On
Libya, UK
Concerned By
Isolation Law,
Zeidan's Link
With Sarkozy,
Fund?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
14 -- After
the UN
Security
Council
relaxed its
arms
embargo on
Libya, even as
the spread of
weapons from
Libya
continues
to reverberate
from Mali to
Syria, UK
Permanent
Representative
Mark
Lyall Grant
came out to
take
questions.
Inner
City Press asked
Lyall Grant
what it has
already posed,
without yet
response, to
his new
“#DigitalDiplomacy"
(and as noted
by another
from way down
in Chile,
West
Ham)
twitter
account: what
the UK's
position on
the draft
Isolation
Law.” From the
UK
Mission's
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
What does the
UK think of
the proposed
Political
Isolation Law
in Libya and
there’s been
attacks on the
media for
reporting on
it. Do you
think it’s a
good idea
going forward
to bar
anyone that
had a position
in the Gaddafi
government
from future
government
service?
Mark
Lyall Grant:
Obviously that
is an issue
that we’re
watching very
closely. It is
for the
National
General
Congress to
decide what
legislation
they adopt for
the future
political
dispensation
in
Libya, but
from our point
of view, it is
very important
that this
should be an
inclusive
process, and
yes there
should be
accountability
for past
crimes,
particularly
those
committed
under
the Gaddafi
regime. But at
the same time
it is very
important that
all groups are
included in
the political
dispensation
of Libya, so
it
is fair to say
that we do
have some
concerns about
the Isolation
Law,
in as much of
the text that
we have seen
of it.
Alright,
then.
Also at the
Security
Council on
Thursday was
Libyan Prime
Minister Ali
Zeidan. On
Tuesday he was
in DC for a
private lunch
“co-hosted by
the Business
Council for
International
Understanding.”
The invitation
said he “is
credited as
having
played a key
role in
persuading
French
President
Nicolas
Sarkozy to
support the
anti-Gaddafi
forces.”
Now
Sarkozy is
said to be
offered a $500
million hedge
fund to run,
by
Qatar's
Sovereign
Wealth Fund.
One wag asks:
is Sarko
bullish on
jihad? Watch
this site.
, 
