European Commissioner John Dalli has welcomed the “elimination” of Muammar Gaddafi as a positive development but said Europe and the West should not turn a blind eye to the dictator’s summary execution.
From where I stand, I would like to see Libya develop along the tried and tested lines of a secular democracy
Mr Dalli referred to comments he had made in recent months raising concerns that the instability that had gripped Libya raised the prospect of another Iraq or Afghanistan scenario on Malta’s doorstep.
“I was asking: if Gaddafi keeps up his campaign, what will happen?... So the fact that Gaddafi has now been eliminated, effectively, is a good thing. How he was eliminated, I think should be discussed because it questions our values,” he told The Sunday Times.
This is Mr Dalli’s first public response to news of Gaddafi’s death – over the years the former Maltese Finance Minister had carved for himself a prominent niche in Maltese-Libyan affairs both as a politician and a businessman.
Mr Dalli was referring to several bits of footage that have emerged on the internet which contradict claims that the former dictator died of wounds he sustained in crossfire during capture.
Despite the shaky images, Col Gaddafi can be clearly seen being dragged along alive amid chants of Allahu Akbar (God is great), only to then re-appear dead with apparent gunshot wounds to the stomach and chest areas.
“There are international agreements on how prisoners of war are treated. You cannot argue that this applies to some people but not to others. It has to apply to everyone and this is why the United Nations is asking for certain investigations,” Mr Dalli said.
“There are legal structures that go beyond emotions and which the UN needs to protect. We cannot close our eyes to this case because what happens then with other cases? You will lose your consistency.”
Mr Dalli appeared to have mixed feelings about the prospects of the new Libya, stressing, as many commentators have done, the fluidity of the new political reality.
“Libya has a beautiful horizon before it,” he said, urging its people to take the right decisions and not “paint themselves in a corner”.
“I think the situation right now is very fluid, both in terms of objectives and vis-a-vis the sectoral and regional interests that exist in Libya. Good or bad, Gaddafi provided a glue that kept these interests together... that glue is now gone which could be a danger in the case of people who could exploit the situation to gain more importance than they deserve,” he said, referring to the threat of an Islamist takeover.
The future of Libya “has to be chosen by Libyans and nobody else”, he insisted, but “from where I stand, I would like to see Libya develop along the tried and tested lines of a secular democracy, where everyone has the chance to make a contribution to the country’s running and development.”
Early in the conflict last March, Mr Dalli had landed himself in trouble when he said that Col Gaddafi “should make his own decisions” in reply to a question on whether he should resign.
His comment came just 24 hours after Commission President José Manuel Barroso unequivocally called for Col Gaddafi’s resignation. Later Mr Dalli said his comments had been interpreted out of context, adding that he supported the Commission’s position.
More recently, in August, he urged Malta not to be a spectator but an actor in unfolding events in Libya.
“Libya is a very important country for Malta. We need to be actors, not spectators. In my opinion, so far, we have been spectators. We need to make our voice heard and be relevant in policymaking,” he had argued, pointing out that the future developments in Libya would have a direct impact on Malta.