Libyan ambassador Saadun Suayeh in a reconciliatory personal statement at the embassy today said he was deeply concerned by the loss of life in Libya. He said that without apportioning blame, he wanted to condemn violence and the excessive use of force,

The ambassador, who never mentioned Col Gaddafi by name in his statement, said he would remain ambassador because he was here to serve the people of his country, as well as to serve relations with Malta.

Referring to protests held outside the embassy, he said everyone had a right to his opinion, but he regretted inaccuracies in the media, such as about Aysha Gaddafi (Col Gaddafi's daughter) trying to come to Malta yesterday.

He also said that the number of deaths in Libya was being exaggerated and the official death toll was around 300.

He denied that civilians were being bombed by the Libyan government.

Dr Suayeh said ambassadors would be taken on tours of places allegedly bombed, and Maltese journalists and other foreigners were welcome to go to Libya. Their presence, he said, should help remove distortions about the situation in the country.

He did not know, however, for safety reasons, whether they could go to the Eastern part of the country but the western part of the country was quiet and stable.

He admitted that 'small parts' of the country in the East had fallen 'to insurgents', according to the Libyan foreign ministry, and it was estimated that there were up to 2,500 'foreign operatives' working in the eastern parts of Libya. They were mostly responsible for the killings and the trouble, he said.

The ambassador said he was working around the clock with the Maltese Foreign Ministry to help Maltese workers return to Malta.

"Call me what you like, but what would have happen if there was no ambassador here" he said with reference to calls for his resignation.

"An embassy represents the country. We have a sovereign state" he said.

He said the Libyan government had formed a committee headed by a judge to investigate the events of the past few days and present a report to the People's Congress. The government would not interfere in its workings and the report would be published.

Dr Suayeh said this was a time for national unity. Strife and violence were heartbreaking and a divided Libya would be catastrophic for Libya and if an Islamic emirate was formed that would be catastrophic for Europe.

"What Libya needs is stability, reconciliation and dialogue," he said and he felt there were reasonable elements within the Opposition with whom one could dialogue so that all people in Libya could be fairly represented for a more democratic Libya.

He was sure the Libyan government was more than willing to reform, the most important thing being unity of the Libyan people.

"What Libya needs is evolution, not revolution," the ambassador said.

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