaddafi's forces.
The Libyan envoy said the international community has to "send a clear message" to Gaddafi to halt the violence.
"Otherwise I think he will continue his killings and today you will have thousands of people killed in Tripoli. It is time to stop this."
Dabbashi has previously called for the United Nations to order a no-fly zone over Libya to halt air attacks on demonstrators.
Gaddafis will 'live and die' in Libya
Gaddafi son, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, said his family will stay in Libya at all costs despite a bloody uprising shaking his father's regime.
"Our plan is to live and die in Libya,'' he told Turkey's CNN Turk news channel when asked whether his family had a "plan B" in the face of the simmering turmoil in the north African country.
Speaking with a voiceover translation to Turkish, he admitted the regime had lost grip of eastern Libya, but said the authorities would soon regain control of the region.
"There are over two million people in this area, the number of terrorists is 200 or 300 at most. People call us and beg for help. ... We cannot allow a handful of terrorists to control that part of Libya and its people," he said.
"Not the army but the whole nation will resolve this problem," he said when asked whether the military could attack the flashpoint city of Benghazi.
Seif al-Islam also targeted the media and especially Arab news channel Al Jazeera for what he called "lies" on civilian deaths and the activities of African mercenaries helping the regime.
"All fabricated news come from one channel, Al Jazeera. We know the reason," he said, accusing the channel of "supporting" terrorist groups.
He blamed "small terrorist groups" for provoking the turmoil, insisting that the Gaddafi family had no problem with street demonstrations.
"Street protests, peaceful demonstrations, political demands ... these are acceptable. ... Our problem is armed groups. ... This is the greatest problem. Our problem is not political demands," he said.
He said insurgent groups in the cities of Zawiya and Misurata stole army tanks and possessed guns and ammunition.
"As government, we do not fight against our people, we fight against those groups," he said.
Asked whether his father planned to bomb oil refineries if the situation got worse, he said: "We will never destroy oil. It belongs to the people."
February 26, 2011, 11:27 am
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi tried on Friday to minimise the extent of fighting with rebels who have seized much of the country, and said he expected negotiated ceasefires in two flashpoint cities within a day.
Speaking in English to foreign journalists flown to Tripoli under official escort, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said rebels who surrendered would not be harmed and that Libya needed reforms.His account of the state of the country, however, seemed at odds with the control exercised for the past few days in much of the east by groups intent on ending Gaddafi's 41-year rule and with reports from residents in and around the capital itself.
The London-educated younger Gaddafi said there was no violence outside two western cities and branded as "lies" media reports that troops bombed civilians or were using mercenaries.
"We are laughing at these reports," he said, speaking amiably but with passion, dressed in a sweater and jeans and plainly at ease in a luxury hotel.
"Apart from Misrata and Zawiya, everything is calm ... Negotiations are going on and we are optimistic," the 38-year-old Gaddafi said, while acknowledging trouble in the east. "Peace is coming back to our country," he said.
"In Misrata, in Zawiya, we have a problem. We are dealing with terrorists. But hopefully they are running out of ammunition. Hopefully there will be no more bloodshed. By tomorrow we will solve this. The army decided not to attack the terrorists, and to give a chance to negotiation. Hopefully we will do it peacefully and will do so by tomorrow."
Since revolt broke out last week following the toppling of veteran strongmen in neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia, the east of the country has slipped from the control of Gaddafi's forces and residents have reported fighting ever closer to Tripoli.
"DESPERATE"
Residents of Misrata, Libya's third largest city, and Zawiya in the west, have said opposition fighters have taken control and have beaten back counter-attacks by the army.
As journalists from Reuters and other news organisations were driven by Libyan officials from Tripoli airport into the city late on Friday, the streets of the capital seemed unusually empty for what is normally a busy part of the weekend.
Earlier in the day, residents spoke of fighting and of some areas appearing to be in the control of Gaddafi's opponents.
In a characteristic show of defiance, the 68-year-old Gaddafi appeared before thousands of supporters in the central Green Square to vow he would "crush any enemy."
His son said opposition leaders were in a weak position: "The top people in these groups are desperate. We are telling them -- lay down your arms and we will not harm you."
Earlier, Turkish television aired comments Saif al-Islam made on Thursday, including the defiant statement: "We have plans A, B and 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."
