Canada backs Libyan opposition as MPs debate mission; National Transitional Council recognized

[pampango]

Source: CBC

as representative of Libyan people

The Canadian government is officially recognizing the National Transitional Council of Libya as the legitimate representative of Libyan citizens, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says. "Canada is embarking on an enhanced engagement strategy with the National Transitional Council of Libya," Baird said Tuesday, adding Canada will provide governance expertise to the council.

NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar proposed amendments to the government's resolution, including an increase in humanitarian aid, a focus on preventing and prosecuting rape as a tool of war, and a pledge to keep troops off the ground.

"Do we simply take the case of national sovereignty and say we can never intervene in the affairs of another country ... or do we understand that the entire evolution of international law has taken us to this point, that we have to say whatever goes on inside a country is just as important as what happens between countries?"

"The answers are not always simple and in fact the answers are not always clear. But we are slowly but surely as a world taking the human footsteps to the point where we can say we will not allow people to be brutalized by their government. We will not simply sit back and do nothing. We will intervene. And yes, that intervention may have a military component. And people will be killed as a result of that intervention. And none of us should ... take joy in the fact that is a consequence of what happens," Rae said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/06/14/pol-libya-debate.html?ref=rss

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Canada is also donating an additional $2 million in humanitarian aid to Libyans "within and beyond Libyan borders".