Nigeria Content Online

Libya, a sprawling
country of sand and oil on the edge of the Mediterranean, has always
held out some lessons for the African continent. One of the richest
countries on the continent, it was also one of the most stable;
although its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, has always been drawn to
intervene in several countries on the continent. Now, the country has
become another in a long list of African countries pulled apart by
internal conflict and primordial allegiances.

Mr Gaddafi, in turns an Arab or African nationalist, is a maverick leader that has ruled his country unchallenged for upwards of 40 years. The man who survived the Cold War battles with the West would have continued to enjoy his job but for the sudden outbreak of a wave of antiauthoritarian protests that has rocked the Arab world since January.

Although the protesters were able to sweep away long-ruling leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, they ran into difficulties in Libya, Algeria, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Somehow, the Libyan unrest degenerated
into a civil war — largely on the back of the singleminded
crackdown on the protesters by the Libyan government, and the decision of the opposition to seek an armed response to their yearning to remove Mr Gaddafi from power.

Displacing the Libyan regime was a hard task for the rebel fighters, and on the back of reports of possible massacre of rebel forces and civilians in the towns they controlled, and tough-sounding words from Mr Gaddafi and his sons about the fate that would befall unrepentant rebels, the West put together an armed intervention in the country to, as the United Nations Security Council puts it, “protect the civilian population” of Libya.

The international military force,deployed despite protests from the African Union, has indeed dropped a lot of bombs to degrade the military capacity of the Libyan defence forces. It has also bolstered the cause of the rebels who are now being feted in several European and Arab capitals as the authentic leaders of the Libyan people although they have been constantly beaten down by the more professional Libyan army which has largely stayed loyal to the Gaddafi regime.

The situation in Libya is, therefore, one of an unsustainable stalemate. On one side is the Libyan government — still strong
despite international isolation and attacks by foreign forces; on the other side are the rebels, weak and rancorous, but enjoying
international support and acclaim. No wonder the group has been the most rigid in its demands regarding the best solution
to the impasse.
Several meetings had, indeed been held in Europe and the Middle East —another one is ongoing in Qatar — to resolve the crisis.
But unless the east-west division in the country is allowed to gradually become defacto, it is hard to see any meeting of minds unless a massive military force is brought to bear on either of the two sides. And even that, as NATO leaders have warned, might not be enough to unify the country around
another leader.

The African Union, after widespread condemnation over its slow response to the crisis, has tentatively made efforts to bring back peace to Libya. Early in the
week, a group of African leaders led by the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, were in the country to meet with Libyan government officials in Tripoli and the rebel leadership in Benghazi. They had more success during the Tripoli meeting. Mr Gaddafi accepted to abide by the road map prepared by the African
Union to assist Libya towards lasting peace and democracy.

The roadmap basically calls for the immediate cessation of all hostilities;
cooperation of the competent Libyan authorities to facilitate the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy populations; protection of foreign nationals, including the African migrants living in Libya; and the adoption and implementation of the political reforms necessary for the elimination of the causes of the current crisis.
The rebels, possibly thinking that the AU does not really have much clout,
rejected the roadmap, insisting that Mr Gaddafi must first leave before any discussion could take place with the rump of his administration. Their position tallies with that of France and Britain. But unless these countries are willing to commit troops to actualise their wish, it is hard to see how that will happen.

Meanwhile, the war attrition continues killing people, ruining lives, destroying
the country’s infrastructure and hardening emotions on both sides of the conflict. Since negotiations are about give and take, it would not do to set hard rules about the outcome before they get started. Ironically, the European Union has significant experience in this line of work. Its officials might
share this with their military counterparts in NATO.