Telegraph View: Jacob Zuma, the South African president, is not the best person to mediate between the rebels and Muammar Gaddafi.
By Telegraph View
7:17PM BST 30 May 2011
Comment
Three months after the Libyan uprising began, the rebels are too weak to press home the advantage afforded by Nato bombing and Muammar Gaddafi refuses to go. This stalemate continues to cause widespread suffering, though it could end sooner than we expected. The mass defection yesterday of senior military officers, previously loyal to Col Gaddafi, is an encouraging sign that his supporters are feeling the strain. But there is no proof yet that the man himself will give way.
Such an impasse calls for mediation, which arrived in Tripoli yesterday in the person of Jacob Zuma, the South African president. The problem is that he is a partial interlocutor, and the timing of his visit coincides with Nato talk of an endgame. The links between Col Gaddafi and Mr Zuma go back to the 1980s, when the Libyan leader supplied money and arms to the African National Congress (ANC) in its struggle against apartheid. Nelson Mandela repaid the favour by campaigning for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Libya after the Lockerbie bombing. The ANC supported the UN resolution in March authorising a no-fly zone but has since criticised the mission. To the rebels Mr Zuma cannot be an honest broker, and the African Union which he represents is viewed as suspect because of the mercenaries from sub-Saharan Africa fighting for Col Gaddafi. The president should have learnt his lesson when his earlier attempt at mediation was rebuffed in April.
Since then, Nato has decided to intensify its military campaign and the regime’s command centres in Tripoli are being pounded. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary-general, said yesterday that Col Gaddafi’s “reign of terror is coming to an end”, and a senior alliance commander mentioned the possibility of inserting a small ground force once he had gone. In these circumstances, Mr Zuma’s misconceived mission is an irrelevance.
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51 comments
Showing 25 of 51 comments
revelation100 Today 04:11 AM
British Special Forces uncovered in Libya - by Chris Hughes, Daily Mirror 1/06/2011
THE UK’s secret ground war in Libya is revealed today in this bombshell image of ex-SAS troops with rebels.
The elite unit is funded by the MoD via a security firm to topple Colonel Gaddafi.
David Cameron insists no British boots are on the ground in Libya. But a senior military source said: “They’re representing Britain.” END
Just another dirty little war we have going on and for the world to see our western governments are STILL dirty little liars.
caretaker 05/31/2011 10:23 PM
Pack it in!, leave 'em to it!.
escapedroger 05/31/2011 10:20 PM
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1 person The AU plan was turned down a long time ago because it leaves Gaddafi in place. I think the film clip of the new bunker busters was more relevant.
KlingonOffTheStarboardBow 05/31/2011 07:05 PM
Zuma? FARCE. There is NO WAY OUT OF THIS that involves Gaddafi surviving.
This has been OBVIOUS from the start. Why people can't face the obvious is a mystery to me. He is now seriously wobbling. It just needs a bit of patience .....
davinciclaude
05/31/2011 07:33 PM
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4 peopleDreadful comment, your media said he would be gone within days, its now many weeks ago.
Its none of the west's business who rules in Bahrain, Syria Saudi Arabia but its their morale duty to decide who rules in Libya.
Mr Orwell you had such clarity of vision
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/20... Report Recommend
davinciclaude 05/31/2011 04:40 PM
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3 peopleThe majority of people on these blogs from the left to the right all agree that this war was ill advised.
I was until this war rather pro EU, the shortcomings of the European integration like letting countries like Bulgaria Romania and Poland become members even though none were eligible because their judicial system was/is corrupt., I was willing to believe that things would straighten out later.
Then along came Sarkozy and Cameron, eager to go to war and bankrupt their economies even further, throwing away piles of very expensive hardware into the African sands.
What have they achieved, a stalemate, the rebels have no massive support Gadaffi combatants are not defecting in their thousands .
Most uprisings succeed when the troops join forces with the revolutionaries
The rebels are in no position to advance even though their air support is second to none.
Everyday the propaganda machine tells us that Gadaffis days are numbered, his downfall or death only hours away.
Only Germany had the honesty and good sense to stay out of this very disgusting war.
