Britain willing to offer Gaddafi exile
Britain may be willing to accept Colonel Muammar Gaddafi going into exile as a way to end the current crisis in Libya, Foreign Secretary William Hague has indicated.
Mr Hague said he would prefer to see Col Gaddafi held to account in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
But Mr Hague added the dictator taking refuge abroad would bring about the kind of change that “most of the world and probably most of the Libyan people want to see”.
He suggested it was up to Col Gaddafi to decide whether to flee to a safe haven outside Libya.
Italy is talking to a number of countries on a possible deal that would provide a bolthole for Col Gaddafi – possibly in another African state – along with a ceasefire in Libya and a peaceful transition to a new government.
Mr Hague also appeared to indicate that Sudan was a possible choice, as it did not hand over individuals indicted by the ICC, like its own president Omar al Bashir.
Prime Minister David Cameron held out the prospect of “a future free from violence, oppression and uncertainty” after Col Gaddafi was removed.
He used an article in the Arab press to promise that the international community would stand by the people of Libya.
In the joint article with Qatari PM Hamed Bin Jassem in the pan-Arab Asharq al Awsat newspaper, Mr Cameron said Tuesday’s Libya Conference in London sent a clear message to Col Gaddafi that he will not be allowed to continue to brutalise his own people.
“And it sends a message of hope to the Libyan people too, ‘We are on your side,'” the two leaders said.
“We will continue to protect their lives, defend their rights and support their aspirations – and we will continue to support them on the path that they choose to take.”
Discussions on Col Gaddafi’s possible fate were taking place as pressure grew for the international community to provide arms for the Libyan opposition.
The rebels are still outgunned despite 10 days of coalition air strikes on regime military assets.
Britain has so far taken the position that the arms embargo imposed by United Nations Security Council resolution 1970 applies equally to the liberated east of Libya, as to areas in the west still under Col Gaddafi’s control.
But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it would be “legitimate” to arm the rebels, in an interpretation of the resolution that puts her country at loggerheads with Nato, which is due to take command of the Libyan campaign later.
Source: Sky News