Gaddafi regime proposes free elections in six months

Abdul Ati al-Obeidi says regime prepared to consider interim government before elections six months after conflict ends Libya could hold free elections, supervised by the United Nations, within six months of the end of the conflict engulfing the country, its foreign minister has told the Guardian. Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, who took over from Moussa Koussa after his defection from Libya last month , said the regime was prepared to consider an interim national government before elections could be held. A six-month period had been discussed, he said. Obeidi said discussions about reform included “whether the Leader [Muammar Gaddafi] should stay and in what role, and whether he should retire”. Gaddafi’s future has become a pivotal issue between the regime and the opposition, which has demanded his departure. Obeidi said: “Everything will be on the table.” The minister struck a notably conciliatory tone when speaking in his Tripoli office to the Guardian, the BBC, ITN and the Washington Post. Asked about how diplomatic efforts could bridge the gulf between the Libyan government and the opposition, he said: “It is not a case of it going our way or their way, it’s a case of how we can sit together with our brothers.” The international community must accept that Libya’s future should be for Libyans alone to decide. “The US, Britain and France – sometimes those countries contradict themselves. They talk about democracy but when it comes to Libya, they say he [Gaddafi] should leave. It should be up to the Libyan people. This should not be dictated from any other head of state. It is against the principle of democracy.” The US and most European countries have made it clear that Gaddafi must relinquish power as part of any negotiated settlement to the civil war that has divided Libya and dominated the international diplomatic agenda for two months. The rebel opposition in the east of the country insists on Gaddafi’s departure as a pre-condition for peace talks. A roadmap to a negotiated settlement, proposed by the African Union and accepted by the Libyan government, was rejected by the opposition because it allowed for a continued role for Gaddafi . Obeidi accused western countries of standing in the way of a peace deal along the lines of the AU’s proposal. “What’s stopping it? Britain, France and to a certain extent the US are stopping it by continuing bombardment, arming the other side and making them more defiant.” The AU plan includes an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the protection of foreign nationals in Libya, and dialogue between Libyan parties on the establishment of a transition period towards political reform. Obeidi insisted that the Libyan government was ready to negotiate a ceasefire, involving all parties including Nato and monitored by international observers. “If there is a real ceasefire and these bombs stop, we could have a real dialogue among Libyans. It cannot be done with what is going on now.” The Libya government had been accused of not being serious about a ceasefire, he said. “This is not true.” But, he added, a ceasefire needed a “mutual understanding and a mediator”. If Nato stopped its air strikes, Libyans would be able to resolve their differences. “We are all Libyans, their [the rebels'] blood is Libyan.” His conciliatory tone towards the opposition was in marked contrast to the belligerence shown by other government officials who routinely speak of the rebels as “armed gangs” and “terrorists”. But, he said, the UK and France were impeding progress towards a ceasefire by offering military assistance to the rebels . The Anglo-French agreement to send a team of military advisers to Benghazi would “prolong the confrontation, there is no doubt about that”. “The more the west gives arms, the more they will plant hatred. We do not want to be another Iraq or Somalia. The west could advise the other side to listen to common sense and study the peace initiatives.” A ceasefire, Obeidi said, was “the only way to give peace a chance. The situation for sure is not so bright now. But I think we can have a light at the end of the tunnel.” Despite the foreign minister’s talk of ceasefires and peace agreements, Libyan government forces continued their assault on the besieged city of Misrata. Aid organisations are intensifying efforts to bring essential supplies to the city and evacuate those trapped by the fighting. Witnesses describe intense pounding from government troops with Grad rockets, Katyushas and cluster bombs, and firing on civilians from government snipers. Obeidi, whose family comes from Benghazi, now the heart of the rebel opposition in the east, said that since being appointed foreign minister he had spent most of his time outside Libya, discussing potential resolutions to the crisis. Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi Middle East Nato France Europe United States Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk

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