Libya’s UN charge d’affaires Mr. Ibrahim Dabbashi, voiced concern on Tuesday over selective targeting when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation. Stressing the need to find a peaceful solution, he suggested direct negotiations with Iran would be the best way to accomplish this goal. Dabbashi, who was also the UN Security Council President but spoke in his national capacity, stressed the need for intensified international efforts to find a peaceful solution to the question of Iran’s nuclear program through diplomatic efforts and consultations. But he also deplored what he called double standard on the part of some Western powers when it comes to the issue of nuclear proliferation. We regret that the Security Council to this date has not given appropriate attention to the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons although Israel refuses to accept the non-proliferation treaty or to subject their installations to IAEA safeguards, Mr. Dabbashi told the Security Council.The comments came during a discussion in the council of a report by the so-called Iran Sanctions Committee. Yukio Takasu, Japanese ambassador and chairman of the committee, said that Iran had violated Resolution 1747, which sanctions Iran for failure to relinquish its nuclear enrichment program. The committee monitors implementation of sanctions and measures imposed on Iran by Resolution 1747, as well as resolutions from 2006 and 2008.U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice told a Security Council Session Iran still has not met its international nuclear obligations yesterday.Dabbashi called on all parties to initiate direct negotiations as soon as possible. He also criticized the council for debating Iran’s nuclear program while disregarding the possibility that Israel may have such a weapon. He regretted that the Council had not yet given appropriate attention to the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons, even though Israel refused to be subjected to IAEA safeguards. Dabbashi added, that was frustrating to the aspiration of the people in the region to create a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, as expressed in several General Assembly resolutions.Libya currently holds the month-long presidency of the Security Council. This frustrates residents of the region who are trying to disarm the Middle East of nuclear weapons, said Ibrahim Dabbashi. China and Russia’s representatives had no comments.He also said there were ongoing consultations with Council Members on a possible decision under article 16 of the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, which could defer investigations connected with an indictment for 12 months. We hope the situation will not deteriorate in Sudan. We feel it is very important that the Security Council look into this matter in light of the decisions taken by the Regional Organizations, especially the African Union and the League of Arab States, he said.There was as yet no consensus on the matter, he said, and the Council would continue its consultations and closely watch the situation on the ground in the meantime, he added.In regard to peacekeeping policy, Mr. Dabbashi said that on 18 March an open debate is planned on the report of the AU-UN Panel on joint peacekeeping operations, chaired by Libya’s Secretary for African Affairs.{Tripolipost}
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President of Niger Mamadou Tandja visits Leader of the Revolution, AU Chairman, at his residence in capital of Niger.
Posted on 15. Mar, 2009 by Admin.
President of Niger Mamadou Tandja paid a visit to Leader of the Revolution, Chairman of the African Union, at his residence in the Nigerien capital Niamey on Friday morning.President Tandja reiterated pride and that of his government and Nigerien people to the leader’s ongoing efforts to preserve security and stability in Niger and the unity of its people, rising from peace auspices in the CEN-SAD space and beyond.The leader and President Tandja held a consultative meeting on the march of the AU and the CEN-SAD Community, base of the Union’s pyramid.{isria}
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Malta offers AFM participation in Libya-Italy migration patrols.
Posted on 14. Mar, 2009 by Admin.
Malta has offered participation by AFM personnel should joint patrols against illegal immigration be started between Italy and Libya, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said today.Speaking in Rome after a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, he said that the patrols are expected to start in May. They would be useful to Malta, he said, because the patrols would be carried out within Libyan territorial waters which was different from rescuing migrants in distress in international waters.Dr Borg said the issue of illegal migration is also expected to be discussed in Tripoli by Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and he too expectedc to have a meeting with the Libyan Foreign Minister.Dr Borg is accompanying President Fenech Adami who today met Italian President Georgio Napolitano.Dr Borg said the focus of talks was bilateral relations, illegal migration and regional cooperation.The Foreign Minister this morning had a meeting with Under-Secretary Vincenzo Scotti during which they signed an updated double taxation avoidance agreement. The first agreement was signed in 1981.Dr Borg said the updated agreement would further encourage and facilitate business relations between the two countries and improve cooperation on taxation issues.Italy is one of Malta’s most important trading partners. Malta imported 802 million in products from Italy last year while exports had a value of 102 million. There are 25 Italian companies in Malta.Sig Scotti said Malta had been invited and would attend a trade promotion meeting with Latin American countries in December. The meeting will be held in Milan.{timesofmalta}
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Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi negotiated the release of five Niger soldiers and a gendarme who had been held by Tuareg rebels, Niger state radio reported Friday.Most of the six hostages had been held since June 2007 by the Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ).Kadhafi acted as mediator in talks with the Tuareg rebels and flew to Niamey on Thursday with the six men, Voix du Sahel radio reported.The Libyan leader was met at Niamey airport on Thursday night by President Mamadou Tandja who thanked Kadhafi very sincerely for his efforts to obtain the release.Government spokesman and Communications Minister Mohamed Ben Omar said one army officer remains in the hands of the rebels.Twelve months ago, the MNJ released 24 soldiers and a regional government official after Libyan mediation. The Republicain independent weekly said Niger’s president asked Kadhafi to interene.The MNJ is a splinter faction from Niger’s main Tuareg groups, which signed a 1995 agreement with the government to end a first rebellion.The Tuaregs are nomadic tribes who roamed the Sahara for centuries before nations of the region gained independence from European colonial powers. The MNJ wants a share in Niger’s uranium wealth and a role in the country’s armed forces.{AFP}
