Former UK Foreign Secretary Calls for NATO and Egypt to enforce Libyan ‘No Fly Zone’

In the wake of reports that Libyan air force fighters have opened fire on crowds of protesters, former UK foreign secretary David Owen has called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to immediately meet in emergency session and authorise a ‘No Fly Zone’ over Libya. 

Speaking on Al Jazeera, Lord Owen called for a UN Charter Chapter 7 intervention to be enforced by NATO air forces with Egyptian military support to demonstrate regional backing for the effort. Lord Owen said: “The UNSC should meet in emergency session tonight and declare the situation in Libya as a threat to peace under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter and declare a no flight zone for the Libyan Air Force and ask the regional power, NATO, to enforce it from dawn tomorrow. And hopefully other Arab nations, particularly Egypt, might decide to participate to demonstrate that this is not just a Western initiative”. 

Lord Owen went on to call for “…air forces in the region with sufficient range to reach Libya to prevent any Libyan Air Force military action against civilians”. Some members of the Libyan military have refused to fire on protestors, including two colonels who flew their jets to Malta. 

The call is supported by some human rights advocates looking for action and not just words from the international community. The International Crisis Group, for example, has called for a range of international steps to stop atrocities in Libya, including the establishment of a UN-authorised no-fly zone “if attacks against civilians continue”. 

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has condemned “the indiscriminate use of violence against peaceful protesters in Libya”. In a statement he called on the Libyan authorities “to stop the repression of unarmed civilians”. A NATO-led mission to enforce a ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya seems unlikely, however, even if the UNSC were to show sufficient unity and resolve to authorise one. It was the Libyan UN Mission itself - yesterday breaking with Colonel Gaddafi - that asked for an emergency meeting of the UNSC, but so far no agreement on a ‘no fly zone has been reached. 

Meanwhile, Fidel Castro has predicted that the US will use the unrest to undertake a NATO invasion of Libya to control its oil. He says that it might happen "in a question of hours or very short days".  

Others with a more rational take on matters, like Mark Goldberg at UN Dispatch point out some of the pitfalls of a ‘No Fly Zone’ for Libya, describing it as a “humanitarian half measure”. He says that the international community faces a big policy dilemma: “Intervene forcefully to stop the slaughter and risk undermining the long-term prospects for democracy, or ‘stand by’ and watch the Libyan military massacre hundreds or even thousands of people”.