The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Libya elects little-known scientist new prime minister
- In Tripoli, NATO chief hails "free Libya"
- UNESCO grants Palestinians full membership
| Libya elects little-known scientist new prime minister Posted: TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's ruling National Transitional Council has elected little-known academic Abdul Raheem al-Keeb as the new interim prime minister to guide the country as it emerges from a bitter civil war towards a new constitution and democratic elections.
With vast oil and gas reserves and a relatively small population, Libya has the potential to become a prosperous nation, but regional rivalries pent up during Muammar Gaddafi's 42 years of one-man rule could descend into a cycle of revenge. Keeb, a professor of electrical engineering, will have to rein in the armed militias that sprang up in each town to overthrow Gaddafi and reconcile those remaining loyal to the old rule while brokering a new system to govern the country. "We salute and remember the revolutionaries who we will never forget. We will not forget their families," he said. "I say to them that the NTC did not and will not forget them and also the coming government will do the same." The NTC has promised to hold elections for a national assembly after eight months. The assembly will then spend a year drawing up a constitution ahead of parliamentary elections. "This transition period has its own challenges. One thing we will be doing is working very closely with the NTC and listening to the Libyan people," Keeb said after 26 of the 51 NTC members elected him for the post in Tripoli on Monday. An academic and a businessman, Keeb has spent much of his life outside Libya, studying in the United States before taking up academic posts in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. NTC members described Keeb as "quiet and friendly" and said he had helped with the financing of the revolt against Gaddafi. LAST NATO MISSION OVER LIBYA The prime minister said he expected to choose his cabinet ministers within two weeks. "We said we would (elect a cabinet) a month from the liberation. We have two weeks left and we intend to meet that deadline." Keeb did not set out any specific plans for the coming months, but said that worries over foreign oil contracts were unfounded. "We understand that we had 42 years with a brutal dictator ... concerns are in order. But there should be none of them," he said. "We demand respect for our national rights." Interim Oil Minister Ali Tarhouni had been favourite to become prime minister, but received only three votes, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the emerging politics in the North African state. Many analysts have pointed to the divisions emerging within the NTC, but Keeb said any fears were unfounded. "Within the NTC, what you see is democracy in practice. This is new for us in Libya. This is democracy in practice," he said. The hoped-for departure towards peaceful politics comes as NATO ended its military intervention in Libya which helped bring about the death of Gaddafi. "It's great to be in Libya, free Libya," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a news conference in the capital Tripoli. "We acted to protect you. Together we succeeded. Libya is finally free, from Benghazi to Brega, from Misrata to the Western Mountains and to Tripoli." A NATO statement said an Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft used for coordinating the air and sea mission concluded the last alliance flight of the Libyan operation at midnight Libyan time. It said that since the beginning of the NATO operation, NATO aircraft conducted more than 26,500 sorties, including 9,700 strike missions. "With this, a successful chapter in NATO's history has come to an end," the statement said. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Alison Williams) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| In Tripoli, NATO chief hails "free Libya" Posted: TRIPOLI (Reuters) - NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday hailed the end of the alliance's military intervention in Libya, which helped bring about the death of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi.
"It's great to be in Libya, free Libya," Rasmussen told a news conference in the capital Tripoli. "We acted to protect you. Together we succeeded. Libya is finally free, from Benghazi to Brega, from Misrata to the Western Mountains and to Tripoli." He said he was proud of the part NATO had played in the seven-month insurgency against Gaddafi, in which NATO planes and ships turned their firepower on his forces. Shortly after Rasmussen spoke, members of the ruling National Transitional Council elected a new interim prime minister, whose predecessor resigned after Libya was officially declared liberated. "At midnight tonight a successful chapter in NATO history will come to an end. You have already started writing a new chapter in Libya's history. Our commanders were very careful to make sure we did not harm you or your families," he said. Despite Rasmussen's depiction of the mission, the NATO intervention caused sharp rifts in the alliance and lasted much longer than Western nations had expected or wanted. NATO stuck to its decision to end the operation despite NTC calls for it to stay engaged longer and says it does not expect to play a major post-war role, though it could assist the transition to democracy by helping with security sector reform. NATO took over the mission on March 31, based on a United Nations mandate that set a no-fly zone over Libya and permitted foreign military forces, including NATO, to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians. That mandate was terminated last Thursday, despite a request for the U.N. Security Council to wait for the NTC to decide if it wanted NATO help to secure its borders. The mission was criticised by some countries, notably Russia and China, which, after co-sponsoring the U.N. resolution authorising intervention in Libya, accused NATO of overstepping its mandate to protect civilians. "TRUE ALLIANCE EFFORT" NATO allies have been keen to see a quick conclusion to a costly effort that has involved more than 26,000 air sorties and round-the-clock naval patrols at a time when budgets are under severe strain because of the global economic crisis. But NATO officials said members of the alliance are free to give further security aid to Libya individually. The NTC officially announced Libya's liberation on Oct. 23, days after the capture and killing of Gaddafi. NATO commanders have said they believe the interim administration is able to take care of the country's security. In a sign that the NTC is pressing ahead with rebuilding the administration, Tripoli academic Abdul al-Raheem al-Qeeb was elected interim prime minister on Monday in a vote conducted by NTC members in front of reporters. The previous