William Hague answered questions on Libya, Muammar Gaddafi and the Arab Spring live today via a Twitter chat.
William Hague answers questions on Libya via Twitter
By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor
4:36PM BST 09 Jun 2011
13 Comments
The Foreign Secretary said that time was running out for Gaddafi and gave a first hand account of his visit to Benghazi on Saturday when he held talks with the National Transitional Council.
Mr Hague has fully embraced the microblogging website and has now done a number of Twitter Q&A’s inspiring the likes of London mayor, Boris Johnson, to get in on the act with his recent live tweet session.
Mr Hague did his first Twitter Q&A last year on his visit to Japan and has done some others on the Middle East.
Below is a summary of the discussion.
16.06 Mr Hague starts with a straightforward question from @insilicongenesis: "What was the extent of the devastation observed first handedly during your visit, Sir? Are they still in great need?"
Related Articles
Libya: rebels promised £780m by Western and Arab leaders - 09 Jun 2011
He replies: "Human toll is the biggest devastation of all in any conflict - met people in hospital and heard appalling stories"
16.08 Mr Hague replies to @thoades: "There is a price attached to coming to the aid of other people, but the cost of not doing so would be far greater."
16.14 @flyinglawyer73 asks: "So we stay in #Libya no matter how long it takes to remove #Gaddafi? What about #Zimbabwe #Syria, the list goes on! And the cost?".
Mr Hague replies: "I can't put it better than the PM: just because we can't do everything doesn't mean we shouldn't do what we can."
16.24 @TTAMarshall asks: "Watching events in Syria and Yemen, has the international response been adequate? Does Libya tie our hands elsewhere?"
The Foreign Secretary replies: "No one can accuse Britain of being slow. We've led the way on Libya & Syria at the UN"
16.38 @K_H_Jordan asks: "When do you expect Tripoli, Libya will be safe enough for besieged citizens to rise up and take control?"
Mr Hague replies: "Time is running out for #Qadhafi. International community is united & his regime is starting to crumble around him"
(Incidentally, why does the Government insist on calling him Qadhafi?)
16.45 Some trickier questions coming up for Mr Hague. I wonder if he will answer them? @MrNorthice asks: "As a ridiculed leader who led his party to election collapse, why should we accept you as FS, from a party still w/o a majority?" while @jameelkaraki tables the question: "are u trying to restore the british glory in the region through Libya"?
16.48 @danielsilas asks: "Alain Juppe says Assad has "lost his legitimacy to rule the country Do you agree?"
The Foreign Secretary replies: "I think President #Assad should reform or step aside."
This is not new, and just restates Government policy. What would be startling if is Mr Hague just called for President Assad to step down. Nice touch that he includes the Syrian leader's hashtag though.
16.51 @sayed3li: "When do you think the #UK should walk the talk in relation to #Bahrain uprising? Dialogue needs solid ground,not bloody one".
Mr Hague replies: "We make clear to #Bahrain our view that national dialogue must lead to real progress & reform."
16.53 @manofchew asks: "You promise to "isolate those abusing human rights" yet it's business as usual with Bahrain. Why?"
Mr Hague replies: "It's not business as usual - we send strong messages to #Bahrain including on #humanrights & reform"
Er, but it looked like business as usual when Prime Minister David Cameron shook hands with the Crown Prince of Bahrain on the steps of Downing Street nearly three weeks ago.
16.54 @NaomiLGoldberg asks: "Will the FS and the British government condemn the human rights violations taking place in Syria?"
Mr Hague is unequivocal about the UK Government's disapproval (but he stops short of asking President Assad to stand down - see 16.48): "We do on a daily basis. What is happening in #Syria is unacceptable - that is why we want the #UNSC to respond"
17:00 @FredChukkawakka asks the Foreign Secretary to "explain why the UK treats #Syria and #Libya differently even though both leaders have killed their citizens to quell uprisings?" Very good question.
Mr Hague responds: "We don't treat #Syria any differently. But harder to build international support for a firm response over #Syria"
17:03 @hababbi asks: "Mr Hague after visitng Libya tell us what inspired you most to confirm the need for UK to continue to support for the ppl of #libya"
Mr Hague replies: "I was inspired by the enthusiasm of the people I met, their optimism & courage despite what they'd been through"
This question was tabled along with many others, according to Twitter, two days ago on 7 June, which leads me to wonder whether the Foreign Secretary is selecting questions that are hardly a challenge to answer.
17:04 @sjrlloyd asks again why Britain is treating Libya and Syria differently. Mr Hague cites the United Nations mandate as part of the problem: "clear intl mandate for action in #Libya, not in #Syria. Doing all we can to pressure #Assad regime to stop killing"
17:07 @CharlieLewis_ asks: "Is there a possibility of intervention in syria as sanctions don't seem to have worked and casualties are mounting?"
Mr Hague is convinced that sanctions are putting pressure on the regime: "sanctions are putting pressure on the regime. Pressure will only increase unless they change course"
17:13 A bit left field. @NaomiLGoldberg asks "How does Mr Hague feel about the Scottish boycott of Israeli books? http://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk"?
The Foreign Secretary replies: "I oppose boycotts of #Israel - they are counter-productive, polarising & shut down dialogue"
17.21 @RenaSadeghi asks:"Where does Britain stand from continued Israeli settlements in Palestine? Do democracy and int'l law get applied to Israel also?"
Mr Hague replies: "International law applies everywhere. #UK view is that settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace"
17.23 I wonder why the Foreign Secretary chose this one (tabled yesterday) from @scotiatide: "No question, just want to thank the UK for protecting the people of Libya in their time of need - well done"
He replies: "Thank you - we will see the job through until UN resolutions are fulfilled"
17.24 Good question from @Jnugteren: "The British are using #helicopters and #jets. What is between groundforce intervention and the current situation?"
William Hague replies convincingly: "a huge difference. UNSC 1973 rules out occupying force & we will stick to it.UN mandate gives our moral & legal authority"
17.30. And it's all over. @williamjhague tweets: "Thanks for all your questions. Sorry I couldn't answer them all. Transcript available soon"
No comments:
Post a Comment