UN must intervene in Libya: Martin

Former prime minister Paul Martin is calling for UN intervention in Libya.

Martin says the situation demands implementation of the principle of "responsibility to protect."

That's a UN-sanctioned philosophy that authorizes countries to intervene in nations where leaders are failing to protect citizens from mass atrocities.

Martin says it's despicable that Moammar Gadhafi is bombing and strafing his own people and the world cannot stand by and watch it happen.

"The 'responsibility to protect' is a United Nations resolution. And it really means the United Nations and the countries that make up the United Nations are the ones that should take this kind of action," Martin told host Evan Solomon on CBC's Power & Politics.

"This is going to have to go before the Security Council. I must say,I really do regret more than ever now the fact that Canada is not part of the Security Council," Martin added, referring to Canada's withdrawal from the selection process late last year when it failed to gain enough support for a seat.

Back in 2004, Martin was one of several western leaders who visited Libya after Gadhafi signalled that he was abandoning support for terrorism and modernizing his regime.

Martin says it was important to do at the time but it's clear that the world's hopes for change in the North African nation have been dashed.

Meanwhile, CBC News has learned that Ihab Nuri El-Mismari, counsellor at the Libyan embassy in Ottawa, has resigned because he could not agree with what his government is doing in Libya.