Qaddafi Son Proposes Peace Plan, Diplomat Says
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: April 3, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s son Seif el-Islam is proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail his father relinquishing power for a transition to constitutional democracy under his son’s direction, a diplomat with close ties to the Libyan government said Sunday, citing “eminent people” in Tripoli.
Multimedia
But neither Colonel Qaddafi nor the rebels seeking his ouster appear ready to accept such a proposal, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to divulge private conversations within the Libyan government.
Despite the evidence of deep internal discontent, Colonel Qaddafi appears to believe that rebellion against him is a foreign conspiracy of Islamist radicals and oil-hungry Western powers attempting to take over Libya, the diplomat said. And the rebels, who have set up their own provisional government, continue to insist on the exit from power of Colonel Qaddafi and his sons.
“This is the beginning position of the opposition, and this is the beginning position of the Libyan government,” this diplomat said. “But the bargaining has yet to commence.”
The diplomat’s account could not be confirmed and Libyan officials have declined to comment on any talks. Speculation has swirled about a possible proposal from the Qaddafi camp since Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi’s top aide, Mohamed Ismail, traveled to London for undisclosed talks with the British several days ago. The diplomat’s account is the first insight into the content of those talks and the latest sign that the Qaddafi government may be feeling the pressure from two weeks of allied airstrikes that have severely diminished the advantage in equipment of the Qaddafi militias.
The London talks coincided with the defection of one of Colonel Qaddafi’s closest confidants, the foreign minister and former intelligence chief Moussa Koussa, followed closely by the exit to Egypt of another former foreign minister, Ali Abdussalam el-Treki.
British officials have so far declined to describe any conversations with Mr. Ismail.
Militarily, the rebellion appears to be locked in a stalemate. On the eastern front, near the oil town of Brega, the two sides have been locked in a stalemate over the last two days. Loyalists continued to hold most of the town on Sunday, with the rebel forces massed on the road to the northeast of the city.
In Tripoli, armed checkpoints keep the capital locked down. And the United Nationsresolution authorizing airstrikes does not include the deployment of Western troops on the ground in Libya.
“In this case, how will they stop fighting?” the diplomat asked. “They will continue until the ammunition is finished, this stupid fighting along the highway.”
Proposals and counterproposals for a cease-fire appeared deadlocked as well, the diplomat noted. “For Qaddafi a cease-fire means everyone should cease firing but the Qaddafi forces should stay where they are, but for the rebels it means that the Qaddafi forces should withdraw,” the diplomat said.
Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi’s proposal follows years of public efforts on his part to call for a transition to a constitutional democracy. He has said that his father was a historically unique figure and that Libya’s next leader should be elected to serve for a limited time under a legal system spelled out in a constitution.
To many Libyans who do not support the armed revolt, Seif al-Islam represents a hope for more gradual change. In a recent interview with the pan-Arab news channel Al-Arabiya, another Qaddafi son, Saadi, suggested that before the revolt Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi was “the person who used to run the show every day in Libya.”
But in the opaque and convoluted Libyan system, in which neither Colonel Qaddafi nor his son Seif al-Islam hold any formal office, how decisions are made is often impossible to discern.
During the revolt, though, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi’s position has been indistinguishable from his father, vowing swift retribution against the rebels and potentially tarnishing his credibility as a voice of reform. He has argued that the early and healthy peaceful movement for political opening was quickly co-opted by foreign terrorists determined to bring down the Libyan government.
Rebels said Sunday that the Western airstrikes had begun hitting the heavy weapons of the Qaddafi forces even within cities. A spokesman for the rebels controlling the besieged city of Misurata said that on Friday night the airstrikes had hit two tanks and three armored vehicles of the Qaddafi forces that had entered the city. But on Sunday morning Qaddafi forces outside the city continued shelling an area near the port, while Qaddafi gunmen occupied rooftops along the central Tripoli Street, said the spokesman, Mohamed, whose last name was withheld for the protection of his family.
In an interview in Tripoli, S. Levent Sahin Kaya, the Turkish ambassador, said a Turkish hospital ship has left the Misurata port with 250 patients seriously injured in the fighting to take them for surgery abroad. The Qaddafi government had sought to direct the ship first to Tripoli or to postpone its trip for security, Ambassador Sahin Kaya said, but instead the Turkish government sent it directly to Misurata with the escort of ten F-16 fighters and a warship.
“The humanitarian side is so important to us,” the ambassador said. “We are the only country able to speak with both sides,” he said, referring to both the rebels and the Qaddafi government.
“We think a cease-fire should be reached, and after a cease-fire a political solution can be discussed,” he said. “This is the Turkish position.” He declined to address the details of any cease-fire talks.
About 50 foreign embassies remain open in Tripoli, including those of Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and China as well as sub-Saharan African countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment