Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
on Saturday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi should be tried by
the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
"Gaddafi should have a trial according to the law,
something he never did with his opponents," Merkel said when
asked by the weekly Bild am Sonntag whether she was in favour
of such a trial.
Merkel whose country would not take part in the military
campaign that led to Gaddafi's ouster did not rule out sending
German troops to the north African country as part of a UN
stabilisation mission.
"If we're asked, we'll obviously look into what we can
do," she said in the interview which will be published on
Sunday.
But she added: "The new Libyan government must decide on
what support it needs and I think that this is first and
foremost an issue for the United Nations, the Arab League and
the African Union."
Merkel said she expected Libya to set up a democratic
institutions.
"In Germany alone, we froze billions of euros in assets
of the Gaddafi regime. This money is there for the people and
may very well be used for reconstruction."
Germany abstained in a UN Security Council vote in March
which adopted Resolution 1973 that authorised the use of force
to protect Libyan civilians and later would not join NATO
operations in the north African country.
It was the only European Union country and NATO member to
do so, drawing criticism from its allies.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, August 27, 2011, 19:28