I have lost all faith in the countries of Europe, who in supporting Cameron and Sarkozy in their dirty war shows me how uncritical and dangerous the EU has become.
harrier61 05/31/2011 05:37 PM
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3 peopleSo this intervention has made you anti-EU? There's hope for you yet! But it's only one tiny glimmer of intelligence. You have a long way to go. Have you noticed some other countries involved? Like the U.S., Canada, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE. Even non-EU Turkey got a voice.
Of course your wonderful EU has tried to claim credit. But, actually, it's an irrelevance. Except when it's trying to dig it's sticky fingers deeper into your pocket.
davinciclaude
05/31/2011 06:49 PM
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1 person Well it seems after reading your comments you actually support this madness.
What do you think should happen to end the stalemate ?
revelation100 05/31/2011 03:12 PM
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5 peopleNO BOOTS ON THE GROUND HEY- Everything about this war is a lie... it's amazing, but I can't even find anything the west has said about this war that is true.
harrier61 05/31/2011 05:18 PM
"No boots on the ground" is a reference to the prohibition on a foreign occupation force contained in resolution 1973. Do you read anything except the Telegraph and the Beano? Or do any research before you write your drivel?
philipshahak 05/31/2011 02:40 PM
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3 people“African countries are encouraged to division, so that foreign powers could establish their dominance. Africa must unite in one state like the United States of America, with one army, one economy, one currency. “Muammar Gaddafi (convinced follower of Marcus Garvey Pan-Africanism) – excerpt from the interview with France24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) July 6, 2010.
Yest another reason why Gadaffi has to go.
philipshahak 05/31/2011 02:35 PM
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3 people"In these circumstances, Mr Zuma’s misconceived mission is an irrelevance. " Like this piece.
philipshahak 05/31/2011 02:33 PM
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3 peopleThe fact that we let Musa Custard go was clearly because investigators believed him when he told them that Libya had nothing to do with Lockerbie.
ryeatley 05/31/2011 10:09 AM
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7 people"Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, the Nato secretary-general, said yesterday that Col Gaddafi’s
“reign of terror is coming to an end”"
What about the campaign of terror that our own government have bought to a the country? If that could be suspended to allow peace talks to develop, then it would be a good thing.
Will our government allow this? No, because foreign lives are cheap when "our" economic ambition is on the table.
Shame on our government.
harrier61 05/31/2011 05:12 PM
My government is doing fine, thanks. How many cease-fires has Gaddafi offered? Without stopping his forces once?
ryeatley 05/31/2011 08:25 PM
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1 person How many ceasefires have been offered - and how many have been even considered by "the coalition"? None. If talks do not start, then no ceasefire will happen - and it's our mob who're refusing to talk, for the reason that they want only regieme change. That's all there is to it. We don't care about civilians - or rather we do care, as long as "acting in their protection" can be used as an excuse.
ryeatley 05/31/2011 10:05 AM
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10 people"Three months after the Libyan uprising began, the rebels are too weak to press
home the advantage afforded by Nato bombing and Muammar Gaddafi refuses to
go."
Despite our prolonged bombing of Libya, Libyans, Gadaffi, Gadaffi supporters, and military hardware, "the rebels" are too weak to win. That should tell you something about the support that "the rebels" have got - i.e. not much in their own country, but lots in the UK and elsewhere due to "our" desire for regieme change - for our own economic reasons.
RobinsonIF 05/31/2011 03:06 PM
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4 peopleHow do you judge "level of support" in a country where coming out onto the street to voice dissent against Gaddafi may result in you getting a bullet fired into your head?
If you could expand your thesis to take this into account, I may be able to understand exactly what it is you're wittering on about.
ryeatley 05/31/2011 08:07 PM
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2 peopleAnd from another article in "The Daily Telegraph":
By Richard Spencer, Tripoli7:03PM BST 31 May 2011
His regime has handed out thousands of weapons to ordinary civilians, saying they would turn Libya into a "living hell" if NATO ground forces invade.
Arming the population if you are a hated despot? No. You've swallowed the "NATO" propoganda, and spew it forth anew.
