Europe has 'moral duty' to aid Libyans: EU Parliament chief
(WARSAW) - Europe has a moral duty to help Libyans deal with the humanitarian disaster created by Moamer Kadhafi, EU parliament chief Jerzy Buzek said Sunday.
"The international community has a moral duty to protect Libyans from troops of Moamer Kadhafi's regime," he said in an interview published on the website of Newsweek magazine's Polish edition.
He said the priority right now was delivering food, water and medicines as "Libyans are in a critical situation."
Buzek made it clear that "there could be no compromise with Kadhafi who has lost any legitimacy" and recalled that the European parliament was the first to call for a dialogue with the Libyan opposition.
NATO was set to agree Sunday to take command of military operations against Kadhafi amid stepped up diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the conflict.
Pressed by Western powers, notably the United States and Italy, to take the helm as swiftly as possible, the 28-nation trasatlantic alliance was expected to give a thumbs up, possibly approving and activating immediate engagement, NATO sources said.
At present, NATO is manning naval operations to enforce an arms embargo against the Tripoli regime, and has agreed to take to the air to enforce a no-fly zone to protect civilians against bombings.
Libya/ME