Tripoli: The last chance is gone

By African Bulletin on May 17, 2011

Three months after the upsurge and rebellion that caused the death of thousands of lives, Colonel Kadhafi still remaining in power despite the thousands of bombs dropped by the NATO coalition.

The population does not see yet an end to the conflict, the country is still under the coalition strikes and Kadhafi keeps threatening that he will retaliate. He is denouncing all abuses and violations committed by NATO, citing the “political assassinations, the unjust maritime blockade, the bombing of civilian sites and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure.  Nonetheless, the Libyan government chief, Baghdadi Mahmoudi, has officially expressed the regime readiness for a cease-fire in exchange of ceasing the   NATO airstrikes, when hosting the special envoy of the UN, Abdel-Elah al-Khatib.  The UN special envoy was previously received by the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs who condemned the “assassination attempt» of Colonel Gaddafi, by multiple NATO bombing assaults, but in vain.  On Monday,  a judicial decision was rendered by  the International Criminal Court (ICC),  announcing  henceforth to hold  enough  evidence to incriminate Colonel Muammar,  Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Islam and Abdullah al-Sanousi, his right-hand man and head of Libya’s military intelligence, in using authority to commit crimes. Their individual responsibilities in crimes against humanity, in Libya, are now proven and an arrest warrant against the three is launched by the ICC. This international decision is ending any hope to see a ceasefire established and Colonel Kadhafi   has very little to lose now except his life; when   few weeks ago  he still had a very good option, to give back the power   and go. Now, the Libyan population first claims Kadhafi to be judged in Libya before being by the ICC.