Swedish foreign minister no longer considers Libyan embassy 'legitimate'
Carl Bildt: no longer recognises Libyan embassy as legitimate representative of Libyan people
AFP (Agence France-Presse) wired this story on Friday. It was picked up by The Local, Sweden’s English-language news service.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said Friday he no longer considered the Libya’s embassy in Stockholm a legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
“We no longer consider the Libyan Embassy in Stockholm to be representing anything,” Bildt posted on his official Twitter feed Friday.
When asked to comment on Bildt’s post, foreign ministry spokesman Anders Jörle said “given the unclear situation in Libya, we do not know who represents Libya in Sweden.”
The ministry had been informed that the Libyan envoy in Stockholm no longer had a mandate from Moamer Kadhafi, Joerle added.
As France on Thursday officially recognised rebels opposed to the Libyan leader, Bildt tweeted “Sweden recognises states – not regimes. And most other EU countries are the same. Somewhat unclear on what France does.”
On February 22, the Libyan embassy in Stockholm raised the country’s independence flag, which was in use until Kadhafi came to power in 1969 and has been used by protesters as a symbol of the ongoing uprising in the country.
But an embassy secretary told AFP at the time it had been raised simply to get demonstrators to leave the embassy, and stressed the ambassador had not resigned.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt was in Brussels Friday, attending pivotal Libya crisis talks divided over a British-French push for formal recognition of Kadhafi’s opponents and a call from Paris for limited air strikes.
14 Comments Comment
Reply to Deo Cassar Click here to cancel reply
Carl Bildt, has shown that he’s got balls unlike Tonio Borg. Tonio, don’t you think it’s high time for you to pack it in?
He should stop recognizing the tyrranical despotic regimes of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Yemen which are using the army to shoot and massacre unarmed civilians demonstrating peacefully in the streets, unlike Libya where heaviliy armed militia have taken the law into their own hands. Shame on you for being so one sided. As though Saudis, Yemenis, Omanis, and Bahrainis are not people!
First of all the army has not yet intervened in the mentioned countries. Also the Libyan people indeed took matters into their own hands, but they were in no way heavily armed and as a result over 6000 martyrs were killed according to reliable sources.
The dead outnumber the wounded wich reflects the shoot to kill policy adopted by Gaddafi. This is not the first attempt to overthrow this tyran the first attempt happend only a few months after he began to rule, and since then he has imprisoned, tortured, publicly hanged his opposition and many innocents even in universities.
Gaddafi’s is one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. Perhaps the most gruesome act he commited is the murder of 1200 political prisoners in under 3 hours, because they refused to meet with him.
Indeed there are other Arab countries suffering from tyrants. but this man should not be called a tyrant, He is worse than one. look at Egypt and Tunisia, both tyrants there recognized that they were not wanted anymore and resigned.
While this crazy man is bent on the extermination of the Libyan people. The same goes for the other regimes, when the people reach the point of no return the tyrants shall resign. Unlike the case of Libya.
I find it particularly significant that Sweden announces its position even while Gaddafi is gaining the military upper hand.
Some might argue it’s easy for Scandinavians to act this way because they aren’t next-door neighbours to Libya but, precisely because we are neighbours, it’s even more in Malta’s interest to hasten the end of the regime.
The terrorist Gaddafi is not gaining the military upper hand. He may have planes and ships and tanks. But he is running out of fuel as the revolutionists have control of the major oil refinaries in Libya.
Also the militia which is lightly armed boasts over 100,000 fighters not counting defected army generals and troops. While (the terrorist) Gaddafi only has around 10 000 troops in his “security brigades” (that’s what he calls them) some of whom are defecting and what mercenaries he can buy with the cash he has left (as all his accounts are frozen). He knows as every Libyan knows beyond a doubt that he will never rule Libya again and he is fighting for extermination.
As for interest, I always find western hypocrisy sad but funny. Sweden cries democracy, human rights, freedom, then goes to the MOST opressive regime in the world and lands oil deals.
However the interest of ending this bloodthirsty regime which has imprisoned and killed tens of thousands over the past 42 years is with the Libyan people who are being slaughtered every day. Beacause they dared after these 42 years to peacefully protest in the street, calling for an end.
Bhas-soltu naghmlu li jaqblina skond (or is it skont?) kif jonfoh ir-rih.
“The ministry had been informed that the Libyan envoy in Stockholm no longer had a mandate from Moamer Kadhafi, Joerle added”.
Before rushing to conclusions. This means that Libya has revoked its letters patent. In other words, it has dismissed its own ambassador.
It does not mean that Sweden has severed diplomatic relations with Libya.
So much so that the very level-headed Swedish minister
“Bildt tweeted “Sweden recognises states – not regimes. And most other EU countries are the same. Somewhat unclear on what France does.””
Bildt is abiding by diplomatic law: States recognize States not Governments.
In fact, the US kept recognizing the Soviet Union even if it was at “cold war” with it.
The US kept recognizing the diplomatic representatives of the formerly independent Baltic States even after their annexation by the Soviet Union. In this case, the US was recognizing the state of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, while at the same time recognizing the Soviet government of these same territorities by recognizing the administrative acts of those governments (e.g. shipping documents recognized by US Courts).
In other words, the Swedish Minister is right. Sweden recognizes Libya, not whoever rules her.
