Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi “must go”, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said today.
“The people of Libya have risen up against Col. Gadhafi,” Hague said. “We have here a country descending into civil war with atrocious scenes of killing of protesters and government actually making war on its own people, so of course it is time for Col. Gadhafi to go.
“That is the best hope for Libya,” he said, adding that he had revoked the diplomatic immunity in the United Kingdom of Gadhafi, his sons, his family and his household.
“So it’s very clear where we stand on his status as a head of state,” Hague said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has called on Gadhafi to leave power immediately, saying he has lost the legitimacy to rule with his violent crackdown on his own people.
With that shift yesterday, Obama dropped the careful condemnation, threats of consequences and the reminders to Gadhafi’s regime about its responsibility to avoid violence.
The president called on Gadhafi to step down for the first time, saying the Libyan government must be held accountable for its brutal crackdown on dissenters. The administration also announced new sanctions against Libya, but that was overshadowed by the sharp demand for Gadhafi’s immediate ouster.
“The president stated 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,” the White House said. (CNN/AP)
