by Michael Hone
Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota's Unenthusiastic Statement
RIO DE JANEIRO – Speaking at Fort Copacabana in Rio on Friday afternoon, the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, commenting on whether Brazil has recognized the new Libyan government, said simply: “This bridge has been crossed.” The remarks came one day after the death of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
“The Credentials Committee of the United Nations (UN) has accepted the credentials of the National Transitional Council (NTC). Therefore, the international community and the UN accept the NTC as the legitimate representative of Libya,” he said, using fluent diplo-speak. The Foreign Minister was speaking at the end of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health held at Fort Capacabana.
Brazil is already looking for ways to help Libya through the World Food Program. And according to the minister, there are still projects in the works for Libya such as clearing minefields dating to World War II. The minister said that the help from Brazil to Libya will be very different from that offered to Haiti, since Libya is a rich country with a lot of oil and other resources.
For him, the important thing now is to look at the future and work within the UN so that the Libyans take responsibility in establishing a timetable for democratization of the country, with elections, establishing a constitution and national reconciliation.
Brazilian construction and oil companies had contracts worth billions of dollars with the former brutal dictator and Brazil never offered any support to the movement to topple him. The Libyan NTC has said that countries, such as the France, England and the United States, who supported them from the beginning, would have preferential treatment in contracts with the new government for reconstruction and in the petroleum industry.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Brazilian online news source for this article: O Globo
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