20110331
Xinhua
JOHANNESBURG, March 30 (Xinhua) -- One of South Africa's opposition leaders on Wednesday urged President Jacob Zuma to call for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to review Resolution 1973 on Libya.

Bantu Holomisa, leader of the United Democratic Movement, said in an open letter to Zuma that South Africa's decision to support the UN resolution unwittingly gave support to military intervention by the West in Libya, the South African Press Association (SAPA) reported.

"The allied forces, which seem to be the military wing of the Security Council, are brazenly and openly using lethal weapons in their quest to protect the so-called civilians," Holomisa said.

He pointed out that recent reports show that these Libyan civilians are the biggest casualties in the conflict.

Holomisa added that the West's military action goes against the main thrust of the UN Security Council's resolution.

Although the Western allied forces did not have forces on the ground, it would appear they "have adopted the rebel forces and are giving them aerial cover in fighting the Libyan forces," he said.

He found it strange that the international community treats the bullets coming from the barrels of the rebel forces differently from those of the Libyan forces, as these are portrayed as the only ones causing harm and injury to innocent civilians.

The rebel Libyan forces have an unfair advantage over the Libyan forces due to their support from the West, he said.

South Africa is one of the countries tasked by the African Union to resolve the Libyan crisis, Holomisa said.

He added that the outcome of the UN vote is embarrassing because it gave the West permission to use military intervention against the African Union's resolution.

This contradicted South Africa's long-held foreign policy position on African conflict and African problems in general, he said.