Libya sanctions passed over Ankara's objections

Turkey's objections to sanctions on Libya fizzled as the UN Security Council slapped sweeping sanctions on the country Saturday in response to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's deadly crackdown on ongoing anti-government protests. The debate over sanctions has set Turkey, which has large investments in Libya and many citizens working there, in opposition to much of the rest of the world. On Saturday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the UN Security Council not to impose sanctions, warning that the Libyan people, rather than Gaddafi's government, would suffer the most. "The people are already struggling to find food, so how will you feed the Libyan people?" Erdogan asked in a televised speech in Ankara. "Sanctions, an intervention, would push the Libyan people, who are already up against hunger and violence, into a more desperate situation. We call on the international community to act with conscience, justice, laws and universal human values – not out of concerns over oil." But shortly thereafter, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose an arms embargo and urged UN member countries to freeze the assets of Gaddafi, four of his sons and a daughter. Before the Security Council resolution passed, Erdogan and US President Barack Obama discussed ways to respond to the Libyan crisis. "The president and the prime minister expressed their deep concern about the Libyan government's use of violence against its people, which is completely unacceptable, and discussed appropriate and effective ways for the international community to immediately respond," the White House said after the conversation late Friday, making no mention of sanctions.