Strasbourg, 09/03/2011 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in plenary in Strasbourg on Wednesday, the European Parliament called on the EU to recognise the political body opposing the regime of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, a body called the National Transition Council (NTC) that is based in Benghazi and headed by former Libyan justice minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil, and to support the introduction of a no-fly-zone in Libya. The EU high representative has not come off well by deciding to leave it to the EU heads of state at their meeting in Brussels on Friday to decide whether or not to formally recognise the Libyan opposition, and NTC representatives who have been in Strasbourg since Tuesday (upon invitation of the ALDE Group) have called for humanitarian aid to be facilitated.
The main debate on the situation in Libya was attended by Catherine Ashton on Wednesday 9 March, where MEPs demonstrated great unity and coherence (with a few dissenting voices) ahead of the special European Council to decide on Friday on new measures to be taken against the Gadaffi regime and measures to help the rebels and Libyan refugees and to supply humanitarian aid.
The former Belgian prime minister and head of the liberal democrats (ALDE), Guy Verhofstadt, who had arranged the visit to the EP of the two NTC leaders, the former Libyan National Development Plan minister, Mahmoud Jebril, and the former Libyan ambassador to Egypt, Ali Al-Esawi, and who also arranged their meeting with Catherine Ashton on Wednesday, said that it was time to start the process of recognising the NTC because this could help the opposition win in the struggle against Gadaffi and help put an end to Gadaffi's power to kill. Daniel Cohn-Bendit told Ashton that she had said that the people's desire for freedom had to be respected but that for years the EU had been complicit in dictatorships. Now, however, he said the people had risen up and had representatives so he called on her to recognise the interim government because if Gadaffi were allowed to win, that would be of benefit to dictatorships across the board.
The head of the Greens and his liberal counterpart, backed by the head of the ECR, Charles Tannock of the UK, called for recognition of the NTC and the introduction of a no-fly-zone over Libya, along with the supply of arms to the insurrection, but the leader of the social democrats, Martin Schulz (Germany) took a more cautious line, saying it was important to get a United Nations mandate and approval from the Arab League and African Union before setting up a no-fly-zone. He said Gadaffi was a criminal murderer who should be hauled before the International Criminal Tribunal to be punished, preferably by the Libyans themselves. He said the EU had the choice between their feelings, which say that no solutions should be ruled out, even the military option, and the risk of taking the wrong decision. He said a no-fly-zone would require destroying Gadaffi's aircraft and he recommended that everything should be done under international law, which requires a decision to be made by the UN Security Council, along with the Arab League and the African Union. Schultz said this was the only solution if Europe is to attack Libya but people should not run ahead of themselves.
The EPP's leaders revealed a greater range of views on what to do about the idea of a no-fly-zone. On behalf of the party, José Ignacio Salafranca of Spain said that some sort of clear action had to be taken as one could not watch the massacres and do nothing. He said that the UN Security Council had to take the decisions. Elmar Brok of Germany said that a no-fly-zone was crucial and he thought that could be arranged by the EU with the Arab League without necessarily needing a Security Council decision. It would be preferable for action to be legitimised by the UN, but if one country vetoes that, then one cannot then refuse to take action to prevent further massacres.
Meanwhile, the EU high representative generated doubt about EU action to prevent the Gadaffi regime from smashing the Libyan rebels by refusing to back the NTC's request to be recognised as the only legitimate authority in Libya, despite this being backed by a huge number of MEPs. She also expressed reservations about the feasibility of a no-fly-zone because it would not be understood by everybody. Ashton said it was for the member states to decide. Under the high representative's mandate, she should make suggestions herself to the European Council, but she said it was not her job to take sides. Libyan opposition spokesperson Mahmoud Jebril told reporters shortly afterwards that diplomatic legitimacy through recognition by the EU would be very important for the Libyan opposition because it would give the NTC credibility to help it gain massive international aid and would also help put a stop to Colonel Gadaffi's accusations that the Libyan opposition is controlled by the Al-Qaida terror group. Jebril said that NTC wanted a no-fly-zone set up to stop Gadaffi's armed forces from carrying out further massacres. (E.H./transl.fl)