Wednesday, April 06, 2011

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court has evidence Moammar Gadhafi’s government planned to put down protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out, the ICC’s prosecutor said Tuesday.

The peaceful protests that erupted on Feb. 15 descended into civil war as Gadhafi’s forces first fired on demonstrators, then violently put down the uprisings that followed in the west, leaving the east and the third city of Misrata in rebel hands.

The U.N. Security Council, which on March 17 sanctioned airstrikes on Libyan government forces to prevent them killing civilians, in February referred Libya to the ICC, the world’s first permanent war crimes court.
Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is to report back to the U.N. on May 4, and is then expected to request arrest warrants.

“We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts, people in the [Gadhafi] regime were planning how to control demonstrations in Libya,” Moreno-Ocampo told Reuters.

“The shootings of civilians was a pre-determined plan,” he said, adding the plan started to be developed in January.
The court prosecutor wants to speak to former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who defected to Britain last week, saying he did so because of attacks on civilians by Gadhafi’s forces.
Koussa’s defection would be taken into consideration in the investigation into Gadhafi, his sons and aides, Moreno-Ocampo said, hinting others in the government might follow suit.

“The fact that Moussa Koussa defected is interesting because that is one option you have. If you have no power to stop the crimes then you can defect to show you are not responsible,” Moreno-Ocampo said.

“We are trying to see Moussa Koussa to interview him … we would like to see what Moussa Koussa knows. But the fact that he defected is a factor we will consider seriously.”

Moreno-Ocampo said investigators were now assessing who was most responsible for attacks against civilians and that it was too early to say what impact the defection would have.

“The fact is that when we warned different people including Moussa Koussa that the troops were committing crimes, if someone cannot control them, defecting is a valid option and that is what Moussa Koussa did. We will see what responsibility he had.”
Moreno-Ocampo also raised concern over security in Tripoli, saying his office believes people considered disloyal to the regime are being abducted, tortured and killed.

Investigators are avoiding talking to any witness who has family in Tripoli for fear of reprisals, he said.
As Western forces continued a campaign of airstrikes Tuesday, diplomatic efforts to end the war remained stalled.
Neither the rebels, nor Western powers will accept Libyan government offers to hold free elections and install a new constitution due to its insistence that Gadhafi stay in power.

Moreno-Ocampo also stressed his role is limited to a judicial one and that any political decision over Libya rests with the Security Council, which has the power to suspend investigations for 12 months at a time.
“My responsibility is to investigate crimes and to present [evidence] to the court. Judges will decide on criminal responsibility,” he said. “The political responsibilities are in the hands of the Security Council.” – Reuters