Venezuela: Chavez discussed mediation with Gadhafi

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: AP

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's information minister says President Hugo Chavez has spoken with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi about creating a bloc of friendly countries to help resolve the crisis in the North African country.

Andres Izarra says through Twitter that Chavez spoke with Gadhafi on Tuesday. He said Venezuela has reached out to its allies in Latin America and beyond to discuss the creation of a bloc of friendly countries — dubbed the Committee of Peace — to mediate the crisis.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said earlier Wednesday that a bloc of friendly countries could help resolve the conflict in Libya, saying diplomacy — rather than military threats — should be used to end the violence sweeping the North African nation.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/633c954da7d9434f9de7ed15f38075aa/Article_2011-03-02-Libya%20Latin%20American%20Allies/id-0f979523f55544f0aabbe5d23244940e

[davidinalameda]

1. why not tell him to get the hell out of dodge

what is there to mediate?

when you start killing your own people, it's way past time to mediate

[TheWraith]

2. Chavez is one of Gadhafi's allies. He'd rather keep him in power. nt

[UTUSN]

4. The 2 of them are going to "mediate" each other about Naomi CAMPBELL replacing

the Ukranian "nurse."

[Vidar]

3. Don't go there, Hugo. It's the US' job to back malevolent losers.

[maddezmom]

5. Libya rebel council says rejects talks with Gaddafi

Source: Reuters

Libya rebel council says rejects talks with Gaddafi
Thu Mar 3, 2011 9:50am GMT
(Reuters) - The chairman of the rebel National Libyan Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said he rejected the concept of talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi entirely, an Al Jazeera correspondent reported on Thursday.

Abdel Jalil also said no one had been contacted regarding an initiative by Venezuela to end the Libyan crisis.



Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFWEB321820110303

[Turborama]

6. But oil prices fell at the news of the Chavez plan, surely they care about oil speculation...?

Just in case :sarcasm:

‘Peace’ breaks out in Brent crude
Posted by Joseph Cotterill on Mar 03 09:24.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93e4bd68-42e7-11e0-8b34-00144feabdc0.html">Noted by the FT’s Jamie Chisholm early on Thursday — a $3 sell-off in Brent, on reports of a survival plan for Gaddafi ‘peace plan’ for Libya:




A very odd peace plan, and a grimly amusing oil price reaction.

First of all, this seems to have started with noted world statesman (and Gaddafi ally) Hugo Chavez — http://www.smh.com.au/world/chavez-in-talks-with-gaddafi-to-seek-crisis-mediators-20110303-1bg3m.html">who talked to what’s left of Libya’s regime on Tuesday about setting up a Peace Commission.

As soon as the market realised this, prices recovered. Still, it’s worth noting that the sell-off began with a http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE72203U20110303">Reuters story that Amr Moussa, president of the Arab League, had given his backing to a peace plan.

Well, consider:

- The Arab League http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/03/20113218130353466.html">has also said it might consider establishing a no-fly zone over Libya. Now, about that…

Continues: http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2011/03/03/503631/peace-breaks-out-in-brent-crude/

[Turborama]

7. The Guardian: Libyan rebels reject Hugo Chávez mediation offer

Leaders of anti-Gaddafi fighters say talk of peace is too late and they would never negotiate with Venezuelan president

Martin Chulov in Benghazi | Thursday 3 March 2011 15.18 GMT

Libya's rebel leaders have ruled out any attempt by Hugo Chávez to broker a truce between them and Muammar Gaddafi, who they insist must leave the country.

"No one has told us a thing about it and we are not interested anyway," said the spokesman of the national committee in Benghazi, Abdul Hafif Goga. "We will never negotiate with him."

The rebel leadership said the international community had yet to inform them of any initiative from the Venezuelan president, who reportedly contacted the embattled Libyan leader earlier this week in a bid to enter the fortnight-long violent standoff.

"Talk of peace is far too late," said a second member of the organising committee, Salwa Bogheiga. "A lot of people have died and there is no one to negotiate with. They lost that right when they started killing people on 17 February."

Continues: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/03/libyan-rebels-reject-hugo-chavez

[dipsydoodle]

8. Any idea

or maybe links as to what proportion of the Libyan population the "rebel leaders" represent out of the 70 or so tribes ?

