EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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11Apr11
Gaddafi's son says talks of his father leaving power "ridiculous"
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam said Monday they were ready to talk but rumors of his father stepping down were "ridiculous."
It is time to inject "new blood" into the country's leadership as Libyan leader Gaddafi is too old to control everything, but "the talk of (Gaddafi) leaving power, that's truly ridiculous," Gaddafi's most prominent son, presumed to be Gaddafi's successor, said in an interview with French TV network BFM on Monday night.
"We are ready to discuss even with the devil, but even the devil should know that there are red lines," Saif al-Islam said, referring to attempts to force Gaddafi to resign.
Commenting on the foreign intervention in Libya, Saif al-Islam referred to France's loss in the war, both economically and politically, and criticized Qatar's plot arrangement and agreement with Libya's opposition based in Benghazi.
According to the African Union, its delegation arrived in Benghazi Monday for a ceasefire plan after Gaddafi accepted a road map for bringing an end to the political standoff and military clashes. But rebels have firmly demanded Gaddafi's stepping down as a key premise.
Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Monday that Gaddafi and members of his family should have no role in Libya's future, rejecting the proposed road map.
Frattini called on diplomats to increase pressure on Gaddafi in the coming days, and said Gaddafi's removal from power should take place in "weeks, not months."
He also said Italy would oppose any proposal to partition Libya between the rebels in the east and Gaddafi loyalists in the west, calling such a development a "failure of the current international operation."
[Source: Xinhua, Paris, 11Apr11]
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