TRIPOLI- the Libya scheme has the back to the wall as it faced NATO air strikes, the defection apparent of his Minister of oil and the threat of prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
Fighting to overthrow the regime of Moamer Kadhafi of the rebels were more and more confidence and claimed to be able to represent the Libya at the meeting of 8 June of the oil cartel OPEC in Vienna.
"We want to attend and will examine the legal procedure,"Mahmud Shammam, media for the National Transitional Council (NTC) rebel spokesman, told AFP in Dubai on Wednesday.""
"We still don't know if OPEC invite us," he said.
The Libya is a leading exporting nation of crude, but its production has been reduced since the revolt broke out in mid-February.
Minister of oil Shukri Ghanem, a veteran of the Gaddafi regime, weekend crossed Libya in nearby Tunisia, a Tunisian official said, well that was there was no confirmation, he defected.
Ghanem, Chairman of the national oil company of the Libya, should attend the meeting in Vienna of the Organization of the petroleum exporting countries, but made no comment as he left the Libya and his whereabouts and are not clear.
Shammam said he believed that the Minister was already in the Austrian capital. "We have confirmation from several sources Shukri Ghanem is in his house in Vienna", he said.
If confirmed, Ghanem was among the highest officials to abandon the Gaddafi Government since the revolt broke out.
Thousands of people have died in violent clashes between opponents of the regime and Gaddafi loyalists and some 750,000 have been forced to flee, according to the data of the International Criminal Court and the Organization of the United Nations.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told AFP in an interview Wednesday that the Arab leaders faced with uprisings this year have always come out with too little, too late.
He said the aim was for an immediate ceasefire in Libya, and that his Special Envoy for the country Abdul Illah al-Khatib has "worked very hard", but had no progress to report efforts to sway Gaddafi.
"Given the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the crisis worsens," ban said, adding that is very concerned by the Misrata, besieged by the forces of Gaddafi more than two months, and where hundreds were killed.
In other developments, the Libya has released four journalists arrested - two Americans, a Briton and a Spanish - an AFP journalist witnessed their arrival at the Rixos Hotel in the capital, Wednesday.
American James Foley of GlobalPost, a freelance Clare Morgana Gillis writer and online news agency, and the Spanish photographer Manu Brabo disappeared on April 4 while covering the conflict. They were released with British Nigel Chandler.
The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "welcomes" release of Brabo. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain has confirmed the release of Chandler and said he was consular support.
During this time, the international criminal court prosecutor warned the Libyan regime he incur investigations and prosecution if she tried to conceal the crimes committed against his people.
Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC sent a letter to the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdelati Laabidi.
"The Office invite you and other Libyan to refrain from being involved in this coverage authorities." "Failure to do so will result in investigations and prosecutions,", said the letter, indicated to AFP.
Prosecutor Chief of ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked judges of the Court to arrest issued warrants against Gaddafi, second oldest son Seif el-Islam and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi - for crimes against humanity.
Asked how the crimes have been covered, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said: "Same Gaddafi Mr. himself said"where is the body?"", because what they do is that their doctors are prohibited to record dead people in hospitals... bodies are hidden."
The Mussa Ibrahim Libya Government spokesman rejected the offer of the ICC, saying that the Court has no jurisdiction over Tripoli while that deny the charges the regime ordered the killing of civilians or contracted mercenaries against them.
The Libya has been taken to target almost daily strikes by NATO that began on March 19, after a UN resolution for a no-fly zone, called for the protection of civilians in Gaddafi regime-ledfollowing an order to his forces crush the rebellion.
In his last modified operation out on Wednesday, NATO said airstrikes in the area of Tripoli had hit two tanks, two armoured vehicles, two surface-to-air missile launchers and two radar systems.
No comments:
Post a Comment