UN Libya envoy booted out from negotiations by Libyan rebels

Trust shake-up in al Khatib by Libyan rebels   Tunisian sources informed Arabstoday that the efforts by UN Libyan special envoy Abdulelah al Khatib to negotiate a solution to the Libya crisis have failed last night when a meeting in one of the hotels in al Buhaira neighbourhood in the Tunisian capital where delegates representing Gaddafi and his opponents were red with anger at them and kicked them out of the negotiation room. The sources added by saying that the reason behind the rebels’ frustration against al Khatib came to light when they received a denial from the UN for being a tool for negotiating a settlement between the Gaddafi regime and the rebels who were surprised during the meting when Mr. al Khatib, who is a former Jordanian Minister of Foreign affairs and a well-known diplomat presented an initiative to solve the crisis in Libya, which for them was not motioned in the invitation by the UN special envoy which claimed that he wanted to listen to them. The rebels have expressed their rejection to any initiative that comes from the Libyan transitional Council and left the meeting.
The UN issued a statement earlier ahead of the meeting denying any information about the talks held in Tunisia between the Transitional Council and the Gaddafi regime. The UN statement also added that al Khatib isn’t taking part in such talks. Other sources revealed to Arabstoday that the representative of the rebels shouted in al Khatib’s face that “the blood of our martyrs will not go to waste.” Observers in Tunisia described the meeting before it was held as the largest of its kind where representatives from many Arab and western countries were involved. According to the sources, Gaddafi’s Representative Abdelati al Obaidi was heading the delegation and was hoping to ask for a 72 hour cease of fire and for NATO not to offer any assistance to the rebels in their advancement towards Tripoli. Al Obaidi was also hoping to call for an international regional council which would implement whatever agreement might have been reached, which would include departure of the Libyan leader Gaddafi and prepare the grounds for fair elections supervised by the UN and the Arab League. Obaidi was also prepared to discuss a safe exit for his leader Gaddafi so that he won’t face international courts if he agreed to step down.
The rebels’ demands concentrated on requesting Gaddafi to depart and to look at opportunities where he can lave the country without being legally chased. They were also willing to adopt a Turkish proposal to set up a military council who would be responsible to take care of the situation in Libya, providing that this council would include high ranking officials who were not involved in the fighting against the rebels and who should be working under the umbrella of the political council based in Benghazi. Yusuf Abu Jaafar, who is the Head of the 17th February Coalition in Tunisia made a statement declaring that he along with others have diffused the efforts of the UN special envoy al Khatib and other Libyan political activists based in Tunisia who upon seeing along with other activists in front of the hotel where the talks were taking place before al Khatib had decided to leave the hotel.
Late last night an international chartered Red Cross flight carrying ambassadors and diplomats landed in Djerba Airport. Those politicians were from countries that has good relations with Gaddafi’s government. The plane was authorised by NATO to fly in after the closure of all roads to get diplomats form Eastern Europe, some African and Arab countries and Asia.