Libyan Officials Say ICC Arrest Bid Based on 'Incoherent' Allegations

Libyan foreign ministry officials have described the Rome Contact group meeting of May 5, 2011 as "piracy on the high seas." The meeting pledged $300mln to the counter-revolutionaries that are backed by the imperialists., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Tripoli says Gaddafi arrest bid based on 'incoherent' facts

TRIPOLI, LIBYA May 17 2011 07:28

The Libyan regime dismissed on Monday a bid by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor for a warrant to arrest Muammar Gaddafi as based on "incoherent" information.

"Unfortunately, the ICC was from the start of the Libyan crisis dependent on media reports to evaluate the situation in Libya. As a result, the ICC has usually reached incoherent conclusions," government spokesperson Mussa Ibrahim said in a statement.

ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced earlier he had asked the court's judges to issue a warrant for the Libyan leader, whom he accused of having ordered his forces to gun down civilians in their homes, at funerals and outside mosques.

He also asked for arrest warrants for Gaddafi's second-oldest son Seif al-Islam and his brother-in-law Abdullah al-Senussi -- for crimes against humanity in Libya.

"We have never, in any stage of the crisis in Libya, ordered the killing of civilians or hired mercenaries against our people," Ibrahim said.

"In fact it is the rebels who took up arms in the middle of our peaceful cities and caused the death of many people and invited fighters from several nationalities to join them."

He said the Libyan regime had called upon the international community to investigate the facts on the ground, but "no one listened".

"We continue to call for an immediate halt to all violence in the country and the genuine start of a political process that allows all Libyans to decide the future of their country without foreign agendas and foreign conditions." - AFP

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-17-tripoli-says-gaddafi-arrest-bid-based-on-incoherent-facts