A Libyan boy rides a man’s shoulders while holding a pre-Gadhafi flag in the former Green Square, renamed Martyr’s Square, for the morning Eid prayer marking the end of Ramadan and to celebrate their victory over Moammar Gadhafi in Tripoli, Libya on Aug. 31. (AP Photo)
Tripoli (Libya), August 31 (CNN): Libyans celebrated Wednesday their first Eid al-Fitr free from Moammar Gadhafi’s iron grip in four decades, though the strongman remained at large and the war-torn nation suffered under dire humanitarian conditions. The United Nations estimated that 60% of Tripoli was without water and sanitation as August temperatures soared near triple digits Fahrenheit. U.N. agencies have sprung into action supplying water and food in what the global body described as an “alarming” situation.
Still, the idea of a nation without Gadhafi sprouted fresh hope in Libyan hearts. “I think this thug, this killer knows that he has nowhere to go,” said Ali Tarhouni, finance and oil minister for the opposition National Transitional Council. Tarhouni said he expects Gadhafi’s four-decade rule to fall apart within a week. “I really have no problem with waiting another week,” he said Tuesday. “I’ve waited 42 years.”
It was a sentiment expressed across Libya as people celebrated the festival of al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. But Gadhafi’s whereabouts are still unknown 11 days after opposition forces stormed the capital and later captured his Tripoli compound. Rebels now have their sights set on the remaining bastions in Libya under Gadhafi’s control, including his hometown of Sirte. Fighters waited about 65 miles away from the town, biding their time until they get orders to go in.
Libya’s National Transitional Council chief issued an ultimatum Tuesday for tribal leaders in loyalist towns to surrender by Saturday or face fierce attacks. Tarhouni said a peaceful resolution is possible. He said one of Gadhafi’s sons -- he did not disclose who -- is trying to negotiate. But “there is really nothing to negotiate,” he said. “What we offered -- and are still offering -- is that (if) they surrender, they will be safe, they will be brought to court under international supervision, and that’s basically the deal on the table. Take it or leave it.”
Rights activists urge Libya to hand over Qadhafi
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, August 31 (AP): As Libyan rebels claim to be closing in on Muammar Qadhafi, human rights activists are urging them to turn the Libyan dictator over to the International Criminal Court for trial and not mete out justice themselves.
Leading the calls is the court’s Argentine prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has charged Mr. Qadhafi along with his son Seif al-Islam and the regime’s intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Sanoussi with unleashing a campaign of murder and torture since February that aimed to wipe out anti-government protests. “The law says there’s an arrest warrant pending and according to a Security Council resolution Libya has the obligation to cooperate with the court,” Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at the court.
Rebels have sent mixed signals about what they will do with Mr. Qadhafi if they catch him, saying they will cooperate with the ICC but holding open the prospect of trying him in a Libyan court. Many people in Libya want to see Mr. Qadhafi and the members of his family and regime prosecuted at home for abuses throughout his 42-year rule rather than being sent to Hague to face justice for crimes committed only in the last six months as he fought desperately to cling to power.
Human Rights Watch on Wednesday also urged top diplomats meeting Libyan rebels in Paris on Thursday to push for Mr. Qadhafi’s surrender to the international court if he is captured. Amnesty International echoed the call, saying Libya’s rebel National Transitional Council is not yet in a position to put Mr. Qadhafi on trial as it seeks to restore order to the North African nation ravaged by civil war. Meanwhile, Ali Tarhouni, deputy head of the National Transitional Council, said rebels were homing in on the fugitive dictator. “Qadhafi is now fleeing and we have a good idea where he is,” Mr. Tarhouni said on Tuesday, without elaborating. “We don’t have any doubt that we will catch him.”
