End of the road

Perhaps a time given to caring and sharing like it is now and one dedicated to the best in the human spirit can prompt an end to the impasse in Libya.

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Published: Wed 31 Aug 2011, 9:08 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 6:48 PM

While no one can deny that for Col Gaddafi it is the end of the road and the battle in Sirte will be the deciding one perhaps for the few good deeds of the past when this robe wearing almost iconic horse riding hero rose to the top of the mountain and placed Libya on the world map he can now be eased away. Too much blood has been spilled, too many fellow countrymen have pointed weapons at one another and too many families put asunder. In these circumstances the rebels who are now quasi-government and poised to take command of bringing the nation up from its current condition need to let Gaddafi go in peace. Give him safe passage and get him out of there. This is not the time for revenge nor is there any call to prolong the agony. If likeminded nations can impress upon the victorious that their magnanimity, however hurt and angered they are, will speed up the nation building process and end this war, they should make moves now so that the end game is not one of more violence and bloodshed.

The former ruler has indicated his willingness to hand over power and that is the central issue. Take advantage of that and exile him from the country. Not only will it show great statesmanship and political will but will be an expression of solidarity within the Libyan people and a mark of a new era.

Otherwise the division will only get deeper and it will take that much longer for wounds to heal.

The fear is that pockets of resistance still exist and function and if the NATO support mandated by the UN till September 27th lapses then they have to get a further lease. At this moment it is the coalition forces that have enabled the rebels to make decisive strikes but if the battles continue Gaddafi’s forces can hold out…does Libya and the world need to pay that high a price for a regime that has no moral premise?

Published: Wed 31 Aug 2011, 9:08 PM

Last updated: Mon 6 Apr 2015, 6:48 PM

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