20110404
reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Peace proposals by Muammar
Gaddafi insisting on a future political role for his family are
almost certainly non-starters but may buy Libya's leader the
time he needs to drive a wedge in coalition ranks.

Gaddafi's chances of stirring interest in an interim
political settlement may improve if a military stalemate
endures, making his hopes for his sons seem less unrealistic.

Diplomatic activity generated by his proposals may act as a
stalling tactic that wins him time to build defences in his
western strongholds, shore up tribal loyalties and divide and
weaken the international coalition.

But there is no sign he has won broad interest in the West
for his terms for ending a war threatening to destabilise an
oil- and gas-rich region on Europe's southern flank. The notion
of any role for the Gaddafi family in government is simply too
much for his foes to stomach, analysts say.

Sources familiar with three scenarios floated by Gaddafi for
an interim settlement say they share two unacceptable features
-- that Gaddafi remain as a sort of national figurehead, albeit
retired, and that one of his sons take a role in a unity
government with the opposition, possibly as leader.

Experts on Libya said the proposals were not realistic.

"It can't be done," said Oliver Miles, a former British
ambassador to Tripoli.

"As soon as Gaddafi steps down, his sons are dead in the
water politically, because it's Gaddafi who calls the shots.

"In theory, according to Gaddafi, he's already a figurehead
and holds no official role, so it should not matter if he stays
or goes. The reality, however, is otherwise."

A diplomat familiar with the discussions said: "Various
scenarios are being discussed...Everyone wants a quick solution.

"Gaddafi's entourage wants to preserve the regime by all
means, even if it means sharing power with one of the sons or
stepping down symbolically."

LONG WAR MAY SUIT GADDAFI

Italy, once Gaddafi's closest Western partner, dismissed a
message carried by an envoy of the Libyan leader about ways of
halting the fighting and said Gaddafi must leave power.

Speaking after meeting Ali Essawi, a member of the Libyan
rebel council, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said a divided
Libya was not acceptable and the rebel council was the only
legitimate interlocutor.

He described proposals carried to Greece on Sunday by Deputy
Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi as "not credible".

Essawi said the idea of some form of transitional government
headed by one of Gaddafi's sons was "not an option".

Obeidi was due later in Turkey, a Muslim NATO member which
has said it is seeking to broker a ceasefire.

A North African political analyst, who declined to be
identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, said one of
Gaddafi's proposals was for his son Saif al-Islam to take over
as interim leader pending political reforms to be negotiated
with the Libyan opposition, and for Gaddafi himself to retire.

Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's most prominent son, has in the past
advocated reforms to promote government transparency and
accountability, free enterprise and human rights. But he
delivered a jarring television address early in the conflict,
warning Libyans against revolt.

Gaddafi has described the rebels as "armed gangs" backed by
al Qaeda and said they are bent on terrorising ordinary Libyans,
who he says support him and his rule.

For their part, the rebels have refused any talks with
Gaddafi except to discuss the manner of his departure from power
after more than four decades of ruling the North African state.

Saad Djebbar, a former legal adviser to the Libyan
government, said it was likely that the flurry of peace feelers
from Tripoli were just Gaddafi's way of buying more time.

"He has said repeatedly in public during this crisis that he
is a long-term player while he see his enemies as short-term
players. He needs time and he feels he can get it this way."

A drawn-out conflict might hurt the coalition's ambitions
just as much as Gaddafi's, if not more.

LIBYA WAR NEEDS "HEROIC" DIPLOMATIC EFFORT

Without effective diplomacy to end the war, suggested
Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI),
Gaddafi's rhetoric portraying the coalition as Western crusaders
could find an increasingly receptive Arab audience even though
some Arab countries are fighting alongside Western forces.

In a commentary, Joshi said the underlying reality was that
"the Arab presence is a thin veneer over another transatlantic
war, and that veneer is one that will be worn away further over
time without a heroic diplomatic effort".

In the battle for leverage in any future negotiations, the
West has not always played its cards adroitly.

The coalition scored a public relations coup last week when
Gaddafi's foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, defected to Britain,
a move seen as likely to demoralize Gaddafi's encourage.

But other loyalists may not follow his example because
Britain has said publicly Koussa would not be granted immunity
from prosecution for any terrorism acts tied to Libya.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said British officials would
meet Scottish prosecutors on Monday to arrange a police
interview with Koussa over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which
270 people were killed.

Djebbar said Britain's treatment of Koussa was "a gift to
Gaddafi. Gaddafi will point to that and say to his followers
'you'd be better off staying with me'."

Miles agreed that the treatment of Koussa would have
discouraged those wanting to defect. "It would have been better
to say nothing in public about immunity at all," he said.