EU ministers to condemn Libya repression: draft

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will condemn the repression of anti-government protests in Libya at their meeting later on Monday, according to the draft of a joint statement.

"The Council condemns the ongoing repression against peaceful demonstrators in Libya and deplores the violence and the death of civilians," the draft statement obtained by Reuters said.

"Freedom of expression and the right to assemble peacefully are fundamental rights of every human being which must be respected and protected."

EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss the uprisings across North Africa and the Gulf and are expected to focus on Egypt, and on Libya where there have been days of protests against President Muammar Gaddafi's 40-year rule.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/us-libya-eu-idUSTRE71J2R420110221

[pampango]

1. Aljazeera: US and EU condemn Libya crackdown

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/02/2011220213334554610.html

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice spoke out against brutal crackdowns on protesters in Libya and Bahrain but stopped short of calling for a change of government in any of the countries facing large protests.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he spoke to Seif al-Islam Gaddafi by phone on Sunday and told him that the country must embark on "dialogue and implement reforms". European Union (EU) foreign ministers have also condemned the repression of demonstrators in Libya.

Meanwhile, Libya has told the EU it will stop cooperating on illegal migration if the EU continues to encourage pro-democracy protests in the country, the bloc's Hungarian presidency said. Libya has frequently threatened to cancel cooperation with the EU on illegal migration in the past. In December, a minister said Libya would scale back efforts to stem the flow of migrants unless the EU paid 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) a year.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that migrants from across Africa account for about 10 per cent of Libya's six million population, although only a minority of those attempt to travel on to Europe to find work. The European Commission said in October it would spend 50 million euros to help Libya tackle illegal migration and protect migrants' rights.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

2. And a nasty letter is sent,

expressing profound disapproval. Dictators HATE nasty letters.

[davidthegnome]

3. Too true

Your post made me chuckle. It's been a while since I laughed here - thanks.