AFP
US vows not to meddle in post-Gaddafi Libya
Sarkozy, Cameron plan visit today
Libyan National Transition Council (NTC) fighters waiting for a camel to cross the road near Sadada, on the highway from Misurata to Sirte, one of the last strongholds of Libya’s fugitive Col Gaddafi, yesterday. Photo: AFP
Washington respects the right of Libyans to decide their own future, a senior US official said yesterday in Tripoli, as the African Union pushed for an inclusive government after Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster.
“The United States respects Libya’s sovereignty,” said Jeffrey Feltman, the highest ranking US official to visit the Libyan capital since its capture from Gaddafi’s forces on August 23.
“A guideline of our partnership with the Libyan people will always be respect for Libya’s independence and sovereignty,” the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs told a news conference.
“This is a victory by the Libyan people and Libya’s destiny must be decided by Libyans alone,” he said after meeting the head of Libya’s National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil.
His visit came as a top-level team from the African Union, which has refused to recognise the NTC, began to discuss ways to press for an inclusive Libyan government at a gathering in Pretoria, South Africa.
Mr Feltman paid tribute to the work of NTC in overseeing the transition from Col Gaddafi’s 42 years of iron-fisted rule. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he said, had been reassured after the NTC renewed its commitment to respecting rights and promised to investigate allegations of abuses following a damning report by Amnesty International.
“I told chairman Jalil that Secretary Clinton particularly welcomed his recent restatements of the (NTC’s) commitments to human rights, reconciliation and to inclusive transition progress, recognising the important roles of women and youth.”
Another group, the Mali-based Defence of Foreigners in Libya, yesterday accused Libya’s new authorities of jailing and torturing some 300 foreigners, mostly Tuaregs from Mali and Niger, suspected of being Col Gaddafi backers.
“Tuaregs are being tortured, hunted in the streets,” said the NGO, citing the case of six reported missing and rumoured to have been killed and buried in a mass grave, according to testimony gathered in Libya. EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton expressed concern over the reported rights violations, notably towards sub-Saharan Africans.
“I remain very concerned at recent reports of human rights violations in Libya, including cases of arbitrary detention and extra-judicial killings,” Ms Ashton said in a statement.
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron were planning to visit Libya today in a trip that would be the first by foreign leaders since rebels ousted Col Gaddafi, sources said.
Britain and France spearheaded the Nato air war against Col Gaddafi’s forces that helped the rebels slowly fight their way towards Tripoli and install the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the new government there.
The two leaders will be accompanied by Bernard-Henri Levy, the French philosopher who championed Libya’s revolution and helped convince Mr Sarkozy to back the rebels, several sources said in Paris.
The trio were expected to meet with NTC leaders in Tripoli, while press reports said they may also travel to Benghazi, the eastern city where the uprising kicked off in February.
Both the offices of Mr Sarkozy and Mr Cameron declined to comment about the trip.
In an audio message aired yesterday, the deposed Libyan leader appealed for the international community to help his hometown of Sirte, encircled by forces loyal to Libya’s new government.
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Mr Joe Xuereb
Oct 8th 2011, 14:02
Vilifying the West for the presence of its troops in places like Afghanistan is all very well. In spite of their presence, and their efforts to maintain a semblance of peace, and often dying in the process, these troops have to live with the reality that child-brides betrothed to anybody her parents fancy, even men well into their dotage - this situation persists even though it is against Afghani laws. Tribal customs and tradition are difficult to suppress. If, when, the Western troops depart, God help Afghanistan - and the other failed countries - is all I can say.
IF
Mr Joe Xuereb
Oct 5th 2011, 16:56
Libya was in the clutches of a dictator (like Egypt, Iraq, Yemen - see below - Tunisia. According to a British newspaper yesterday, the Tunisian ex-dictator and his wife are now hosted in Saudi Arabia. The wife took with her £50 million's worth of gold ingots. She texted friendly Tunisians exhorting them to terrorism and arson. The texts were intercepted and she is now a wanted woman. Saudi Arabia refuses to extradite). He, the colonel, ruled with an iron fist. He, like Hitler and Saddam Hussein, had his henchmen whom he rewarded. And to hell with the rest.