[Turborama]

10. Details on the National Transitional Council

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_National_Council

[dipsydoodle]

11. Sounds more like

a few wannabees in two of the major cities. I was aware that they clearly do not want any foreign interference at all.

I also find it interesting that the great majority seeking to leave Libya are actually Egyptians etc : not Libyans.

[Turborama]

12. "Five representatives of each city or town under opposition control"

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/2011227175955221853.html#">Libya opposition launches council

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/23/134003954/New-Government-Forms-In-Eastern-Libya">Provisional Government Forming In Eastern Libya

Cities and towns held by the Anti-Gaddafi forces during the 2011 uprising

The Libyan opposition is reported to be in control of most towns and cities in Cyrenaica and central coastal Libya. As of 23 February 2011, it is reported that the Gaddafi government now only controls a few parts of Tripoli and the southern desert town of Sabha.

Cities and towns reported to be under opposition control, listed from East to West:

Tobruk
Al-Kufra
Darnah
Al Jawf
Shahhat
Al Bayda
Al Marj
Benghazi
Suluq
Ajdabiya
Marsa Brega
Ras Lanuf
Misurata
Zlitan
Al Khums
Tarhounah
Bani Walid
Tajura
Gharyan
Yafren
Zenten
Az Zawiyah
Sabratha
Zuwarah
Zuara
Nalut

References available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Gaddafi_forces

[maddezmom]

13. good link, thanks for posting

[Turborama]

34. You're most welcome, glad you found it interesting/useful

Thanks for all your articles on this. :hi:

[Turborama]

32. The people who are evacuating are expatriates and migrant workers.

Why would the British, Chinese, Indians, Tunisians, Egyptians etc want to stay around and get caught up in someone else's war?

Seems quite normal to me.

And why would Libyans want to leave while they're in the middle of finally deposing their brutal dictator? :shrug:

[robcon]

9. Gaddafi's toadies like Chavez and Farrakhan are desperate.

Money talks.

[joshcryer]

65. Easily predicted (which I did, btw).

[oberliner]

14. Libya govt accepts Chavez plan, Venezuela says

Source: Reuters

CARACAS, March 3 (Reuters) - The Libyan government has accepted a Venezuelan plan that seeks a negotiated solution to the uprising in the North African country, a spokesman for President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday.

Information Minister Andres Izarra also confirmed the Arab League had shown interest in Chavez's proposal to send an international commission to talk with both sides in Libya.

"Libya accepts the proposal to work for a negotiated end to the conflict accompanied by an international commission," Izarra told Reuters. "Venezuela will continue its contacts in the Arab world and elsewhere to find formulas for peace in Libya."



Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFN0315429120110303

[dpbrown]

15. Negotiate this - get out of Libya

It's time to flush another dictator down into the sewer.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

16. Negotiating????

there's no negotiation when you've been under the thumb of Colonel Bunga Bunga for 40 freakin' years.

[bossy22]

17. the only negotiations should be

on which way the country should go once you are thrown out

[bemildred]

18. And who, exactly, is the Libyan government these days anyway? nt

[RZM]

19. Why should there be 'negotiations' with a dictator who has been in power for 40-plus years?

It's time for him to get the hell out of the way. End of story.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

20. Chavez is a snake. nt

[EFerrari]

36. Right. Because offering peaceful negotiations is so much more vile

than threatening military action.

Good grief.

[oberliner]

41. Peaceful negotiations with Qaddafi?

Do you think he ought to be able to stay in power?

[EFerrari]

45. I don't understand this leaping to a conclusion.

The man is killing people. That needs to stop. That's the first priority.

He can't stay in power. His days are numbered. Opening a negotiation with him could tie him up, give the opposition time to get itself together and stop the killing.

But that would make too much sense.

[joshcryer]

67. You don't have to mediate with Gaddafi and the opposition to convince him to step down.

You simple talk to Gaddafi and side with the opposition and say that "you need to stop killing your people." But oh, you forget, fucking Chavez said he "wasn't convinced."

