Ghaddafi in Mauritania for second-day mediation.
Posted on 11. Mar, 2009 by Admin in Libya News
Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi was in Mauritania for the second-day mediation to bring together the North African country's antagonists, information from Nouakchott said on Tuesday. Ghaddafi came up with a Libyan plan to move Mauritania out of the months-old crisis since the military junta seized power on Aug.6. The seven-point plan was reported to include the simultaneous resignation of both military junta leader Gen. Mohamed Ould AbdelaAziz and deposed President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. It proposes the dissolution of the High Council of State, which has actually ruled the country since the Aug. 6 coup. The plan also proposes the president of the Senate take over power as interim head of state in accordance with the Constitution. Alongside those measures, the country is urged to form an interim government, to create an independent election commission and to hold a presidential election that is open to all. Libyan special envoy Ravi Madani will push ahead with the plan in consultations with rival politicians including favorites and opposition under the toppled government. Madani's mission is seen as a follow-up to his talks with Mauritanian parties for the past few weeks. Well-informed sources in Nouakchott disclosed that rival parties will be in favor of the plan as a whole, although they remain reserved about certain points. Ghaddafi arrived in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Monday in the capacity of both Libyan leader and rotating chairperson of the African Union (AU), which has given him a mandate to resolve the Mauritania crisis. It was the first visit by a foreign leader to Mauritania since August. The country, which is suspended from the AU and the Economic Community of West African States, is scrambling with the international pressure to restore the constitutional order. The military junta has taken a series of steps to ease the pressure. On Friday, Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was allowed to go to Libya after released from house arrest in December. Abdela Aziz also announced a plan in January to hold presidential elections on June 6 and form an independent election commission.{xinhuanet}