DOHA, Qatar - The international contact group on Libya has agreed to set up a
temporary "trust fund" to help the international community channel assets to
the opposition Transitional National Council in Benghazi.
In a statement issued at the conclusion of Wednesday's one-day summit in Doha,
Qatar, the group united to call on Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi to step down.
"Gaddafi and his regime has lost all legitimacy and he must leave power
allowing the Libyan people to determine their own future," the group said.
The financial mechanism being set up will allow international donations to be
made - possibly from frozen assets of the Gaddafi administration - and made
directly available to Gaddafi's opponents. Libyan rebels want to borrow at
least $2 billion, with short-term loans "an option on the table" at the Doha
discussions, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview in Benghazi with Ali
Tarhouni, the Interim Transitional National Council’s finance minister.
The group warned that up to 3.6 million people in Libya could require
humanitarian assistance as the result of weeks of fighting in the country.
Members of the group have called for more pressure to be exerted against
Gaddafi's regime, but they disagree on whether to arm the rebels seeking to
eject him.
Al-Jazeera correspondent James Bays said some participants had "deep concerns"
about providing Libyan rebels, who are fighting to topple Gaddafi from power,
with access to funds.
"I spoke to the German foreign minister [Guido Westerwelle] and he had concerns
over whether it was legal or not," the correspondent said. "Statements from the
UK and Qatar have agreed that the situation in Benghazi is urgent. And most is
due to a lack of cash - it's not all about heavy weapons for frontline
fighters; it's also about being able to pay public servants and getting schools
back open."
After the conference, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Muhammad al-Thani,
Qatar's prime minister, said that Gaddafi must step down.
"Those around him should advise him that it is in the best interests of Libya,"
he said. "This is the ideal scenario, for the safety of everyone - including
himself and his family."
Sending weapons to Benghazi
The Qatari prime minister also didn't rule out arming anti-Gaddafi rebels.
"Qatar starts by providing humanitarian supplies, including heating gas and
other supplies. We have also taken 6,000 refugees. For all other needs, Qatar
... will make things available for the Libyan people to defend themselves."
William Hague, British foreign secretary, told al-Jazeera that arming
Benghazi-based fighters would not be contrary to international law.
"The UN resolutions do allow for the provision of weapons," he said. "But we
are making our contribution through our own military, as well as providing
non-lethal support, such as communications equipment."
He earlier told reporters that "the arms embargo applies to all of Libya, but
it is appropriate to equip people with what is needed to protect themselves".
Franco Frattini, Italy's foreign minister, went further. "Gaddafi's tactics are
to put tanks in the streets - and we cannot have air strikes against people in
the city streets, in the squares, in the highly populated areas," he said.
"Either we make it possible for these people to defend themselves, or we
withdraw our claims of support."
However, in an apparent rift between EU partners on Libya, Steven Vanackere,
the Belgian foreign minister earlier said his country was opposed to the idea.
"The UN resolution speaks about protecting civilians, not arming them," he
said.
Qatar 'an oil corporation'
The Libyan government has dismissed the talks and Qatar's role in the ongoing
conflict.
"We are very hopeful that the American people and the American government will
not buy into the Qatari lies and Qatari schemes," a spokesman of the Libyan
regime told reporters in Tripoli on Tuesday.
"Qatar is hardly a partner of any kind. It's more of an oil corporation than a
true nation," the spokesman said.
Among those who arrived in the country ahead of the Doha talks was Moussa
Koussa, Libya's former foreign minister, who fled to Britain last month. He did
not take part in the formal meeting, but was understood to have met with
various officials on the sidelines of the conference.
Mustafa Gheriani, a media liaison official for the opposition, said Koussa was
"not connected to [the rebel] Transitional National Council in any way or
shape".
Gheriani added that he was personally surprised to learn that Koussa was
leaving Britain to attend the Qatar talks, and suggested that British officials
should explain why he was going and in what capacity.
'Free individual'
Koussa, the most prominent Libyan government defector, sought refuge in Britain
on March 30. A friend said he quit in protest at attacks on civilians by
Gaddafi's forces.
The former spy chief was questioned by Scottish police over the 1988 Lockerbie
airliner bombing, which killed 270 people, but the British government said he
was now free to travel.
In his first public statement since arriving in Britain, Koussa told the BBC on
Monday his country could become "a new Somalia" unless all sides involved in
the conflict stopped it from descending into civil war.
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