[oberliner]

70. I was just asking a question

Interesting strategy you describe - do you think that is what Chavez has in mind?

[cali]

50. what part of he didn't make any contact with those opposing Gadafi

don't you get? What part of those opposing Gadafi want nothing to do with this, escapes your keen mind?

[joshcryer]

66. Peaceful negotions in this instance are extremely vile posturing, especially when followed with...

...words like "I'm not convinced" in the atrocities that Gaddafi committed. Yes he said "I'm not convinced" with regards to the atrocities on the same fucking night he decided to make the peace commission.

It pissed me off to no ends, the vile piece of shit scum. And it continues to piss me off when people defend this garbage.

[Turborama]

21. France rejects Chavez offer to mediate Libya crisis

Source: AFP

PARIS, Mar 03, 2011 (AFP) - France rejected Thursday an offer by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to mediate in Libya and dismissed talk of any solution that would allow embattled leader Moamer Kadhafi to stay in power.

"Any mediation that allows Colonel Kadhafi to succeed himself is obviously not welcome," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in response to Chavez's proposal, speaking after talks with his British counterpart William Hague.

Read more: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20110303T143011ZAKZ07

[Ikonoklast]

22. Hugo is losing all his dictator pals around the world.

This makes Hugo sad.

:cry:

[liberation]

23. Speaking of sad...

[Ikonoklast]

26. So you agree with Saint Hugo that Qaddafi should remain in power?

Because that is his position.


Ah, what's a few thousand slaughtered citizens rising up against an autocrat, right?


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41843862/ns/world_news-americas/

[EFerrari]

28. Your own link contradicts you. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

31. Look around, there's plenty more.

Chavez wants to broker a cease fire, with Qaddafi remaining in power.


You already know that.

[EFerrari]

35. Brokering a cease fire is not an endorsement of Gaddafi. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

38. What would the result of a cease-fire be?

Hugo's murderous pal Qaddafi remains in power.


You are on the wrong side of this one.

Hugo is playing you for a chump.

[EFerrari]

40. Nope, I'm not the one misrepresenting Chavez's position

or confecting an outcome.

Plus, the negotiations have already been rejected and DoD is moving troops around Libya.

Happy?

[Ikonoklast]

43. Ask the Libyan people.

I stand with them, and against tyrants.

Happy?


But Saint Hugo will be sad.


Another tinpot friend of his, getting kicked to the curb by a popular uprising.

That really bothers you, freedom from tyranny.

[EFerrari]

46. LOL

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[joshcryer]

61. The only reason to mediate is so Gaddafi remains in power.

[bemildred]

24. I don't understand why Hugo feels the need to inject himself into this dispute. nt

[EFerrari]

25. I believe he was approached by the Arab League.

Yesterday I read something about the Arab League and Chavez and negotiations but don't remember the wording.

[Turborama]

29. No, it's Chavez who's been doing the approaching...

Chávez's Libya plan is short on detail
No definite ideas for negotiations have been put to Arab League, says senior figure

Ian Black, Middle East editor
guardian.co.uk, Thursday March 03 2011 12.39 GMT

Muammar Gaddafi and Hugo Chávez may be old friends and allies, but it is far from clear whether the Venezuelan president has a plan that is likely to resolve the crisis in Libya.

Reports that Chávez has proposed international mediation involving Latin America, Europe and the Middle East are short on detail, except that the initiative has been dubbed the "committee of peace" and is "under consideration" by the Arab League.

"There were no definite ideas," the league's assistant secretary general, Hassan Youssef, told the Egyptian paper al-Masry al-Youm. "We need to know the basis for the suggested negotiations and where to start them."

Chávez has said the time is ripe for such an initiative because, he claims, the US is ready to invade Libya. The US has said only that it would deploy naval forces in the Mediterranean area in response to the crisis. Not only is there is no sign an invasion is being planned, Washington has backed away from imposing a no-fly zone.

Continues: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/03/chavez-libya-plan-short-detail

[joshcryer]

60. Nah, it's just another one of Chavez' grand ideas that go nowhere.

[harun]

44. Would you rather him send two warships like the U.S. is doing?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-03/03/c_13759458.htm

[EFerrari]

27. This headline is sort of weird because the opposition rejected the offer.

Which seems more salient than what France thinks, maybe. :)

[Turborama]

30. "Chávez has proposed international mediation involving Latin America, Europe and the Middle East"

From post #8.

