Libyan govt says leader is 'historical choice which we cannot drop'

THE HAGUE / TUNIS, Tunisia - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on Monday for Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and the country's spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, on charges of crimes against humanity.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had in May asked the court to issue arrest warrants for the "pre-determined" killing of protesters in Libya after the UN Security Council referred the issue to the court.

Moreno-Ocampo accuses Gadhafi and his government of opening fire on demonstrators, shelling funeral processions and using snipers to kill people leaving mosques in the early days of the crackdown on rebels fighting to topple Gadhafi from power.

On Sunday, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said that Gadhafi is the historical choice of the Libyan people and cannot be moved aside, stepping back from earlier statements offering an election on his future role.

"Muammar Gadhafi is Libya's historical symbol, and he is above all political actions, above all political and tactical games," Ibrahim said in a statement.

"In this current stage and in the future, Gadhafi is the historical choice which we cannot drop."

"As for the current and future Libya, it is up to the people and the leadership to decide it, and it is not up to the armed groups, nor up to NATO to decide it," the statement said.

Three Libyan government ministers were in Tunisia for talks on Monday with international parties seeking an end to the four-month conflict in their country.

Libyan Health Minister Mohammed Hijazi and Social Affairs Minister Ibrahim Sherif arrived on Sunday in the tourist resort of Jerba, southern Tunisia, where the talks were under way, according to Tunisia's official news agency TAP.

They joined up with Foreign Minister Abdelati al-Obeidi who has been in Tunisia since last Wednesday and has been "in negotiations with several foreign parties", TAP said without giving further details.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Sunday that "contacts are taking place" between Gadhafi's government and rebels, notably concerning the Libyan leader's future.

A senior official representing Libya's rebels said the same day they were expecting to receive an offer from Gadhafi "very soon" that could end the civil war.

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the rebels' National Transitional Council (NTC), said intermediaries had indicated that a proposal from the Libyan leader was in the works.

The NTC was not in direct talks with Gadhafi but understood through contacts with France and South Africa that an offer was being prepared, he said.

An African Union panel, which met in the South African capital of Pretoria on Sunday, said Gadhafi would not participate in peace talks, in what appeared to be a concession.

AFP - AP - Reuters