At UN, Libya's new leaders seek support to thwart terrorist threat
| WASHINGTON
Libya鈥檚 interim government may be this year鈥檚 darling of the international community, reaping praise from world leaders, including President Obama, at the United Nations鈥� annual gathering in New York.
But Libya鈥檚 new leaders say they are not getting the support of key African countries for their efforts to stabilize their country. Indeed, they worry that some African leaders in Zimbabwe, Algeria, and elsewhere still root for the deposed Muammar Qaddafi, who is on the run but still issuing defiant statements of resistance.
鈥淟ibya will need support from the international community to put pressure on those African countries who still support Qaddafi and benefit from his money,鈥� said Mahmoud Nacua, charge d鈥檃ffaires at the Libyan embassy in London, in an interview Tuesday with Reuters. 鈥淭he international community has a vital role to stop any sabotage from Qaddafi and his sons and his supporters.鈥�
Libyan leaders say that their country鈥檚 revolution is at risk and strides towards democracy will be halting until Qaddafi is captured and any forms of support he is receiving from outside the country 鈥� including moral 鈥� are stopped.
鈥淭his is no exaggeration to say that even beyond the African continent, Qaddafi with the means that he has, could return to his terrorist practices by providing arms across the continent ... that his absence from the political stage would be synonymous with the expansion of Al Qaeda and terrorist organizations,鈥� said Mahmoud Jibril, interim prime minister and head of Libya鈥檚 Transitional National Council (TNC), in a UN Security Council appearance Monday.
Diplomats at the UN in New York say Libya鈥檚 new leadership is taking the same message to meetings with world leaders on the margins of the UN General Assembly鈥檚 annual opening session which began last week.
Mr. Jibril met in New York with President Obama last week before a high-level meeting on Libya. He and other TNC members met with a long line of international leaders before Mr. Jibril addressed the General Assembly on Saturday and then met with the Security Council on Monday.
Evidence of the lingering support for Qaddafi came from Zimbabwe鈥檚 President Robert Mugabe, who on Sunday accused African countries that recognize the TNC as Libya鈥檚 legitimate government of being 鈥渟ellouts.鈥�
Libya鈥檚 new leaders have also had rocky relations with next-door neighbor Algeria, in part over the role Islamists would play in a new Libya.
Algiers miffed the TNC leadership when it allowed one of Qaddafi鈥檚 daughters and other family members to flee into Algeria. Algerian officials said the move a humanitarian gesture because the daughter is pregnant.
But since entering Algeria members of the Qaddafi group have given repeated media interviews, prompting the Algerian government this week to threaten deportation if they do not stop.
In his meetings with leaders of the international community, Jibril has stressed that capturing Qaddafi and draining his remaining reservoirs of support is a matter of security and stability not just for Libya, but for the region and beyond.
Noting that Qaddafi stockpiled large quantities of arms including chemical weapons, Jibril emphasized the need for help from the international community in tackling the Qaddafi threat.
Some UN officials second Jibril鈥檚 concerns, at least the urgent need to secure Libya鈥檚 weaponry.
鈥淭he spread of these weapons and the danger they could fall into the hands of terrorists are matters of grave concern,鈥� said Lynn Pascoe, the UN鈥檚 under-secretary-general for political affairs, at Monday鈥檚 Security Council meeting.
鈥淩eestablishing control over chemical weapons material is of paramount importance.鈥�
