OTTAWA—Canada has pulled its diplomats out of Libya as the international community moves to punish Moammar Gadhafi for his violence against pro-democracy protesters.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved military and financial sanctions against Gadhafi’s regime, asking the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged crimes against humanity in clashes that have left hundreds dead.
U.S. President Barack Obama called for the Libyan leader to step down after four decades in power, saying he “has lost the legitimacy to rule.”
Most residents of the capital, Tripoli — the dictator’s redoubt — stayed home Saturday, bracing for further violence while armed patrols spread out across the city. An army leader in eastern Libya said an anti-Gadhafi force was setting out for the capital to support the uprising there, The Washington Post reported.
Meanwhile, the Libyan ambassador to the United States claimed that critics of the faltering regime were uniting behind an alternative government led by the former justice minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who resigned in protest of violence against demonstrators.
A Canadian Forces C-17 transport defied Libyan authorities and landed at the airport in Tripoli around 5:30 a.m., Toronto time, on Saturday in a mission to ferry embassy employees and other passengers to safety.
Ottawa made the decision to suspend its diplomatic presence on the advice of Sandra McCardell, Canada’s ambassador in Libya, and in “close collaboration” with countries including the United States, said Dimitri Soudas, director of communications in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The flight ferried 24 Canadians, 12 Britons, the three-member Australian diplomatic team and other nationals to Malta, where the military jet will remain on standby should further evacuations be required. There are now fewer than 200 Canadians in Libya, of whom about 100 have indicated they want to leave.
On Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper condemned the actions of the Libyan regime as “appalling” and called for a halt to violence. “The international community must send a very clear message: The killing of innocent civilians, the citizens of its own country, constitutes a gross violation of human rights and must carry serious consequences,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that Canada is preparing a “full range of sanctions” and said “no options have been ruled out.”
The claim by Libya’s top envoy to the U.S. that a “caretaker government” headed by the ex-justice minister was rallying support from anti-Gadhafi forces could not be verified immediately. Aujali called on the international community to back the movement, saying the U.S. and other countries could accelerate Gadhafi’s exit by supporting Abdel-Jalil.
“He is a very honest man, a man with dignity,” Aujali said. “I hope this caretaker government will get the support of Libyans and of the international community.”
Abdel-Jalil has criticized Gadhafi’s regime for its brutal crackdown on protesters and recently said he had proof the Libyan leader ordered the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people.
The ambassador spoke shortly after President Obama demanded that Gadhafi leave power, saying that “when a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now.”
Obama made the statement in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bringing his policy in line with what European leaders began demanding several days ago.
Obama has taken a more cautious approach, in part because he feared that hundreds of Americans on the ground in Tripoli could be in danger if he called for regime change. Those diplomats and other citizens have now been evacuated.
The harder U.S. position came as Gadhafi’s renegade UN envoy endorsed the Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Tripoli.
In a letter to the Security Council’s president, Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham wrote that his delegation “supports the measures proposed in the draft resolution to hold to account those responsible for the armed attacks against the Libyan civilians, including [through] the International Criminal Court.”
Shalgham’s break from Gadhafi, his longtime friend and mentor, followed a wave of defections in the diplomatic corps, leaving the Libyan ruler essentially without a voice or influence outside the country.
The resolution adopted by the 15-nation Security Council included travel bans and asset freezes on Gadhafi and 15 other Libyans, including members of his family. It also called for the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate and possibly prosecute anyone responsible for killing civilians.
Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the UN, said the measures imposed on Gadhafi amounted to “biting sanctions,” and said all those who committed crimes would be pursued. “Those who slaughter civilians will be held personally accountable,” Rice told the council after the vote.
Speaking to reporters later, she praised the council’s “unity of purpose” in approving the resolutions. There had been resistance to an international criminal investigation, particularly from China, Russia and India, which expressed concern that such a move could inflame the situation on the ground.
Dimitri Soudas, the Prime Minister’s communications director, said sanctions against Libya could force Canadian businesses in the country to stop work immediately. Suncor Energy and SNC-Lavalin are among several Canadian companies with operations in Libya.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon will attend Monday’s session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to “vigorously represent” Canada’s views on the evolving crisis, Soudas said.
The spokesman defended the government’s evacuation efforts, after many Canadian citizens were ferried from Libya on boats and aircraft organized by other nations.
Canadians “did not find themselves on the charters of other nations by coincidence,” Soudas said, crediting an elaborate operation by Canadian diplomats.
The fact that two Canadian charter flights were able to land in Tripoli but left without any passengers “speaks to the success” of diplomats in arranging other transportation for Canadians wishing to flee, Soudas said.
“When a country has the means to accommodate foreign nationals, seats are offered and accepted and people move out as quickly as possible,” he said.
For Saturday’s evacuation flight, Foreign Affairs staff reached out “aggressively and repeatedly” to Canadians remaining in Libya, asking them to leave the country, Soudas said. He said it was “imperative” that Canadians register online at travel.gc.ca to ensure they get the most current consular advice.
Meanwhile, a secret British mission was carried out Saturday to rescue oil workers and other civilians from desert locations south of the eastern city of Benghazi. The C-130 Hercules planes safely landed in Malta, British Defence Secretary Liam Fox said.
The British mission was bold because few planes have been able to fly through Libyan airspace. Rescued oil worker Peter Dingle, told the BBC that workers were told to stay quiet.
“We knew this morning that the military was coming to pick us up, but we weren’t allowed to phone home — there were no lines anyway — because when you inform the families, it gets out in the media, and the British military need to keep this as quiet as possible,” Dingle said.
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