Libya meeting seeks Gaddafi exit to end war

Other International

Author / Source : Independent Online/Reuters ISTANBUL: Western and Arab powers begin talks in Turkey on Friday aimed at finding a political solution for Libya that would persuade Muammar Gaddafi to give up power and end a conflict that could otherwise drag on interminably.

The fourth meeting of the Libya contact group, established in London in March, comes after reports suggesting Gaddafi might be ready to give up his 41-year rule if he could get a deal.

Yet the Libyan leader remains as unpredictable as ever, and no one appears sure whether he intends to fight in hope of keeping his grip on the territory round Tripoli or seek an exit strategy that guarantees security for himself and his family.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton are among more than a dozen foreign ministers taking part in the Istanbul meeting.

The heads of NATO, the Arab League and other regional organizations are also due to attend.

They will listen to a report from U.N. Secretary-General's special envoy on Libya, Abdul Elah Al-Khatib, on the result of his contacts with the Gaddafi government in Tripoli and the rebel National Transitional Council in the eastern city of Benghazi.

"Our expectation is to discuss what might happen in Libya post-Gaddafi, and how we can help the opposition in Benghazi," a senior Turkish official told Reuters.

On Thursday Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dined with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Rasmussen had earlier called on NATO members to provide more warplanes to bomb Libyan military targets, as the alliance seeks to keep military pressure on Gaddafi while protecting civilians from his forces.

"We can't protect civilians in Libya effectively if we are not prepared to take out critical military units on the ground that can be used to attack civilians. This is the reason why we do air-to-ground strikes," Rasmussen said in The Hague on Thursday.

The contact group will also hear from representatives of the Libyan opposition, whose forces are struggling to make decisive push toward Tripoli despite attacking from the east and west.

Mahmoud Jebril, a senior member of the rebel council, said in Brussels on Wednesday that there had been no negotiations so far with Gaddafi's regime to stop the war.

STAY OR GO

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said this week that emissaries from Gaddafi's government in contact with NATO members had said that Gaddafi was ready to quit.

But Clinton said the Gaddafi camp was putting out "contradictory signals" and the Libyan leader had yet to meet any of the international community's demands, namely to cease violence against his people, withdraw his forces and step down.

Any solution could hinge on whether Gaddafi, after stepping down, is allowed to stay in Libya or take refuge in a third country, regardless of an International Criminal Court's investigation into crimes against his people.

A British-led team planning post-conflict Libya, has recommended that Gaddafi's security forces be left intact in order to avoid errors made after the Iraq war. [ID:nL6E7HS2AF].

Foreign powers want to ensure the oil rich North African country of 6 million emerges as a stable democracy rather than fall prey to ethnic or tribal conflict, or become a haven for Islamist militants.

The Istanbul meeting is being co-chaired by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. China and Russia, two powers who have taken a softer line toward Gaddafi, were invited to attend the contact group meeting for the first time, but China refused and it was uncertain what level of representation Russia might send.

Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would use all channels to try to help start a political process and end the conflict.

Turkey and the African Union have proposed separate road maps aimed at establishing a ceasefire and moving through stages from Gaddafi quitting power to a democratic transition, and the contact group will seek to agree on a single plan.

Turkey has also stressed the need to help Libyan people through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins at the start of August this year.

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Violated girl seeks help

Barisal, July 14 (bdnews24.com) ? A violated girl has sought legal assistance from Bangladesh Mahila Parishad.

The girl, a resident of Charaicha village of Shayestabad Union, came to the women's rights group's Barisal office on Thursday.

The incident took place on July 11 became public when the rapists marketed a video of their heinous act.

A neighbour girl had aided the crime, the victim alleged.

'Jasim' and 'Anik', residents of the same village, violated her when she went to take bath at a nearby creek, she said. Her neighbour, one Mariam, aided the rapists by luring the unsuspecting girl to her house, where the crime took place.

'Rana', a friend of Jasim and Anik, recorded the act.

Mahila Parishad legal aid secretary Protima Sarker said the girl would be provided all possible legal assistance.

A case would be filed with the Kaunia Police Station on Friday, she said.

