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Bishop of Tripoli bombs and weapons are useless and divide the country. Find a way to communicate with Gaddafi
African Union and Russia meet in Moscow to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya. Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in favour of Gaddafi in Tripoli and other cities. Wrong to financially and militarily support Benghazi rebels.
Tripoli (AsiaNews) - "Nothing has changed after more than one hundred days of air raids. Bombs and war are unnecessary. Nothing will change in the future if we continue on this road. To avoid dividing Libya we need a form of dialogue that includes Gaddafi and his supporters", Mgr. Giovanni Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, returns to reiterate as the meeting between the African Union (AU), Russia and NATO countries gets underway today in Moscow. According to the prelate, the Contact Group for the crisis in Libya should aim to restore unity in the country. "Without this prospect - he says - there will never be peace."
Since the beginning of the NATO mission in Libya, Russia and African Union representatives have been working for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Today, Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa and the EU High Representative, will present to the International Contact Group on Libya a new plan to find an agreement between Gaddafi and the Libyan Transitional Council.
Archbishop Martinelli points out that there are still many supporters of the Rais in the country, who criticize the one way attitude of the international community in favour of the rebels of Benghazi. Yesterday, Turkey also recognized the Transitional Council of Libya, promising funding for over 200 million dollars. "On July 2 - said the bishop - hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Tripoli and other cities to support Gaddafi". According to the prelate, the population fears a radical change of regime, it does not know the rebels in Benghazi, and for many Gaddafi is still a guarantee for their future.
"France, Turkey and other NATO countries - says Martinelli – is wrong to fund and arm the rebels. This attitude, which violates the UN standards, leads nowhere and is likely to provoke divisive hatred among the population. " (S.C.)