EUROPE CALLED for an immediate halt to the use to lethal force against the Libyan uprising as Italy expressed acute concern about the potential for a huge influx of migrants from the country.
As European foreign ministers took stock of Muammar Gadafy’s brutal backlash against the protesters, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton pledged aid for the democratic transition in the Arab world.
“The Council condemned the ongoing repression against demonstrators in Libya and deplores the use of violence and the death of civilians,” said a communique.
“The council calls for an immediate end to the use of force against protestors and for all parties to show restraint.
“The legitimate aspirations and demands of people for reform must be addressed through open, inclusive, meaningful and national Libyan-led dialogue, that would bring a constructive future for the country and for the people.”
British foreign secretary William Hague told reporters he had “some information” that Mr Gadafy was travelling to Venezuela, but Baroness Ashton said she had no such information.
Baroness Ashton travels today to Cairo, a visit that follows a surprise visit to Egypt yesterday by British prime minister David Cameron. In diplomatic circles, Mr Cameron’s manoeuvre was seen to upstage Baroness Ashton’s engagement with political and military figures.
“I will urge the current leadership to make progress with constitutional change paving the way for free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections,” she said.
The protests in Libya and the collapse of the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia have prompted fear of rising migration along Europe’s Mediterranean rim. “Italy, as you know, is the closest neighbour both of Tunisia and Libya so we are extremely concerned about the repercussions on the migratory situation in the southern Mediterranean,” said Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini.
Diplomats who observed the ministers’ meeting said Mr Frattini urged caution in Europe’s response to the Libyan protests, saying the credentials of the demonstrators remains unclear.
Rome fears an Islamic secessionist movement in Libya with its political base in Benghazi, just across the Mediterranean from Italy’s southern coast. “Would you imagine to have an Islamic Arab emirate at the borders of Europe?” Mr Frattini asked.