And he is also right that Sarkozy is proposing a “heretical” view of international law. If the “Sarkozy doctrine” (as it were), were to be accepted, then a change in government could lead to the severance of diplomatic relations and the grinding to a halt of the international system and international trade.
And since economics is the real foundation of all human activity, such a “bizarre” (to borrow Saif al-Islam’s word) position as taken by Sarkozy would never be accepted as it leads to international chaos.
“Bizarre” that Bildt and Saif al-Islam should view Sarkozy’s position in exactly the same way, isn’t it? These are subtle hints of what’s going on behind the scenes. Beware, the drama is not over yet.
[Daphne – Oh I don’t know about that. I think it’s pretty obvious that France recognised the administration in Benghazi as a way of legitimatising French military intervention against Gaddafi should Benghazi ask for it. Saif Al Islam would have worked that out.]
Could be. But that would be opening the colonialism can of worms vindicating (sorry!) Gaddafi’s initial scaremongering.
We’re in for some surprises, methinks!
[Daphne – How can you equate military intervention with colonisation?]
I personally don’t. But would you bet your last cent that the pro-Gaddafi (and other) media wouldn’t give it that tinge?
I understand your position. Let us look at the historical examples seemingly confirming your stance.
When the French helped the Americans in their war of Independence, it was not colonisation but an anti-British alliance.
When Mussolini sent volunteers to fight alongside Franco in the Spanish Civil War, Mussolini was intervening (despite a non-intervention agreement of 1936… but actually everybody was intervening whether overtly or covertly) not colonising Spain.
In these two instances, there was obviously no colonisation.
And yet, if we go further back in time we find that the Norman mercenaries brought by the Saracen rulers of Sicily to fight each other ended up colonising Sicily!
When the British intervened to help us against the French, they ended up colonising us!
In other words, when the interventions occur between different cultures or states with differing military abilities, they might end up in colonisation.
You are consistently disregarding the different cultural backgrounds of the Liberal world and the Other world(s).
Since colonisation has now become a shunned term, there are other terms to describe the same phenomenon. The setting up of stooge governments, vassal States, sphere of influence, annexation are terms more consonant with the zeitgeist of our times. Yet… different names, same phenomenon.
My parting shot: ALL Libyans are afraid of such an interpretation. How else to explain the rebels’ capture of the SAS squad and their insistence on non-intervention by foreigners?
France recognised the administration in Benghazi as a way of legitimatising French military intervention against Gaddafi should Benghazi ask for it?
Of course, France will be up front, solo, hitting the Gaddafis!
Don’t think so…
The Benghazi Council right now is as illegitimate as the Gaddafi regime, for similar reasons.
1. There is no proof that the majority are behind the Benghazi administration.
2. There is no proof that the Gaddafi regime enjoys the backing of the majority of Libyans
France recognizing the Benghazi administration before consulting other leaders and noting their position regarding the recognition of a hastily put together ‘administration’ was a half-baked idea. Had Sarkozy found that he was the only one and that the others were not prepared to follow suit in a matter of hours (preferably), then I am almost sure that he would have stopped short of making the announcement.
He took a chance which may make him a genius or an absolute fool. In a crisis such as this, hasty decisions tend to be an absolute disaster. It takes no balls to make foolish decisions, just a lame brain.
I ask, does the international community recognize terrorists for what they are?
Gaddafi has no legal right to rule in Libya.
He is as he puts it “the brother leader” and according to him he has no power in Libya, which of course is a lie. But one that can be used against him. Since the “people govern Libya” it is they who have chosen a transitional government to represent them until ghadafi is either brought to justice as a worldwide terrorist.
So there is no two governments to chose from. There is a terrorist using mercenaries to slaughter Libyans and there is the people of Libya and their transitional goverment defending themselves and asking for international aid.
As for proof, do you really beleive the majority of Libyans want a man who uses planes, ships and tanks on civillians to assume the rule again?
A man who hanged people publicly on a daily basis in the eighties. A man who murdered in cold blood 1200 political prisoners in less than three hours in Busleem prison in Tripoli. A man who was behind many terrorist acts around the world from backing the Darfur rebels to the Lockerbie bombing. You realy believed the majority of the Libyans are backing him?
Azawyah a city only 40km west of tripoli held out aganist his tanks and planes for eight days. 90% of Libyan soil is held by the revolutionists. only Tripoli, Sirt, and Sabha and a few small cities remain in his control. Although citizens of these cities have tried to break free but his military hold in them cities is strong.
I’m confused though, what proof do you want? More than the hundreds of thousands in the street.
I will answer the same as I did with Sarkozy. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to respect him.
I agree. Libyans don’t want military intervention on the ground. Look at Iraq and Afghanistan and you will understand – although I understand circumstances are different in those countries than in Libya.
But what is happening in Libya is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. While politicians are squabbling amongst themselves over the no fly zone and whether to recognize the transitional goverment, Gaddafi is murdering more and more, as each day passes he surpasses himself in his acts of terror. And he himselfs says he will not rest until he “purifies” Libya.
People are dying from lack of basic medication for diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
Children and women are being shot by antiaircraft guns with bullets over 14.5 cm in size.
Unarmed civillians being killed by rpg and tank missiles.
Inhabited civillian areas are being destroyed by bombings from planes.
Mercenaries tour the cities in which he still holds control and kill anyone out of there home, they then take the bodies off the streets in trucks.
There is footage proving all the things I mentioned available on Youtube.
Then we ask should we or should we not recognize a transitional government and the voice of the revolution.