Stalemate in Libya amid Italian indifference
by Simone Cantarini
For Angelo Del Boca, an historian and Libya expert, people are tired of this war and NATO and the rebels have run out of resources. A meeting between government and rebel representatives in Paris is a good sign. After the bombs, a new path is opening.
Rome (AsiaNews) – “This is a crazy war that is taking place amid everyone’s indifference, especially in Italy. Members of the NATO coalition are running out of money and do not want to continue the fight. The rebels don’t have any resources left, but people continue to die. Meanwhile, Gaddafi plays chess,” said Angelo Del Boca, a historian and Libya expert. Speaking to AsiaNews, he said that Italian and world media are deaf to appeals for a ceasefire and talks.
“This attitude is due to our country’s economic crisis. However, let me remind you that we have already spent 700 million Euros for this ‘toy’ that killed thousands of people on both sides, violating international law, UN resolutions and the friendship treaty signed with Italy.”
For Del Boca, signs of a breakdown are visible inside Libya. The rebels have conquered many towns like Gharyan and villages in the country’s southeast on the border with Tunisia, but local sources are saying they have run out of weapons, and just patrol the area. Gaddafi no longer bombs them, despite the fact that his army is still well equipped.
For the historian, this “is a sign that everyone is tired of the war, which has reached a stalemate, and cannot continue with weapons, but must now turn to diplomacy.”
According to the historian, a meeting in Paris between members of the government and representatives of the Transitional Council is a first step “towards finding another path other than bombs”.
“Yesterday,” Del Boca said, “even Saif al-Islam Gaddafi proposed elections within three months by the international community. However, the colonel is not showing any sign that he will quit.”
Meantime, the US Congress is putting pressures on Barak Obama to justify the US intervention in Libya beyond 90 days. The huge costs of the operation, which will reach US$ 1.1 billion by September, are being closely scrutinised.
“This attitude is due to our country’s economic crisis. However, let me remind you that we have already spent 700 million Euros for this ‘toy’ that killed thousands of people on both sides, violating international law, UN resolutions and the friendship treaty signed with Italy.”
For Del Boca, signs of a breakdown are visible inside Libya. The rebels have conquered many towns like Gharyan and villages in the country’s southeast on the border with Tunisia, but local sources are saying they have run out of weapons, and just patrol the area. Gaddafi no longer bombs them, despite the fact that his army is still well equipped.
For the historian, this “is a sign that everyone is tired of the war, which has reached a stalemate, and cannot continue with weapons, but must now turn to diplomacy.”
According to the historian, a meeting in Paris between members of the government and representatives of the Transitional Council is a first step “towards finding another path other than bombs”.
“Yesterday,” Del Boca said, “even Saif al-Islam Gaddafi proposed elections within three months by the international community. However, the colonel is not showing any sign that he will quit.”
Meantime, the US Congress is putting pressures on Barak Obama to justify the US intervention in Libya beyond 90 days. The huge costs of the operation, which will reach US$ 1.1 billion by September, are being closely scrutinised.
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See also
Del Boca: “Gaddafi wants to become a martyr and will resist till the end”, others fear total war
22/08/2011
22/08/2011
The war in Libya, another Vietnam
26/04/2011
26/04/2011