We're the ones doing the most damage in Libya, under the camouflage of lies, and I'm quite ashamed of it.
enochi 05/31/2011 09:55 AM
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2 peopleWhat is it with the 30th parallel north? Must the 'question' always be resolved in blood. It fills me with terror.
tumper 05/31/2011 09:54 AM
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13 peopleNow we know for certain that Britain/US/France have broken the terms of the No-Fly-Zone UN resolution1973, this has become an illegal war.
It is noticeable that the western powers do NOT want any kind of diplomatic solution to the Libyan issue, which is why it is essential that someone like Zuma should try to foster one to end the killing on both sides.
It is also noticeable that there has been an almost total news blackout in Libya, and the western governments engaged in this illegal act do not want us to see what is going on there.
Cameron, Obama and the French dwarf have been caught with their security forces in Libya, despite a ban on putting trroops on the ground.
Humanitarian my Aunt Fanny. Disgusting hypocrits.
harrier61 05/31/2011 05:02 PM
"Now we know for certain that Britain/US/France have broken the terms of the No-Fly-Zone UN resolution1973, this has become an illegal war."
Oh yeah? And how do "we" know that, O wise one?
anonymot 05/31/2011 09:07 AM
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11 peopleAt the behest of the CIA, Obama and such, Sarkozy and Cameron got involved in the whole PR delirium of the Arab Spring without knowing where it might lead. American leaders, usually short of perspective and caution, often fail to look where they leap. And now they are here, looking foolish and involved in a war against a Mad Hatter whose madness is - and always has been - tinged with brilliance. Crazy like a fox is the American expression for him.
So, for all his faults, Zuma wants to talk to him while the AmBrFr don't want anyone messing with their little war. The Anti-Gaddafi crew had not considered their failure possible so they have no options. It resembles their Iraq and Afgan failures.
My point is that while the old Arab regimes, like the Taliban, are the bad guys, there don't seem to be any good guys around. It's like a western film gone wrong. The posse is just as crooked as the outlaws.
The deeper question than do we approve of SarkObamaCam is what's gone wrong with the way humans choose their leaders? The West has become missionary for unfettered capitalism that they call Democracy and the rest of the world has an age-old system of tribal leadership that enslaves the bottom bulk of the population. The West used to actually produce things, but now it farms it out to cheap labor. The rest of the world has the raw materials that the West wants.
The Libyan conflict embodies the good, bad, and ugly of a much more profound crisis than the bad posse/outlaws show on the surface. And Zuma may be part of the problem when he offers his solution. But who else is there?
Peter Hirsch 05/31/2011 09:22 AM
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8 peopleMuch more interesting than the article itself. Thank you.
The Slog 05/31/2011 09:03 AM
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2 people
Machine-gun man meets Mass Murder Man. Result: nothing.
Was it ever going to be anything else?
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/20...
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Trên đây là Ý kiến nhận định về tình hình Libya của "Telegraph" và những ý kiến phê bình khác của đọc giả trong số "51 comments" .
Các anh chị có ý kiến gì về "Libya: No honest broker", cũng như những ý kiến phê bình khác ? Cuộc chiến tại Libya hiện đã và đang diễn ra có phải là "Just another dirty little war" như một đọc giả đã nhận xét ???
Và "Now we know for certain that Britain/US/France have broken the terms of the No-Fly-Zone UN resolution1973, this has become an illegal war.", như một đọc giả khác đã có ý kiến ???
Là những người VN bị MẤT NƯỚC vào tay bè lũ thổ phỉ Việt gian phản quốc cướp nước diệt chủng bán nước ĐỘC tài ĐỘC đảng ĐỘC ác phi nhân cộng sản VN, chúng ta rút tỉa thêm những kinh nghiệm gì cho Công Cuộc tranh đấu Lật Đổ cộng sản VN, giành lại đất nước VN cho dân tộc VN, con đường duy nhất cứu dân tộc thóat khỏi sự hủy diệt của bè lũ vô loài phi nhân BÁN NƯỚC DIỆT CHỦNG cộng sản VN, rửa sạch một vết nhơ, ô nhục ngàn đời trong dòng sử Việt .
Còn nhiều ý kiến khác nữa, xin mời các anh chị cùng chia sẻ .
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog"
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
01062011
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