Ouganda: US responds to Museveni on Libya and Ivory Coast

Kampala

The American government did not attack Libya due to any covert interest in its oil wealth, a US government spokesman said yesterday. Responding directly for the first time to President Museveni’s criticism of the decision by the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, the acting Deputy Spokesperson in the US Department of State, Mark Toner, said his government and the international community only acted swiftly to avert a looming humanitarian crisis.

“Frankly, Libya’s oil reserves are not profound and had no bearing on the international community’s actions. Why the international community acted in Libya was to prevent a pending humanitarian catastrophe. We had a leader who had turned arms against his own people and was threatening to raze a city of 700,000 people and was committing human rights abuses against innocent civilians,” he said during a teleconference call with African journalists.

Mr Toner’s comments, prompted by a question from Daily Monitor, were the US government’s first direct reply to suggestions by President Museveni, in a statement last month, that the west always uses double standards while acting on similar situations in different countries depending on whether their interest are threatened or not.

Double standards

Mr Museveni said the West was “very eager” to impose a no-fly zone in Libya yet in Bahrain and other areas where there are pro-Western regimes, they had turned a blind eye to similar or even worse conditions. Mr Museveni further wondered whether the UN had declined their request to impose a no-fly zone over Somalia because it does not have oil that is not controlled by the Western oil companies, as is the case in Libya.

On the situation in Ivory Coast, where Mr Museveni criticised the UN position as simplistic, Mr Toner said the regional body, Ecowas, and the African Union had taken the lead in ensuring that the wish that the Ivorian people expressed in the presidential election is respected. The US Spokesman said he believed that in both crises, they are working in line with appropriate international channels to achieve the democratic aspirations of the people in either country.

The US clarified its position two days after African Union chairman Jean Ping met with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and officials said they made progress on exploring ways of resolving Libya’s worsening crisis. “Regarding the situation in Libya, the chairperson and the Foreign Secretary agreed on the pressing need for an end to the violence, the need to protect civilians and for a solution that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people,” the UK High Commission in Kampala said in a statement yesterday.

Diplomatic fallout

A week ago, the AU High Level Ad hoc Committee boycotted a summit on Libya that the UK government organised, signalling a diplomatic fallout over allied air strikes on Gaddafi forces. Mr Ping is quoted as saying he had “a very fruitful exchange” at the Monday meeting with Mr Hague. He briefed his host on AU’s “determination to do everything in its power to facilitate an early and peaceful resolution of the crisis.”

In its blue-print unveiled a fortnight ago, AU flagged a monitored ceasefire, undertaking initiatives for dialogue; having an interim, inclusive arrangement; creating a corridor for humanitarian assistance and political reforms.

Mr Hague said he was “delighted” to meet with Mr Ping, adding that their “wide ranging discussions highlighted the close working relationship between the UK and the AU”.

Source: Daily Monitor, Posted  Wednesday, April 6 2011 at 00:00

Author: Benon Herbert Oluka & Annah Nafula  (email the author)