Former Libyan diplomat speaks to Echourouk
In an exclusive wide winding interview with Echourouk, the former Libyan representative to the UN, Abderrehmane Chelkem has revealed details about the policy conducted by Moammar El Qaddafi with his neighboring countries.
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Talking from New York, where he is still living after his defection, the former diplomat has indicated that the beleaguered president has always maintained a state of instability in the in the region to assert his control.
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The long ruling despot was always keen on creating dissentions among the countries and the tribes in the Sub- Saharan region including Mali and Niger.
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To recall, Echourouk has made public Qaddafi’s plot to create a “ Touareg” nation partly in southern Algeria, the article prompted the Libyan leader to file a lawsuit against the newspaper then.
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Echourouk: How long do you expect Qaddafi will stay in power amid the latest developments?
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Chelkem: Reality on the ground shows that the rebels are taking control over most of the key towns and those in Misrata have seized Zliten town; moreover, Al Qaddafi is charged with mass murder and genocide, he is now under strong diplomatic and military pressures.
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Echourouk: So how do you expect his fate will be? Will he surrender or fight till the end?
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Chelkem: I would rather say he will flee.
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Echourouk: But, his forces are still intact despite NATO strikes, what’s the secret behind?
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Chelkem: His forces are not that intact as you say, there are a lot of dissentions within the ranks in the capital city Tripoli. Moreover, many high ranking officials have defected and left El Qaddafi… events will go crescendo over the coming week.
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Echourouk: Do you expect the fall of Tripoli from south or, Misrata or Ajdabya?
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Chelkem: I think that the seizure of Tripoli will come from inside precisely from the Western mount.
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Echourouk: Are there initiatives to stop the bloodshed amid Qaddafi’s resilience to prevail?
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Chelkem: There is not any other alternative for him but to quit, he is one against 7 million inhabitants he‘s not better than Zine Al Abiddine Ben Ali in Tunisia or Hosni Mubarek in Egypt.
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Echourouk: Sine you mentioned Ben Ali and Mubarek , how do you explain his resistance if compared to his two fellow ousted presidents?
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Chelkem: Simply, by the fact that El Qaddafi has deprived the country of its military troops and used his loyal forces to crush the rebellion.
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Echourouk: You have declared that El Qaddafi will not stand more than a month, on which basis have you made this assumption?
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Chelkem: The Libyan people don’t want him, an international arrest warrant will be issued against him on June 27, and he will become a plain criminal then. He has lost control over the events and his allies abandoned him except his family and his tribe.
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Echourouk: Some parties see in you the perfect candiodate for the presidency after the fall of El Qaddafi , will you run for the post?
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Chelkem: If I wanted power I would have stayed with him, I’m not interested in presidency or any other official post, what I want is a free Libya.
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