By Libya Herald staff.
Tunis, 22 February 2015:
Any international military action to end the crisis in Libya could lead to disaster, especially . . .[restrict]if led by Italy, the one-time colonial power, Prince Idris Al-Senussi has warned.
He was speaking in an interview with the Italian news agency Adnkronos following a statement by Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni that his country would be willing to join a UN-led force against the growing presence in Libya of the Islamic State if the current UN-brokered dialogue failed. In December, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had said said he could not rule out the possibility of international military intervention in Libya if diplomatic efforts for dialogue failed to bear fruit.
Idris is the son of Prince Abdullah bin Abed Al-Senussi, King Idris’ cousin widely known as “the Black Prince”, who died in 1988.
Libyans would never accept “a military operation especially if led by Italy, the former colonial power”, Idris stated. There had to be a political solution, but it had to happen quickly – not least from Europe’s point of view. “The risk of terrorist infiltration [into Europe] in immigrant ships is very high,” the prince pointed out.
Moreover, although it would have to have the support of the international community, the various foreign countries had to “stop their meddling”, he said. They had to let the Libyans come up with their own solution which would have to represent the principles and values of “moderate Sunni Muslim”.
This was the faith of the vast majority of ordinary Libyans, he said – not the “blasphemous version” of the Islamic State but which unfortunately “so attracts numbers of young Arabs”.
The solution for Libya had to be built on foundations that respect its traditions, he said. “That means respecting our identity, our history, the originality of our culture.”
Unfortunately, some foreign countries did not understand that necessity, he claimed. [/restrict]
