Libya’s rebel council opens dialogue line with Malta, promising to respect Treaties

The message – that also asked the Maltese government for recognition – stated that the Libyan Republic’s interim transitional council, led by former justice minister Mustafa Mohammed Abdul Jalil “will respect the treaties in force with Malta, most especially on migration.”

The news was confirmed to MaltaToday by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg, who stopped short of confirming whether Malta had initiated a dialogue with the Benghazi based transitional council.

“What I can say is that government has received a note verbale through Libya’s defected  permanent representative to the Arab League, Abdel Moneim al-Honi, who wrote in the name of the interim transitional council inviting Malta to recognise the same council as the legitimate government of Libya, and that it was to honour all previous agreements in force with us, especially on migration.”

Moneim al-Honi – who was in Cairo yesterday and attended the Arab League’s meeting that backed the proposed imposition of a ‘no-fly’ zone over Libya in a bid to protect civilians from aerial bombing by forces loyal to Gaddafi – is a well respected diplomat and is known to have excellent contacts with a number of politicians in Malta.

Meanwhile, government is reportedly working to ease the anxiety in Benghazi about Malta’s role in the crisis, as some rebel council members have gone on record to state their “fear of Malta.”

 “We are afraid of Malta, it has good relations with the Gaddafi regime… We call it another province of Libya, rather than an independent state,” Mohamed el-Huni, a member of the opposition’s banking committee in Benghazi and a stockbroker by trade, was quoted as saying by the FT.

The Libyan rebel council is calling on Malta to freeze assets belonging to members of the Gaddafi family and others listed on the EU and UN sanctions resolutions.

El-Huni expressed his concern that the Gaddafi regime is attempting to find its way around international, multilateral asset freezes by using businessmen close to the regime to liquidate its offshore assets.

Allegedly, Gaddafi’s sons had kept the lion’s share of their assets offshore in places such as Malta, Turkey, Dubai, Bahrain, South Africa and in other parts of Europe.

But MaltaToday is informed that an Asset Tracking Unit (ATU) within the Prime Minister’s Office has reportedly edged closer to concluding a report on the assets and financial interests belonging to some Gaddafi family members and others listed in the EU and UN sanctions.

A senior government official said last night that the ATU report is expected to be handed to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi later this week.

Adding further hiatus to yet another tumultuous week of shuttle diplomacy that evolved around Castille and the Foreign Office, minister Tonio Borg last Saturday backed down from the EU leader’s call for Gaddafi to “relinquish power immediately,” and told his counterparts in Godollo, Hungary that stopping the violence, rather than forcing Gaddafi to leave office immediately, should be the priority for the European Union.

 “I personally have called for a ceasefire... stop the fighting and then we shall see what happens,” Borg said, adding that his idea of a ceasefire “should lead to a regime change,” rather than be preceded by it.

He also indicated that if Gaddafi or the rebels were not to respect it, that would “justify further action by the United Nations,” which last month slapped an arms embargo, a visa ban and asset freeze on Gaddafi and 25 of his associates.

Back in Malta from Brussels after attending the Extraordinary European Council on Libya, and a meeting with EC President Jose’ Manoel Durrao Barroso, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi stressed that the Gaddafi-led government had lost its legitimacy.

Gonzi – who held talks at Castille with British Defence Secretary Liam Fox on Saturday  – said the Libyan people were only calling for their fundamental freedoms and they should have been heeded: “Change cannot not be stopped.”

He appealed to the  international community for its help in various ways to bring about the prospected change in Libya.

Malta, he said, was backing a call for a summit between the EU, the Arab League and the African Union, whose importance was to bring about pressure on the Libyan authorities.

The Prime Minister stressed the importance of Malta’s neutrality in the eventuality of military intervention to impose a ‘no-fly’ zone over Libya.

Another visitor to Castille yesterday was Canadian Defence Minister Peter McKay.

Since Tuesday afternoon, the Prime Minister was engaged by Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Bagdadi, who telephoned with a proposal for the exchange of the Dutch soldiers for the two Mirage-F1 fighter  jets that were flown to Malta by two defecting Libyan airforce Colonels. The proposal was refused and Gonzi stressed on the unconditional release of the Dutch.

Gaddafi envoy Mohamed Tahir Siyala flew to Malta on Wednesday in what was described as a diplomatic blitz by Tripoli on the eve of an EU summit, and officially asks Prime Minister Gonzi for mediation with the EU.

Gonzi also refused the offer on the basis that there could be no mediation until the violence in Libya stops and Gaddafi hears the people.

Seif al-Islam, second born son of Muammar Gaddafi personally telephoned the Foreign Office on Thursday morning and said that the three Dutch were to be released only if the two Mirage fighter jets were to be returned to Libya, triggering immediate talks between senior Maltese and Dutch diplomats.

While Tripoli insisted for a reply, Gonzi instructed the Foreign Office to reply that the Dutch soldiers were to be unconditionally released, and stressing that there was no intention by Malta to return the Mirage jets until EU and UN sanctions are in place.

Gonzi, during a meeting with the European Commission President in Brussels, receives a phone call at 9pm informing him of the Libyans’ decision to hand the Dutch over to Maltese and Greek diplomats.

Now that Libya has stopped insisting on the Mirage fighter jets, he calls Tripoli and instructs senior diplomat Nader Salem Rizzo to take the situation in hand and to make all arrangements necessary to receive the Dutch, while Foreign Minister Tonio Borg calls the Dutch foreign minister to tell him the news and meets up with him in Budapest.

As Greek junior minister Demetrius Dolis was sent to Mitiga airfield in Tripoli on board a Hellinic airforce C-130 plane, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi arrives at the airport and takes over the negotiations on the Libyan side.

Maltese diplomat Salem Rizzo becomes the main interlocutor for the EU side, as negotiations become complicated as Seif al-Islam starts to play hard to get and at times laughs at the diplomats.

Nader Salem Rizzo, Demetrius Dolis and Dutch special envoy Ed Kronenburg stand their ground and insist that Seif al-Islam keeps to his word as he spoke on State TV earlier announcing the release of the Dutch crew.

As 15 Greek nationals alight on the C-130 to return to Athens, the negotiations take five hours, with Seif al-Islam stating that he wanted to go to sleep.

Salem Rizzo closes the deal by talking directly to Seif al-Islam who finally gives in and calls for the three Dutch, that included a woman pilot to be brought to the airport and alight the Hellenic air force plane to Athens.

The crew arrived in Eindhoven yesterday.