World leaders set out plans for the future
Source: Agencies |
August 23, 2011, Tuesday
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WORLD leaders said yesterday that the end is near for Moammar Gadhafi's government and began looking at Libya's future without the man who has held power there for 42 years.
Leaders across Europe welcomed the rebels' dramatic advances in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after six months of fighting, and urged Gadhafi to surrender and avoid a bloodbath. Hundreds of Libyans living abroad celebrated in the streets, burning images of the Libyan strongman.
Though Gadhafi's whereabouts were not known, leaders set in motion plans for Libya's future. Britain said its frozen Libyan assets will soon be released to help the country's rebels establish order; France announced plans for an international meeting next week; Italy sent a team to the rebels' base of Benghazi to help plan reconstruction and the restoration of oil and natural gas production.
"The time is up. There is no alternative to surrendering and handing himself in to justice," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said yesterday.
"His regime is falling apart and in full retreat. Gadhafi must stop fighting, without conditions," UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in London. He vowed that Britain and others would now assist Libya's "effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive" nation.
Cameron said British diplomats would move from Benghazi in the east to Tripoli as soon as it was safe to do so. Crucially, he announced that Britain, which has frozen about 12 billion pounds (US$20 billion) of Libyan assets, will soon release the funds.
Germany announced similar plans once the regime is out. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that just over 7 billion euros (US$10.1 billion) is frozen in Germany and that the money could be used to help rebuild Libya. "The Libyan people are entitled to this money," he said.
France said the "contact group" of international powers involved in stabilizing Libya would meet next week in Paris. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the head of Libya's opposition group, the National Transitional Council, would be in Paris to discuss the future now that Gadhafi's government is "finished."
France and Britain, backed by the United States, spearheaded the NATO-led air campaign that began months ago under a UN Security Council resolution calling for the protection of civilians.
Leaders across Europe welcomed the rebels' dramatic advances in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, after six months of fighting, and urged Gadhafi to surrender and avoid a bloodbath. Hundreds of Libyans living abroad celebrated in the streets, burning images of the Libyan strongman.
Though Gadhafi's whereabouts were not known, leaders set in motion plans for Libya's future. Britain said its frozen Libyan assets will soon be released to help the country's rebels establish order; France announced plans for an international meeting next week; Italy sent a team to the rebels' base of Benghazi to help plan reconstruction and the restoration of oil and natural gas production.
"The time is up. There is no alternative to surrendering and handing himself in to justice," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said yesterday.
"His regime is falling apart and in full retreat. Gadhafi must stop fighting, without conditions," UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in London. He vowed that Britain and others would now assist Libya's "effective transition to a free, democratic and inclusive" nation.
Cameron said British diplomats would move from Benghazi in the east to Tripoli as soon as it was safe to do so. Crucially, he announced that Britain, which has frozen about 12 billion pounds (US$20 billion) of Libyan assets, will soon release the funds.
Germany announced similar plans once the regime is out. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that just over 7 billion euros (US$10.1 billion) is frozen in Germany and that the money could be used to help rebuild Libya. "The Libyan people are entitled to this money," he said.
France said the "contact group" of international powers involved in stabilizing Libya would meet next week in Paris. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the head of Libya's opposition group, the National Transitional Council, would be in Paris to discuss the future now that Gadhafi's government is "finished."
France and Britain, backed by the United States, spearheaded the NATO-led air campaign that began months ago under a UN Security Council resolution calling for the protection of civilians.
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