gaddafi ( Archived) (722)

Conrad73: cont.

Perhaps sensing the vacuum, former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who resigned from the Gaddafi government only a week ago, told al-Jazeera television on Saturday that he's in charge of a transitional government that will pave the way for elections in three months, that could possibly negotiate with the regime and that might even end up splitting the country between the opposition-controlled east and the government-controlled west. (He also told al-Jazeera that Gaddafi has chemical and nuclear weapons, a claim that military commanders sympathetic to the opposition told TIME was highly unlikely.)

But a new revolutionary committee that just announced its existence on Sunday undermined Abdel Jalil's claim to leadership. Calling itself the National Libyan Council, its members claim to be an umbrella group representing the many local committees that spontaneously formed in the past 10 days to liberate the country city by city. However, a 30-minute question-and-answer session with the foreign press showed that the committee is still very much a work in progress, with its actual membership, selection criteria and most of its agenda yet to be announced. And though the National Libyan Council appeared to be working with Abdel Jalil, and may even include him, it made it clear that that the views expressed by the former Justice Minister — such as his apparent willingness to negotiate with the regime — did not necessarily represent the opposition. "These are personal opinions of Mr. Mustafa [Abdel Jalil]," said Ghoga. "The principle of negotiation with a human-rights violator is an issue for the whole council to discuss. In my personal opinion, there's no room to negotiate." Moreover, any discussion of elections or other constitutional matters was premature while Tripoli, the capital, remained in Gaddafi's control. But at least one thing the National Libyan Council did agree upon, according to Ghoga, was that Libya should be united and free from Gaddafi. "The word is out," he said. "Libya is one society and one nation. The capital is in Tripoli and it will always be in Tripoli."

Though it's understandable that Libya's leaderless revolution is in some state of disarray a mere 10 days after it began, the consequences could be severe. The Gaddafi regime has enough of its security apparatus intact in Tripoli, and it seems sure enough of its survival that it invited a junket of foreign press to the capital on Saturday in an attempt to control some of the damage to its international reputation caused by reports that it systematically used deadly force against peaceful demonstrations. So now in Benghazi, the opposition is growing increasingly worried that the regime may launch a counterattack to retake liberated territory, order an aerial bombardment or activate sleeper cells to terrorize the city..............

emmaline: i have heard that some are talking of a split state solution, which will lead to years of unrest

Sparky55: Yeah, better to settle it here and now lest we have another North vs South Korea, Israel vs Palestine, Azerbaijan vs Armeniam etc....

gininitaly: Yes d_simple has a very thick skin and is a thinker, he hangs in there like a pro... bless him.

Not that many want an African viewpoint as it seems so foreign to western minds, so absolutely good for all.

Conrad73: Libyans could still hold them,and prosecute them locally!

Clause would mean that ICC couldn't prosecute them!
How about Libyan Courts?

Conrad73: Screwed up my quote again?
When will you ever learn!