interim prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, fulfilled a promise to resign after Libya was declared officially "liberated" after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's home town Sirte and his subsequent killing. The NTC has promised to hold elections after eight months for a national assembly that will spend a year drawing up a new constitution before a parliamentary poll. Libya has been the first NATO operation in which the United States sought to step back from a leading role and prompted some sharp criticism from Washington of the capabilities of allies after they failed to secure the quick results hoped for. The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Ivo Daalder, and the alliance's top operations commander, U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, hailed the success of the mission on Monday in a commentary in the New York Times, but reiterated the need for allies to address the shortcomings in capabilities it revealed. While calling it a "true alliance effort" in which non-U.S. allies flew 75 percent of the air missions, they said the United States played a leading role in destroying Libya's air defence system and providing crucial resources, including the vast majority of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and the aerial refuelling assets. Fourteen NATO members and four other states provided naval and air forces, but only eight NATO nations took part in combat missions. Some big NATO states, notably Germany, had opposed the intervention. Daalder and Stavridis said U.S. planes flew a quarter of all sorties over Libya, France and Britain a third of all missions -- most of them strike operations -- and the remaining participants flew roughly 40 percent. (Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Brussels; Writing by Barry Malone; Editing by Tim Pearce) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| UNESCO grants Palestinians full membership Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - The United Nations' cultural agency granted the Palestinians full membership on Monday, a step forward in their long-running efforts to achieve recognition before the world as an independent state.
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) became the first U.N. agency to welcome the Palestinians as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations on Sept. 23. A huge cheer erupted in UNESCO's General Assembly after the vote, which marks a symbolic victory for Palestinians in the complex diplomacy that surrounds their collective status and relations with foreign powers. "Today's victory at UNESCO is the beginning of a road that is difficult, but will lead to the freedom of our land and people from occupation," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said. "Palestine has the right to a place on the map." Israel called the vote a "tragedy" and the decision damaged relations between UNESCO and the United States, an ally of Israel that provides about 22 percent of the body's funding, or some $70 million. Legislation stipulates that the U.S. can cut off funding to any United Nations agency that accepts Palestinians as a member. The White House said the vote was "premature" and would not aid peace and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said UNESCO would suffer. "Today's vote to grant Palestinian membership in UNESCO is no substitute for direct negotiations, but it is deeply damaging to UNESCO," said Ambassador Susan Rice. UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova, who previously pleaded for Washington not to withdraw support, told delegates funding may be jeopardised. "I believe it is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that UNESCO does not suffer unduly... We need each and every member of this organisation to be fully engaged," she added. FRENCH ABOUT-FACE The Palestinians got backing from two thirds of UNESCO's members to become its 195th member. Of 173 countries that voted from a possible 185, 107 voted in favour, 14 voted against, 52 abstained and 12 were absent. Abstentions did not count toward the final tally. The Palestinians went to UNESCO after making a bid for recognition of the over-arching United Nations system in September before the U.N. Security Council, which has moved the issue to a committee where it is likely to run into a veto from the United States. "This vote is not directed against anyone, but represents support for freedom and justice," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement to the official news agency WAFA. "This vote is for the sake of peace and represents international consensus on support for the legitimate Palestinian national rights of our people, the foremost of which is the establishment of its independent state." But the breakdown of the vote reflected deep divergences in international views on Palestinian statehood. The United States, Canada, Germany and Holland voted against Palestinian membership. Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and France voted in favour. Britain and Italy abstained. For the European Union, which has stumbled in recent efforts to develop a common foreign policy, the UNESCO vote highlighted persistent rifts with some member states voting for and some against Palestinian membership. Austrian UNESCO ambassador Ursula Plassnik, whose country voted in favour, said she regretted that the EU had failed to arrive at a common position on Palestinian membership. France, which previously abstained from a vote on the subject of Palestinian membership in UNESCO, broke with precedent to vote in favour on Monday. "Since it has been raised today, we must assume our responsibilities and respond to the substance of the issue ... On the substance, France says "yes"- Palestine has the right to become a member of UNESCO," said Hubert de Canson, France's representative at UNESCO. Israel has said the Palestinian bid would amount to politicisation of UNESCO that would undermine its ability to carry out its mandate. It said on Monday it would reconsider its cooperation with the agency. "We regret that the organisation of science has opted to adopt a resolution which is a resolution of science fiction," said Nimrod Barkan, Israel's ambassador to UNESCO, who called the move a tragedy for the agency. "There is no Palestinian state and therefore one should not have been admitted today." The Israeli foreign ministry said the vote placed unnecessary obstacles on the road to renewing negotiations. "This is a unilateral Palestinian manoeuver which will bring no change on the ground but further removes the possibility for a peace agreement," it said in a statement. (additional reporting by Andrew Quinn, Alister Bull and Deborah Charles in Washington and Tom Perry in Ramallah; writing by Nick Vinocur; editing by Philippa Fletcher) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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