Libyan rebels reject Gaddafi's call for ceasefire

Apr 30, 2011, 11:36 GMT

A TV grab taken from Al Arabiya channel on 30 April 2011 shows leader Muammar Gaddafi givinga speech on Libyan State TV. Gaddafi said on 30 April that he was willing to negotiate with NATO to bring an end to alliance airstrikes against his country, but rejected calls for him to leave, Gaddafi also said that the Libyan people would not surrender if NATO powers were not interested in talks, and that his people were willing to die resisting the \'terrorist\' attacks. Gaddafi made it clear, however, he would not bend to international demands to leave power after 41 years of rule. EPA/AL ARABIYA / HANDOUT BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Cairo/Tripoli - Libya's Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC) rejected on Saturday a call by leader Moamer Gaddafi for ceasefire, saying 'the time for compromise has passed.'

Earlier Saturday Gaddafi had said he was willing to negotiate with NATO to bring an end to alliance airstrikes against his country, and that all parties involved in the conflict would have to sign up to one.

'Libya is ready until this moment to enter a ceasefire, but a ceasefire cannot be from one side,' he said in a live speech on state TV.

'Let us negotiate with you, the countries that attack us,' he said in a speech that lasted almost 90 minutes.

But the Vice Chairman of the ITNC, Abdul Hafiz Ghogha, responded: 'Gaddafi's regime has lost all credibility. It has repeatedly offered ceasefires only to continue violating basic human rights, international humanitarian law, and the safety and security of Libya and the entire region.

'The time for compromise has passed. The people of Libya cannot possibly envisage or accept a future Libya in which Gaddafi's regime plays any role.'

Gaddafi had also warned that without a ceasefire there would be no surrender, and his people were willing to die resisting the 'terrorist' attacks.

'No one can persuade me to leave my country, and no one can tell me that I should not fight for my country,' he added.

NATO has been in command of the international military operation in Libya for just under five weeks, including airstrikes that are being used as part of the UN mandate to protect Libyan civilians.

This is not the first time the government has promised a ceasefire.

Earlier this month, the Benghazi-based council said it would accept a ceasefire only if Gaddafi withdrew his forces from all of cities and gave Libyans greater freedoms.

The government at the time rejected the rebel's position as 'crazy.'

On Friday, Libyan security forces in Tripoli fired on anti-Gaddafi protesters, activists said, in what were apparently the first demonstrations in weeks inside the capital.

Gaddafi's forces also used teargas to disperse the rallies, which broke out in Tripoli's Souk al-Jumaa and Tajura districts.

During the two months since rebels began fighting Gaddafi, regime opponents have fled the capital, where fear has reportedly kept people off the streets for several weeks.

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