Editorial
The battle for Libya
It is yet to be over
THE Gaddafi era is over. The bigger truth is that the National Transitional Council is yet to be in full control of the country. With battles still being fought, especially around places like Gaddafi's birthplace Sirte and the town of Bani Walid, one is not sure if there will be a peaceful end to the struggle for power soon. The deposed Libyan leader has not been making things any easier by urging his loyalists to keep up their struggle against people he derisively refers to as rats. And the latest decision by the NTC to hold back on moving its interim government to Tripoli for a week only confirms the continued volatility of the situation.
Meanwhile, the recent meeting of western leaders in Paris, styled as friends of Libya, to work out a plan for the battle-torn country's transition to democracy appears to have raised a lot more questions than it has answered. For one thing, a fairly large number of Arab nations either stayed away from the meeting or sent low-level functionaries as observers. For another, the African Union, in the setting up of which Gaddafi played a leading role, was not enthused by the conference. Additionally, the fact that Nato has been aiding the anti-Gaddafi opposition, actively through dropping bombs on Gaddafi's forces, has not quite endeared the NTC to many in Libya and outside. Comparisons are already being made with conditions in Iraq after US and British forces occupied the country and toppled Saddam Hussein's government.
The Libyan situation thus remains fluid. It is now for the global powers and the UN to devise a pragmatic programme for Libya's future. Elections and constitutional rule in the country are certainly the objective, but before that Libyans must be persuaded to believe that the NTC exercises legitimate authority, that it can and will stabilise Libya by bringing all Libyans together.
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