Colonel Gaddafi could flee to a country not signed up to the
International Criminal Court such as Venezuela or Cuba, South African
sources say.
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg
3:37PM BST 22 Aug 2011
The Brother Leader is alive and remains in Libya, one senior government
source said. But he added that plans are on the table to spirit him out
of the country to allow breathing space for a peace process led by the
National Transitional Council which has now claimed control of most of
the capital Tripoli.
Despite official denials, South Africa will play a key role in
negotiations about Gaddafi's fate. It is not only one of most
influential countries in the African Union, but its President Jacob Zuma
was appointed the AU's chief mediator in the crisis and has visited Col
Gaddafi twice since hostilities began in February.
A South African air force plane remains on standby in Tunisia and, the
source said, the South Africans are ready to seek safe passage for
Gaddafi with the help of neighbouring countries Tunisia or Algeria if he
decided to leave.
"We are not going to walk away from this," the source told The Daily
Telegraph. "It's larger than the question of Gaddafi the person. It's a
question of the unity of the Libyans and the maximum chance being
created for that process to happen."
Mate Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa's foreign minister, has rejected
reports that South Africa itself might be a venue for Gaddafi in exile.
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