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Libya has freed 136 members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an Islamist group close to Al-Qaeda, in the past two years, the Kadhafi Foundation headed by the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said on Wednesday. Since the start of the dialogue two years ago, 136 members of the group have been freed, said the foundation headed by Seif al-Islam Kadhafi. Work is continuing to release another group among the 170 remaining members, it added.The Foundation in April last year had announced the freeing of 90 members of the group who had been held in the Abu Salim prison in Tripoli.Al-Qaeda announced in an audiotape posted on an Islamist website in November 2007 that the Libyan group had joined the jihadist network.Formed clandestinely in Afghanistan in the early 1990s, the Libyan group first came to wider knowledge in 1995 as it launched an armed campaign against Kadhafi’s regime.From his base in central Asia, its leader Abu Laith al-Libi became a trusted lieutenant of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden but was reported killed in February last year in a US missile strike on one of the tribal agencies of northwest Pakistan that border Afghanistan.{AFP}
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The Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation Organized Monday organized a workshop on(equality and women empowerment)to mark International Women’s Day. A number of sociology professors , women advocates and UN resident delegate in the Gt Jamahiriya took part in the workshop, which dealt with women’s role in the society and decision-making. gains that women in the Gt Jamahiriya had under al Fateh Revolution, including accessibility to practice of direct democracy through the Basic People’s Congresses were highlighted during the workshop. {ljbc}
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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}
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President of state supreme council in Mauritania hosts a dinner banquet in honor of the leader.
Posted on 11. Mar, 2009 by Admin.
President of State Supreme Council in Mauritania , ” Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz ” hosted tonight a dinner banquet in honor of the leader of the Revolution , the AU Chairman.The banquet was attended by members of Mauritanian Military Council , Prime Minister and government members , Senate and National Assembly members , and Presidency Member of Bosnia Herzegovina , ” Haris Silajdzic .The dinner was also attended by Secretary of GPC for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation , Secretary General of World Islamic Call Society , Chairman of the Board of Libya-Africa Portfolio for Investment and Executive Secretary of African Arab Civil Organizations Gathering.On the other hand Mauritanian artists poets honored the leader by organizing a creative evening where prominent poets and artists greeted the leader with their poetry that express sentiments of great love of the Mauritanian people to the Arab and African leader who represents the symbol and will of the African citizen who believes in the continent’s unity and right to become one of the powerful spaces in the world.The poets hailed the Jamahiriya thought and the accomplishments of Great al-Fatah Revolution specially the Great Man-Made River.{ljbc}
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Gaddafi arrives in Mauritania, seeks political deal By Vincent Fertey and Hachem Sidi Salem.
Posted on 10. Mar, 2009 by Admin.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi travelled to Mauritania on Monday in the highest level attempt so far to end the political crisis since a coup in the northwest African Islamic state last August.An adviser to the Libyan leader, who holds the African Union’s rotating presidency, said a solution would require the departure of junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who overthrew Mauritania’s first democratically elected president.The junta has promised polls but shown no sign of heeding international demands to restore Sidi Mohamed Ould Sheikh Abdallahi to power. There is no solution to the problem in Mauritania that does not involve General Abdel Aziz stepping down, Gaddafi’s adviser Mohamed Shouhimy told Reuters from Tripoli.The European Union has threatened sanctions against Aziz and his allies, and last month the African Union imposed sanctions. The Libyan leader is doing all he can to begin a national political dialogue and this visit can serve as a starting point for setting out the conditions, said Mohamed Ould Maouloud, of the National Front for the Defence of Democracy, a political alliance campaigning for the restoration of Abdallahi to power.Abdallahi, released from house arrest in December, travelled to Libya for talks with Gaddafi last week, after which Libyan state media suggested the African Union chairman recognised the ousted president as Mauritania’s head of state. On his return to Nouakchott, Abdallahi said he was keen to pursue with the Libyan leader dialogues aimed at arriving at a consensual solution. {Reuters}
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The leader , the AU Chairman and President ” Francois Bozize ”wrap up their talks.
Posted on 10. Mar, 2009 by Admin.
The Leader of the Revolution the AU Chairman and President , ” François Bozize ” of the Republic of Central Africa, member of Presidential Council of ( Cen-Sad ) Community wrapped up their talks this evening that they started.During this meeting, it was agreed to tackle some issues that concern security and peace in the African continent. Continuation of consultations and cooperation between them within the framework of ( Cen-Sad ) and the African Union was regarded as essential.President ” Bozize ” reaffirmed the confidence enjoyed by the leader , the AU chairman and his constant efforts for peace and stability throughout the continent.The meeting was attended by Secretary of AU Affairs at GPC for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation , Chairman of the Board of Libya -Africa Portfolio for Investment , the delegation accompanying president ” Bozize ” , Secretary of Libyan People’s Bureau to Republic of Central Africa and its Ambassador to Great Jamahiriya. {ljbc}
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