On Friday, the younger Gaddafi, who was seen as a potential reformer before the revolt struck this month, told the news conference: "We believe we do need to reform our country. We need to introduce many reforms.
"We are strong. We are united, all fighting for our country. We are all united against dark forces," he said. "There is a big conspiracy against our country. There are countries behind this campaign. This is what's happening in the east. They want to introduce an Afghan model to Libya ... It's not a secret. Al Qaeda issued a statement supporting these groups.
"It was a mistake not to allow foreign journalists to visit," he said. "That gave a chance to hostile TV channels to say whatever they liked. We were the victim of the media.
"They want to show Libya is burning, that there is a big revolution there. You are wrong. We are united."
At several points, his remarks were interrupted by applause from journalists working for Libyan state controlled media.
(Writing by Alastair Macdonald, editing by Alison Williams)
- Thousands killed in Libya unrest, says deputy UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi
From correspondents in Tripoli
From: AFP February 26, 2011 7:02AM
THOUSANDS of people have been killed in the Libya unrest, but strongman Muammar Gaddafi may kill himself rather than be caught by his opponents, Libya's deputy UN ambassador says.
Protesters shot dead in Tripoli
A UN ambassador says thousands of people have been killed in Libya as Muammar Gaddafi hardens on opponents."There are already thousands of people who have been killed, we expect more," said the diplomat, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Gaddafi regime.
Mr Dabbashi said that Gaddafi is "psychologically unstable".
"Gaddafi has the choice between being killed or commit suicide," said the envoy.
"He might seek to send some of his family members abroad but I believe he prefers to die in Libya because of his narcissistic character - he wants to act like a hero," he said.
His comments came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Libya crisis. Western nations are pressing for international sanctions against Gaddafi's regime to force an end to the violence, which other accounts say has left hundreds dead.
Mr Dabbashi said "the dictator regime in Tripoli is in its last moments" and that thousands of people have headed for the main Martyrs Square in Tripoli in a standoff with Gaddafi's forces.
"The dictator, to show that he is still in control, he took all his army and his defenders to occupy the square before them," Dabbashi said.
"At the same time he sent terrorists in front of the demonstrators and they are shooting on all the demonstrators, trying to prevent them to move to the Martyrs Square."
The envoy said there are "mercenaries" from Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Chad and Ethiopia fighting with Gaddafi's forces.
The Libyan envoy said the international community has to "send a clear message" to Gaddafi to halt the violence.
"Otherwise I think he will continue his killings and today you will have thousands of people killed in Tripoli. It is time to stop this."
Dabbashi has previously called for the United Nations to order a no-fly zone over Libya to halt air attacks on demonstrators.
Gaddafis will 'live and die' in Libya
Gaddafi son, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, said his family will stay in Libya at all costs despite a bloody uprising shaking his father's regime.
"Our plan is to live and die in Libya,'' he told Turkey's CNN Turk news channel when asked whether his family had a "plan B" in the face of the simmering turmoil in the north African country.
Speaking with a voiceover translation to Turkish, he admitted the regime had lost grip of eastern Libya, but said the authorities would soon regain control of the region.
"There are over two million people in this area, the number of terrorists is 200 or 300 at most. People call us and beg for help. ... We cannot allow a handful of terrorists to control that part of Libya and its people," he said.
"Not the army but the whole nation will resolve this problem," he said when asked whether the military could attack the flashpoint city of Benghazi.
Seif al-Islam also targeted the media and especially Arab news channel Al Jazeera for what he called "lies" on civilian deaths and the activities of African mercenaries helping the regime.
"All fabricated news come from one channel, Al Jazeera. We know the reason," he said, accusing the channel of "supporting" terrorist groups.
He blamed "small terrorist groups" for provoking the turmoil, insisting that the Gaddafi family had no problem with street demonstrations.
"Street protests, peaceful demonstrations, political demands ... these are acceptable. ... Our problem is armed groups. ... This is the greatest problem. Our problem is not political demands," he said.
He said insurgent groups in the cities of Zawiya and Misurata stole army tanks and possessed guns and ammunition.
"As government, we do not fight against our people, we fight against those groups," he said.
Asked whether his father planned to bomb oil refineries if the situation got worse, he said: "We will never destroy oil. It belongs to the people."
