Local News Kuwait working closely with Libyan opposition, says FM Published Date: April 26, 2011 KUWAIT: Kuwait is keen to work closely with its "brothers" in the Libyan opposition National Transitional Council (NTC), said a senior government official yesterday. "Action is more effective than words and we have announced that we will work closely and continuously with the brothers in the NTC," Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Mohammad Sabah Al-Sabah told media representatives at a press conference held jointly with NTC chairperson Mustafa Abduljalil, referring to Kuwait's urgent humanita rian aid to the Libyan people.
The minister said that the NTC delegation's visit to Kuwait was significant, whilst strongly condemning what the Libyan people have been subjected to by Muammar Gadaffi's regime. "We see these [Libyan] people being exposed to this ordeal and their fate is unknown; this is something that cannot be accepted by the people of Kuwait," he insisted. Sheikh Mohammad said that the talks held between His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Abduljalil during the Libyan delegation's visit concerned the historic ties between the Libyan and Kuwaiti people, and demonstrated Kuwait's committed to UN Resolution 1973 which imposed a no-fly zone over the North African country to protect civilians there. The resolution was the fruit of a call by the six GCC countries, which was later adopted by the Arab League, Sheikh Mohammad noted. The Kuwaiti foreign minister said that the humanitarian assistance delivered to the Libyan people would be channeled via the NTC, "which means we will primarily be working closely with our brothers in the NTC as the legitimate channel to delivering this aid to the Libyan people. Asked about a possible GCC initiative on Libya like the one extended to Yemen, Sheikh Mohammad said that the Libyan issue is governed by UN resolutions 1970 and 1973, "and we are working within their frameworks." On the establishment of a confederation among the GCC countries, however, Sheikh Mohammad said that the GCC stands for unity. "We have started working together to coordinate our policies, merging our institutions and unifying our laws and curricula...so we are [moving] in the direction of Gulf uni ty. Abduljalil, meanwhile, expressed gratitude for HH the Amir's invitation to visit Kuwait. He drew a comparison between how Kuwait "is small in size but has big hands" and how Muammar Gaddafi has been squandering Libya's wealth on his own inner circle. Abduljalil said the Libyans had initially staged peaceful demonstrations to demand the establishment of a democratic and free state, in which they could elect their own president. But, he added, these demonstrations were opposed by "excessive and historically unprecedented violence, rockets, aircraft and artillery... Abdulajalil commended the GCC for supporting the Libyan revolution from the very start, followed by the Arab League's demand to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians. Had Gaddafi heeded the UN resolutions to implement a ceasefire two months ago, he said, the civilians would have been spared violence. The freedom fighters in Libya need arms to counter Gaddafi's forces, Abduljalil stressed.. "We received some weapons from brotherly and friendly countries thus enabling Misrata to be free...We are looking for more weapons specially the anti-shield arms which we did not get so far." The NTC head also praised NATO's role in protecting civilians. NATO is commanding the air operation against Gaddafi's forces. Asked about the possible prosecution of Gaddafi if he steps down, Abduljalil said that sending any person for "a fair trial is normal and will be within human rights." Rejecting any bids to partition Libya, the NTC chief said the opposition has evidence that Gaddafi used mercenaries, snipers and military exports from other countries, which he did not identify by name, to attack the Libyan people. Abduljalil said that while he would welcome any initiative that would lead to the departure of Gaddafi and his sons, "there is no mediation in that sense on the ground. - KUNA ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
