Defected Libyan ambassadors pledge effort to oust Gaddafi

Libyans from across North America pledged their support of the movement against Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi at a March 11 event that brought at least 18 news organizations -- including Press TV of Tehran -- to the National Press Club ballroom.

Both defecting Libyan ambassadors -- Abdel Rahman Shalgam from the United Nations and Washington-based Ali Aujali -- were also there.

The ambassadors made clear their support for the Libyan Republic's Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC), which is representing the protesters. They now represent the Council in the United States.

"We are not diplomats now, we are freedom fighters," Aujali said. "Our main priority is the no-fly zone."

He was referring to the effort for U.S. and NATO planes to end Gaddafi's air attacks on the opposition and civilians. Many of the exchanges between panelists and the audience were in Arabic. Among journalists there were Wafaa Jibai, correspondent for BBC Arabic, and Delinda C. Hanley, executive director and news editor of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.

One observer, Charles Aquilina, program director for the Washington office of Initiatives of Change and a native of Malta who specializes in Middle East affairs, said: "It is important to recognize that Abdel Rahman Shalgam, the defected Libyan ambassador to the UN, was Libyan foreign minister for 10 years until 2009 and had been a friend and comrade of Gaddafi for many years."

Shalgam and Aujali came to the Club after meeting at the U.S. Treasury Department where they discussed Libyan assets frozen under American sanctions. They believe those funds belong to the people of Libya.

Aly Abu Zakouk, who co-founded in 1981 the National Front for the Salvation of Libya(NFSL), organized the Club event, which brought to Washington Libyans from as far away as California. He now works with the Libya Forum for Human and Political Development. Ibrahim Sahad, secretary-general of the NFSL, was also there and predicted the West will come to the aid of the Libyan opposition.

A paper released at the event said the ITNC "derives its legitimacy from the decisions of local councils set up by the revolutionary people of Libya on the 17th of February. These local councils facilitated a mechanism to manage daily life in the liberated cities and villages.

"The council consists of thirty-one members representing the various cities of Libya from the east to the west and from the north to the south. The aim of the Transitional National Council is to steer Libya during the interim period that will come after the complete liberation and destruction of Gaddafi's oppressive regime. It will guide the country to free elections and the establishment of a constitution for Libya."