Seems he's trying to organize multilateral peace talks but it's looking like no-one's interested.

[EFerrari]

33. Thanks, Turborama. Now it makes more sense. n/t

[joshcryer]

59. I predicted this. It's basically insulting at this point.

I mean we can bash Obama for not saying shit 3 days after the protests began but we aren't supposed to say shit when Chavez takes two weeks to think of something that, in the end actually is rejected.

[maddezmom]

37. Arab League says Chavez plan only under review( and up to Chavez to release the details)

CAIRO, March 3 (Reuters) - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Thursday a plan proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to resolve the crisis in Libya was merely "under consideration" and it was up to Venezuela to release details.

The online edition of Libya's Yosberides newspaper, formerly known as Quryna, reported reported earlier on Thursday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had agreed to the proposal floated by his ally Chavez.

"It is a Venezuelan proposal and sent to us and we are considering it and that is all," Moussa told Reuters after meeting Turkish President Abdullah Gul, who was on a trip to Cairo where the Arab League is based.

Asked about the substance of the plan, Moussa said: "Venezuela can speak for herself. It is just under consideration, not a single step beyond that."

more:http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE7222AG20110303

[maddezmom]

39. Libyan envoy to US rejects Chavez mediation

Libyan envoy to US rejects Chavez mediation
(AFP) – 34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Libya's envoy to the United States says opposition forces will reject a Venezuelan proposal for a mediated end to deadly violence there, a US senator said Thursday after talks with the diplomat.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said Ali Aujali -- repudiated by Tripoli since he turned on embattled leader Moamer Kadhafi, but still seen by Washington as Libya's ambassador -- vowed "no negotiations and no concessions."

His comments came after a Venezuelan minister said Libya and the Arab League were considering a mediation proposal by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in the North African nation.

Menendez said he mentioned "efforts to seek a negotiated solution" to Aujali without specifically citing Chavez's notion, "and his response was 'no negotiations and no concessions.'"

more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iwij8rhCrVInexrD2WIMwikb1M1g?docId=CNG.c0c06f1b1c9dca765600f1cf404394f0.2f1

[FLPanhandle]

42. If Chavez wants to help then just have him offer asylum to Qaddafi

Brokering a deal is just lending legitimacy to the existing regime.

[EFerrari]

47. Nothing can legitimize Gaddafi after what he has done.

It's sort of stunning to me to see so many posters reject ceasefire negotiations out of hand without considering that it would be a way to stop the slaughter and that Gaddafi could not come out of them a winner.

It's as though all we know how to relate to any more is bombs or bribes.

[FLPanhandle]

48. If Gaddafi isn't going to win something, then why would he negotiate?

If he is going to lose power regardless, then his options are the same if he negotiates or not. He doesn't need to negotiate to step down and leave the country, he can do that tomorrow.

The only reason for him to negotiate is to get something substantial or kill the momentum of the uprising.

It has nothing to do with bombs, it has to do with him not having any legitimacy or options anymore.

[EFerrari]

49. Gaddafi still has a lot to lose, like his life. n/t

[FLPanhandle]

51. He can run away tonight to Venezuela and life quite happily in exile

He sure isn't going to trust a negotiation with his life.

What's he going to say?

Gaddafi: "Don't kill me and I'll step down"
Demonstrators: "sure no problem"

Think he'll not be on the next plane out? He can do that now without negotiating.

The only reason to negotiate is to win something he can't already have.

[EFerrari]

52. You have no idea what his security situation is, do you? n/t

[FLPanhandle]

53. Nor do you.

However, I know he has at least part of an airforce and army still working hard for him.

[EFerrari]

54. The point is, anything that ends the killing is a good step.

A ceasefire will do that. What happens next is more or less inevitable. He's going to go.

And Gaddafi is only part of the problem. The rest is the portion of the population, his own goons that still support him. Negotiations would give those people a framework to work in besides shooting their fellows.

[joshcryer]

63. Since Chavez' peace commission was formed hundreds have died.

Good job.

