MASERU — Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili says the United Nations must help Libyans set up an all-inclusive government instead of allowing a few countries with vested interests to take the lead in reconstructing the North African country.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in Washington DC on Saturday, Mosisili condemned the sidelining of the African Union (AU) in the search for a solution in Libya.
He said the UN Security Council had shown it preferred military intervention rather than mediation in Libya.
“Military intervention was hastily adopted as an option, and the results of this kind of intervention are a matter of record for all to see,” Mosisili said.
“Strangely, and despite having mediation at its disposal, the Security Council has at times preferred military intervention.”
Western powers led by Britain and France began bombing Libya on March 19 under the pretext of protecting civilians who were protesting against Colonel Muammar Gadaffi’s 42-year-old regime.
Libya however claimed the bombings were meant to prop up the rebels who were seeking to oust Gadaffi from power.
Mosisili said the cost of military intervention was huge as it affected innocent civilians while destroying infrastructure and economies of affected countries.
He said the AU had however developed a comprehensive road-map that would have led to a “peaceful settlement of the Libyan crisis by the Libyan people themselves”.
“Sadly, we witnessed the deliberate marginalisation of the AU, in the resolution of this crisis. The AU road map for peace remains as relevant today as it was at the beginning of the conflict,” Mosisili said.
“The UN and the AU must work together to bring about the consolidation of peace, national reconciliation and the establishment of an all-inclusive government in Libya,” he added.
“It is our humble but considered opinion that where mediation has been given a chance, lives have been saved.”
