TRIPOLI – The Libyan government said yesterday it was in talks with opposition figures but there seemed little chance of a swift end to the conflict as both sides stuck to entrenched positions on the fate of Muammar Gadafy.
The leader’s son, Saif al-Islam, in combative form, told a French newspaper there was no question of negotiating an end to his father’s 42-year rule, while the rebels, stepping back from a hint of a concession, renewed their demand that he go now.
A spokesman for Gadafy’s administration said high-ranking government officials had been in foreign-mediated talks in Italy, Egypt and Norway with opposition figures to try to find a peace deal, and that talks were still going on.
Any talk of a possible accommodation with Gadafy could drive a wedge into the ranks of the disparate rebel movement which sprang up in February in the wake of uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.
Many of Gadafy’s opponents are flatly opposed to any form of concession to the veteran leader and are mistrustful of former Gadafy associates who have defected to join the rebels.
The government spokesman named one of the opposition figures in the talks as Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi, Gadafy’s former security minister, who defected in February.
It was not clear whether the talks took place with the knowledge or endorsement of the leadership of the rebel National Transitional Council.
The council, which a growing number of countries regard as the Libyan people’s sole legitimate representative, has said there are no talks between it and Gadafy’s administration. Saif al-Islam, one of the most prominent of the leader’s sons, dismissed suggestions that there could be a peace settlement that removed his father – a demand not only of the rebels but of western powers who have bombed Libya since March.
"My father is not part of the negotiations," he told Le Mondenewspaper. "You think one can find a solution that does not involve him? No, it's impossible." By backing the rebels, Nato had picked the losing side, he added: "God is with us. We will fight and we will win. We have our army. We have more munitions, more weapons. Morale is high. The others are becoming weaker and weaker."
A glimmer of concession on Gadafy’s future from the National Transitional Council on Sunday was swiftly withdrawn yesterday when the council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, contradicted remarks made by its leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil.
He told Reuters on Sunday: “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.
“If he desires to stay in Libya, we will determine the place and it will be under international supervision. And there will be international supervision of all his movements.”
But yesterday the council issued a statement by Abdel Jalil saying: “I would like to confirm that there is absolutely no current or future possibility for Gadafy to remain in Libya . . . There is no escape clause for Gadafy.” – (Reuters)