Libyan Rebels Reject African Union Peace Plan .
By SAM DAGHER in Tripoli and CHARLES LEVINSON in Benghazi
Libya's rebel leadership rejected a cease-fire proposal drawn up by a delegation of African leaders and backed by Col. Moammar Gadhafi, insisting that any deal include the ouster of the Libyan leader and his sons from power.
Protesters shouted anti-Gadhafi slogans outside a Benghazi hotel where African dignitaries met Monday
The proposal was drawn up with Col. Gadhafi's backing by African leaders indebted to him for his years of largesse to their small impoverished nations.
It was widely seen as an effort to bestow a measure of international legitimacy on Col. Gadhafi's increasingly isolated regime and portray the besieged Libyan strongman as open to peaceful compromise, while the rebels in the east refuse.
But the first-ever visit to the rebel's de facto capital of Benghazi by foreign heads of state also served as a showcase and informal recognition of the young opposition government.
The proposal calls for a cease-fire, delivery of humanitarian aid to conflict areas and the initiation of dialogue between the warring sides over an undefined transition period and political reforms.
The offer, which was first drawn up over one month ago at a meeting of the African Union in Ethiopia, makes no mention of Col. Gadhafi's removal from power. Rebel leaders noted that Col. Gadhafi's security forces continued to pound rebel territory in Misrata and in eastern Libya as the delegation presented the peace offer to the rebel leadership on Monday.
"Our position since the first day is that any solution must include the departure of Gadhafi and his sons and his inner circle," the head of the rebels' provisional government, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, told a news conference after meeting with the African delegation at Benghazi's waterfront Tibesti Hotel. "Any proposal that does not include this essential demand we cannot possibly accept."
European Pressphoto Agency
Benghazi residents supported rebel leaders and their allies, and slammed Gadhafi's role in a peace proposal.
U.S. and European governments have responded coolly to the African mediation efforts. In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stood behind rebel demands for Col. Gadhafi's ouster as part of any deal, but said she would wait for a full briefing on the African proposal before passing final judgment.
"We believe, too, that there needs to be a transition that reflects the will of the Libyan people and the departure of Gadhafi from power and from Libya," Mrs. Clinton said.
The African delegation was greeted by throngs of protesters who swarmed the leaders' arriving motorcades. "Genocide! Murderer! Gadhafi must go! " one protester shrieked at the arriving African leaders.
Protesters waved the black, red and green flag of pre-Gadhafi Libya, and also waved French, Emirati and even a handful of American flags, a rare sight at a popular street demonstration in the Arab world.
One protester said there would be more American flags flying in the streets of Benghazi if the numerous stripes and stars were less time-consuming to stitch up than other nations' flags, such as the French tricolor.
Rebel officials, even as they dismissed the African Union's overture, took pride in the recognition. "The African delegates' presence here is an acknowledgment of us and the National Council," said Hanan al-Galal, a lawyer working for the local Benghazi leadership council. "This is a clear indication of Gadhafi's weakness. He's sending the AU to negotiate with the rats," he said, using the term the leader has used to describe his Libyan opponents.
U.S., British, Italian and other Western envoys to Benghazi were on hand on the sidelines of the meetings with the African delegation, which made it one of the first chances for Western officials to observe the rebel leadership in action.
"I'm impressed," one Western diplomat said.
The angry crowd that greeted the African delegates stood in contrast to their reception a day earlier in Tripoli. There, the visiting dignitaries were greeted by Libyan tribesmen on horseback, a military band and an honor guard. Cheering crowds at a staged rally held up signs reading: "Thank you Africa!"
Youssef Shakeir, a pro-regime commentator in Tripoli, said he believed the African Union's support for a deal that allows Col. Gadhafi to stay will make Western and Arab countries reconsider their insistence that he depart.
The African delegation to Tripoli included South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, the leaders of Mali, Mauritania and the Republic of the Congo, and Uganda's foreign minister. Mr. Zuma didn't make the trip to Benghazi.
Mali and Mauritania are among African countries that receive aid from the Gadhafi government. On Sunday, the wife of Mali's ambassador chanted along with the crowd at Tripoli's airport, "God, Moammar, Libya."
Rebel officials have accused several countries in the 53-nation African Union, including Mali, of providing mercenaries to aid Col. Gadhafi in his bid to quash the uprising. A Malian general accompanying the delegation declined to comment on the charge.
The latest mediation follows the Gadhafi government's vague and conflicting suggestions of national dialogue—excluding the rebels—and reforms that could include a new constitution and a referendum on Col. Gadhafi's leadership and even an exit plan for him.
Over the weekend the government also announced it was ready to begin discussions over a draft constitution that was completed last year, and was prepared to invite international experts to help fine-tune it.
"Libyan creativity," said Ibrahim Abu Khazzam, one of the drafters and dean of the al-Naser University in Tripoli, when asked to describe how the constitution would be reconciled with Libya's socialist utopia system, which shuns all vestiges of Western-style democracy. "A flower from every garden," he added.
As for Col. Gadhafi's position under a new system, Mr. Abu Khazzam said that like all average citizens, the Libyan leader would "find his place."
The government also said Monday it has allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to open an office in Tripoli, in addition to its presence in Benghazi.
Many analysts see the regime's moves as efforts to buy time, weaken the Western-led coalition's resolve and sow rifts in the ranks of the opposition and tribes in eastern Libya.
"i would not put too much credence into almost anything anyone [in the Gadhafi regime] is saying at this stage," said Lisa Anderson, president of the American University in Cairo.
A team of regime loyalists who decamped from Benghazi to Tripoli at the start of the crisis have been working to lure rebel and tribal leaders from the east back to the government side with inducements including cash, according to Ramadan Breki, an aide to Col. Gadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi.
Rebel leaders say they are united, and haven't mentioned efforts by the regime to buy them off.
—Muneef Halawa contributed to this article.
Write to Sam Dagher at sam.dagher@wsj.com and Charles Levinson at charles.levinson@wsj.com
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