Officer-in-charge Rafiqul Islam said he had been notified of the incident and a drive was going on to arrest the criminals.

bdnews24.com/corr/sh/nir/2345h

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CCCI seeks duty cut on scrapped ship

Chittagong, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has urged the government not to raise duty on import of scrapped ship, the main raw material for local iron and steel mills.

The call was made on Thursday in a statement signed by chamber president Murshed Murad Ibrahim.

Finance minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith proposed increasing per-tonne import duty on scrapped ship to Tk 1,500 in the national budget for 2011-'12 fiscal from the existing Tk 1,000.

Murshed requested the finance minister to keep the rate at Tk 1,000 per tonne and withdraw the additional three percent adjusted tax value (ATV), proposed in the budget placed in parliament on June 9.

Claiming that ship-breaking industry is playing a vital role in economic development and creating employment, he said instability has been prevailing in the sector for the last one year due to various reasons.

He said the government exchequer received more than Tk 80 billion from the sector every year.

Pointing out that the sector was trying to perform better after prime minister Sheikh Hasina had declared it as an industry, the CCCI president said an adverse situation might crop up in the sector due to increase in the import duty and imposition of ATV.

He apprehends that the proposed tax structure will invite difficulties in the steel re-rolling mills and destabilise the entire iron and steel market.

bdnews24.com/mc/skb/ssr/2113h

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Hasina seeks British coop to curb terrorism

Visiting British Minister of State for International Development paid courtesy calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (left) and Opposition Leader Begum Khaleda Zia in the city Wednesday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought British cooperation for curbing militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh, reports UNB.

The Prime Minister (PM) sought the cooperation when the visiting British Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan MP called on her at her office Wednesday.

Hasina categorically said that her government will show zero tolerance against terrorism and militancy and there will be no space for the terrorists and militants in the soil of Bangladesh.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, PM's deputy press secretary Md Nazrul Islam said Hasina informed the British minister that her government is working for a stable democracy in the country and to give democracy a strong footing.

Appreciating the government efforts for women empowerment and its social safety net programmes, Duncan said that the UK would provide one billion US dollars as development assistance to Bangladesh in next two years.

To address the electricity problem in Bangladesh, Hasina sought more foreign investment in this sector, saying that her government is creating a congenial investment atmosphere in the country.

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Sitting MP seeks cover as ex-MP charges

Narayanganj, June 18 (bdnews24.com) ? The deputy commissioner's office here turned into a battleground on Saturday as a former parliamentarian of the ruling party enraged following a wordy duel charged at the sitting MP, also of the same party.

Argument started between Awami League MP Sarah Begum Kabari and former MP Shamim Osman at a meeting on bus fare on Saturday at the Narayanganj deputy commissioner's office. At one point, Shamim left his seat and rushed angrily towards Kabari.

Kabari later told reporters that Shamim used profanities against her and also tried to assault her physically.

Shamim, however, denied the allegations.

Private televisions showed footages of the incident, where Shamim is seen charging at Kabari and Kabari following the suit.

The meeting was called to discuss a general strike called by a commuters' platform of the district.

'Jatri Adhikar Shangrakkhan Forum' called the half-day strike on June 20 to protest increased bus fare on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route.

Over 60 organisations?political, professional, social and cultural?expressed their support for the strike.

While Kabari and district Awami League president Anwar Hossain took a stance for the strike and its demands, Shamim, who had been invited there by transport company owners, started by questioning the legitimacy of the citizen's bodies behind the strike.

Arguments sparked off and at one stage Shamim left his seat and advanced menacingly at Kabari.

While Anwar Hossain and some others shielded Kabari, yet others came to Shamim's aid. Chaos broke out in the deputy commissioner's office amid television cameras and photographers witnessing and recording the scene.

Deputy commissioner Shamsur Rahman sat out the fracas.

MP Nazrul Islam Babu and superintendent of police Sheikh Nazmul Alam were eventually able to calm everyone down and the meeting continued, but it ended without any decision.

A large number of police and RAB personnel were deployed outside the office when supporters of both leaders gathered there.

bdnews24.com/corr/pd/sh/nir/2345h

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