U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that U.S. Embassy reopened in Tripoli.
In her conversation with Chelsea Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, Secretary Clinton said US prior Embassy was destroyed, but they found a new place to put up the flagpole, and they’re very proud about it.
“This is a great affirmation of the extraordinary courage and resilience of the Libyan people to try to take hold of their own futures.” -Secretary Clinton
Secretary Clinton noted that today she signed an agreement of economic participation and support with the Tunisian foreign minister.
“And I have to urge people in the audience to really pay attention to Tunisia, which has a terrific opportunity, holding elections in October, to really manage this transition successfully.” -Ms. Clinton
She highlighted that many people knew that at some point there had to be a collision between repressive, autocratic regimes, and people’s aspirations and their universal right to freedom, dignity, to be heard.
“In Libya, itself, what was so remarkable about that particular revolution, is that after 42 years of Qadhafi’s rule and the demonstrations that began in Tripoli and Benghazi and Misrata, Qadhafi was determined to crush them, as we see happening in Syria today, with Asad’s regime. And he was very threatening in his language.” -Secretary Clinton
She noted that Qhadafi called his own people cockroaches and rats; he said they would be hunted down and destroyed. She said it was a moment for decision, but it was also a moment for caution because no one was quite sure the best way to respond to what was getting ready to happen.
“What happened then was remarkable. It was the Arab League that asked for intervention, something that had never happened before. The United Nations passed, first, one resolution and then another. And I have to just underscore how critically important it was for the United Nations to say we cannot let this happen – and they didn’t need to add “again,” because there were those who remembered when the international community did not intervene and we saw Rwanda; we saw Srebrenica.” -Secretary Clinton