News / Africa
Gaddafi can stay in Libyan as long as he gives up power: Rebel Chief
04 Jul 2011 at 08:44hrs | Views
Libya's rebel chief said Sunday Muammar Gaddafi can stay in the country as long as he gives up power, after the rebels rejected an African Union (AU) peace plan over a lack of immediate resignation by the Libyan leader.
"As a peaceful solution, we offered that he can resign and order his soldiers to withdraw from their barracks and positions, and then he can decide either to stay in Libya or abroad," Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC), was quoted by Reuters.
Abdel Jalil said he had made the proposal about a month ago through the United Nations, but hadn't received any response from Tripoli.
However, the concession was played down by NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga. He said the rebel chief was expressing a personal view, and the idea is "not part of any discussions on our part in the negotiations."
He said such a proposal had been made void by the arrest warrant issued against Gaddafi by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Meanwhile, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, who is also on the ICC warrant, said in an interview with French television station TF1 that his father would not leave Libya and they would fight for the country.
He told the Western intervention forces that "you have no chance, zero chance, to win the war here."
The AU handed its proposals to delegates of Libya's two conflicting sides attending the AU conference Thursday, urging the two sides to follow the AU's road map to halt hostilities and start talks immediately.
In its peace plan, the AU suggested that the timeframe for negotiations between the Libyan government and rebels should be limited to a maximum of 30 days unless the parties to the talks decide otherwise, and that the international community should help to facilitate the process.
The AU proposals also include enforcing an arms embargo inside Libya till the end of the transitional period and implementing necessary reforms to meet the legitimate demands of the Libyan people, including organizing elections under international monitoring.
"As a peaceful solution, we offered that he can resign and order his soldiers to withdraw from their barracks and positions, and then he can decide either to stay in Libya or abroad," Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the opposition National Transitional Council (NTC), was quoted by Reuters.
Abdel Jalil said he had made the proposal about a month ago through the United Nations, but hadn't received any response from Tripoli.
However, the concession was played down by NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga. He said the rebel chief was expressing a personal view, and the idea is "not part of any discussions on our part in the negotiations."
He said such a proposal had been made void by the arrest warrant issued against Gaddafi by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He told the Western intervention forces that "you have no chance, zero chance, to win the war here."
The AU handed its proposals to delegates of Libya's two conflicting sides attending the AU conference Thursday, urging the two sides to follow the AU's road map to halt hostilities and start talks immediately.
In its peace plan, the AU suggested that the timeframe for negotiations between the Libyan government and rebels should be limited to a maximum of 30 days unless the parties to the talks decide otherwise, and that the international community should help to facilitate the process.
The AU proposals also include enforcing an arms embargo inside Libya till the end of the transitional period and implementing necessary reforms to meet the legitimate demands of the Libyan people, including organizing elections under international monitoring.
Source - Xinhua