[FLPanhandle]

69. Time is against Gaddafi

He's trying to destroy the momentum of the opposition. Negotiations play right into his hands.

[LanternWaste]

57. ravel plans become a wee bit more complex under those circumstances...

And he has at least part of an air force and army working against him. Travel plans become a wee bit more complex under those circumstances...

[joshcryer]

64. Not really. He has billions in offshore accounts, has Ortega and Venezuela who have planes.

They can fly a plane in and sweep him away without any issues whatsoever. It is a joke of epic proportions. Gaddafi has no plans to leave and will kill every last Libyan if he had his way. There is no "mediation."

[FLPanhandle]

68. Money has an amazing way to making travel easier

Especially when it's billions of dollars worth of money.

[joshcryer]

72. Ortega would fly him out because he already got millions.

It's the least he can do.

(Those millions won't have to be paid back if Gaddafi is no longer in charge in Libya.)

[joshcryer]

58. He is surrounded by loyalists and yes could leave at any time.

[joshcryer]

62. The original plan was a "peace commission" which was going to "mediate."

There's nothing to mediate between Gaddafi and the protesters. They wish for Gaddafi to be gone. Gaddafi has the upper hand as of right now, as he has airplanes and better firepower. The protesters have, simply speaking, spirit and willpower.

[pampango]

55. Guardian: Gaddafi is in dire need of help from his old comrade Hugo Chávez

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/03/libya-gaddafi-hugo-chavez

Venezuelan president's proposal to mediate in the Libya crisis has met a frosty response – but could yield a diplomatic exit

Though not even the wildest critic of Chávez would put him in the same category as Gaddafi, their enemies insist that both men are dictators. Chávez's proposal to mediate in the crisis rocking Gaddafi's Jamahiriyah (state of the masses) remains vague and has met a frosty response from the Libyan rebels. But it was the first sign of a diplomatic exit from the impasse.

The two men, pictured right, clearly admire each other hugely, with Chávez, 56, deferring to the 68-year-old Libyan. "What Simón Bolívar is to the Venezuelan people, Gaddafi is to the Libyan people," Chávez gushed after attending the 40th anniversary celebrations of the al-Fateh revolution in 2009. The event was shunned by western leaders but alongside Chávez were Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan – wanted for war crimes in Darfur.

They first met in 1999, a year after Chávez was first elected president. Five years later the Venezuelan received the Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize from prize-committee member Daniel Ortega, the ex-president of Nicaragua, and dedicated part of it to their common friend Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader, who had recently died.

[Imajika]

71. Chavez considers many of the worlds worst tyrants his "brothers"..,.

Gadhafi, Mugabe, Ahmadinejad, Castro, Lukashenko, etc.

Birds of a feather...

[maddezmom]

73. Libya: Thanks but no thanks Chavez(Saif al Islam)

Libya: Thanks but no thanks Chavez
2011-03-04 09:51
Caracas - The son of embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al Islam, said although he appreciated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's offer to mediate in the Libyan crisis there was no need for help from Venezuela.

"They are our friends, we respect them, we like them, but they are far away. They have no idea about Libya. Libya is in the Middle East and North Africa. Venezuela is in Central America. We appreciate this," he said speaking to Sky News.

Chavez pushed a vague peace plan for Libya on Thursday, saying his friend Gaddafi supported foreign mediation and accusing the West of eyeing the North African nation's oil.


more:http://www.news24.com/World/News/Libya-Thanks-but-no-thanks-Chavez-20110304

[pinboy3niner]

74. Venezuelan protesters condemn Chavez, support Libyan people (photo)

From AJE (Al Jazeera English):

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez continues to push his mediation plan despite the idea being rejected by Libyan opposition groups and Western governments.

Protesters in Venezuela have added their voices to the uprising, chanting slogans in support of the Libyan people and condemning Chavez's proposal to work with Gaddafi, whom they labelled a murderer.

This photo, provided by the Reuters news agency, shows a protest in support of the Libyan people in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas:




http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/live-blog-libya-march-4

[camila flor]

75. I still like him but not as much

he has very little room to complain about bad eeuu allies