Is Libya really on the path of negotiations?

By African Bulletin on June 21, 2011

While confirming the existence of negotiations, Libya’s government says  NATO air strikes are in the impasse.

Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi has already assured that his government was in contact with the rebels, thus confirming the statements of the Russian envoy for Africa, Mikhail Margelov, who released that contacts took place between representatives of Tripoli and Benghazi in several European capitals. A Libyan source has even assured that “There are deeper discussions at a higher level than that of the Prime Minister, with the United States, Britain and France. However the Libyan opposition and the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, have denied this event. These conflicting information sources are pushing the international observers to think that the “poker phase” has just began and more long conversations with key Western governments will be needed, if really the process of crisis management has really been established.  The incumbent regime is now prepared to make concessions on many points if anticipated elections could be organised, as proposed by Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi, but only with Colonel Kadhafi kept within the state hierarchy, even with an honorary role. That is the red line not to go beyond for the regime and we can hardly imagine how such condition and many other unknowns would be rose in this draft transition scenario. Tripoli still considers that any political solution could be implemented only if the Western military offensive is hold on in order to allow the Libyans to enter in direct negotiations, especially after the coalition has undermined its position, destroying by mistake a small two-storey building in Al-Arada and causing nine deaths. This was the another recent admission of deadly error by coalition forces, and if such mistakes happen again, the NATO credibility would be seriously weakened…