Then came the Arab Spring, a very brave and long-awaited, and long overdue, rebellion. The West, being familiar with a democratic way of doing things, helped out.
Never mind the oil, where it has been going and where it is going now. The important thing is that many, not all, Libyan people have now tasted true democracy (as opposed to that expounded by their ex-leader) and for this they should be grateful. Let us hope that will now re-build their country, on their own if possible. Then, if something in the future goes pear-shaped, they will have nobody to blame but themselves. It may feel like a tall order but with goodwill and a brush with a 'breath-of-fresh-air' that is the democratic process and voting in a Leader every four years, it is possible.
The US (and the rest) would be wise to honour their vow not to meddle in the 'new' Libya. Should be interesting to see how things work out.
I was chatting to three young Yemenis yesterday. Their hatred towards the United States had to be witnessed to be believed. The funny thing was that the two more vociferous of the three were wearing a baseball-cap back to front and sported a cola bottle in their back pocket. Their idea of American cool I imagine. They gave me the impression that they were unemployable. But here in the UK that is not a problem. My taxes go towards feeding these 'asylum seekers'.
By the way, one of them uttered some phrase in Italian. So I thought, ah! this one is here via Libya, possibly/probably Malta, ITALY where he lingered long enough to pick up a few swear works in moder Latin, France and finally, London, the capital of milk and honey. And venom. Quite as likely they are here 'undercover', unaccounted for, numerically speaking. In which case it makes one wonder where they get their cola money.
Mr Joe Xuereb
Oct 4th 2011, 16:23
Extracting oil from under the sands, from under anything in fact, requires sophisticated machinery, refineries, engineering expertise, foreign know-how. None of these came about from the desert-dwellers. Without Western expertise, all that oil would still be languishing under the sand and the people on whose land it is will not be holding the world to ransom. Just food for thought.
I believe that time back Malta started to dig for oil in ITS sea. The friendly Colonel put a stop to this; maybe he wanted some more of somebody else's to top up his own supply. I understand tug-boats were sent to put a stop to the drilling. Maybe I got this wrong. Maybe someone can enlighten me, and others, about what really happened.
Bill Khan
Sep 16th 2011, 16:36
the americans got the iraqi oil but kept the british and the others out which made the british rather
uncomfortable because they had put in lots of efforts along with the uS in lying and invading iraq.
But the American oil companies ket the british at bay. British and the french have been compensated in Libya. Perhaps not as much oil as iraq but still enough. the Americans will enjoy roughly 7 million barrels a day from iraq whilst the british and the french around 2 million from Libya. A million barrel each. Niot bad going after bombing, terrosrising and killing the people of libya for over six months.
John Borg
Sep 30th 2011, 00:59
Every body is talking about the Libyan OIL, and where is going to go,,For 42 yrs we (the libyans) didnt get a single penny from this OIL, All of it was going to the euopeans and Africans, so now we dont mind give some of the OIL to those who stand beside us during our up-rissing..We know that no body cares a shit about us (the Libyans) all they want is our oil..Dont worry for us, we know who is a friend or our enemy...
Mr V Mercieca
Sep 15th 2011, 12:30
WHAT???!!!
With all the oil that Libya has, with the billions of dollars needed to re-build the country and they will not try to put a finger in the pie.
Go tell it to the marines
Jon Vercellono
Sep 15th 2011, 14:06
and Malta???
D. A . Agius
Sep 15th 2011, 11:05
Yeah yeah yeah... I'm so relieved they are saying this!
Mr Pat Hobson
Sep 15th 2011, 09:41
And I believe that pigs can fly! Pull the other one now!