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| Rebel fighters take up positions on the outskirts of Gawalich, near Zintan, July 24, 2011. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi |
In response to what was quoted in the Wall St Journal re: Gaddafi being held inside Libya, the National Transitional Council would like to clarify a few points:AND
The discussion regarding this matter transpired three weeks ago with Mr. Abdel Elalah Khatib the special envoy to the United Nations. At that time we had made it clear to Mr. Khatib and the other party that they would have one week to respond to the offer.
Since that time, our official position has been to negate the offer since the time allotted has expired.
We also maintain that we will not accept any direct or indirect negotiations with the regime. We encourage our friends and allies to support us in maintaining pressure on Gaddafi and his family to leave power and the country.
The official position of the National Transitional Council is that Gaddafi must leave power and must depart Libya. Furthermore, the National Transitional Council affirms that the Libyan people have the right to hold Gaddafi and his family accountable for the crimes they have committed. From Al Jazeera
From the Telegrapah
...Gaddafi faith is sealed! ( I made the above underlined and bold type).
Juma al-Gamaty, the NTC representative in London said that while Mr Hague's comments amounted to a change in tone the dictator's fate was "ultimately up to the Libyan people, not any foreign secretary of any other country".
However Mr Gamaty signalled the NTC's strong doubts that it could rely on an undertaking by Col Gaddafi that he would relinquish all political activity.
"The idea that Gaddafi can stay in Libya alive and not in total control is totally hypothetical, almost a contradiction in terms," he said. "We know the mindset of Gaddafi very well. Gaddafi can only stay in Libya if he is in total control. I don't think he will ever envisage or contemplate the idea of him sitting in Libya watching the Libyan people getting on with building a democratic Libya."
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| Rebel fighters pose for a photograph at Bir-Ayyad near the city of Zintan in the western mountains, 120 km (75 miles) southwest of the capital Tripoli, July 23, 2011. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi |
This from the Guardian: Gaddafi can't be left in Libya, says international criminal court:
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"What happens to Gaddafi is ultimately a question for the Libyans," Hague said. "It is for the Libyan people to determine their own future. Whatever happens, Gaddafi must leave power.
"He must never again be able to threaten the lives of Libyan civilians, nor to destabilise Libya once he has left power."
But Olara said the decision to seek justice had been made in the UN, adding that the ICC's arrest warrants were "legal facts" which "cannot go away".
"Any negotiation or deal has to respect (UN Security Council resolution) 1970 and the ICC's decision," Olara said.
…Politically, immunity would go down badly in rebel-held parts of Libya, where the torture, killings and destruction have caused deep wounds.
"It's too late for such a thing," said Yunis Al-Haq, an 18-year-old art student in the besieged city of Misrata. "Maybe if this deal [suggested by Hague] was made at the beginning, when Gaddafi had killed only 10 people, maybe we could forgive him. But now, after this war, he killed a lot of people, it can't be forgiven that easy."
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The "primary responsibility" for respecting the UN and ICC decisions and arresting Gaddafi lay with the national transitional council, Olara said.
