U.S. says Ghadaffi must go

James Calvert-Geneva, Switzerland

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the immediate resignation of embattled Libyan leader Moammar Ghadaffi Monday at the United Nations human rights council in Geneva.

"Ghadaffi has lost the legitimacy to govern and it is time for him to go without further delay," Clinton told members of the council.

Clashes between Libyan soldiers and Libyan rebels have escalated in recent weeks in the nation's capital. France, Germany and the United States condemned the actions of the Libyan Government, which is believed to be controlled by Ghaddafi.

Clinton said the brutal attacks by the the Libyan leader on his own people are unacceptable and would not be tolerated by the international community.

Clinton told the council that the international community has come to the consensus that the attacks on the people of Libya are unacceptable. The United Nations voted unanimously to impose an arms embargo and freeze the assets of Ghadaffi and his family. The United States has frozen 30 billion dollars of Colonel Ghadaffi's monetary assets in the United States. His family's bank accounts have been frozen in attempt to further isolate the Ghaddafi regime.

"Our European allies have discussed specific measures that will increase the pressure, further isolating Ghaddafi and his regime," Clinton said.

Clinton added that The United States would impose its own sanctions in addition to UN sanctions.

Clinton drew similarities between the human rights abuses in Iran and Libya, citing the death of peaceful protesters at the hands of corrupt regimes.

“Iran, for example, has consistently pursued policies of violence abroad, and tyranny at home" Clinton said. "In Tehran, security forces have beaten, detained, and in several recent cases killed peaceful protesters, even as Iran’s president has made a show of denouncing the violence in Libya.”

The death toll in Libya is not known and foreign journalists have faced scrutiny from Ghadaffi's government. Thursday, a Belgian photojournalist was detained by Libyan soldiers while he was covering a protest led by Libyan civilians outside Tripoli.

Ghadaffi said he refuses to relinquish his position as leader of the embattled nation Wednesday but his whereabouts are unknown. Reports that he fled to neighboring Niger are unsubstantiated. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offered political asylum Friday to the embattled leader.