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Libya rebuffs EU demand to free medics
 TRIPOLI - Calls by the EU Parliament for Libya to free medics sentenced to death for infecting hundreds of children with HIV will only worsen the prisoners situation, a charity run by Muammar Gaddafis son said on Friday. The parliament urged EU states on Thursday to review ties with oil-rich Libya and step up pressure to secure the early release of the five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor.
What the European Union announced recently, that it will put pressure on Libya to free the Bulgarians, will have a negative influence on the situation of the medics, said a statement from the Gaddafi Foundation headed by Saif al-Islam, Libyan leader Gaddafis son and his most influential envoy. All measures taken by the European Union against Libya will have negative consequences on the development in relations that Libya and the EU have seen recently.
| Translation: EU and what army? |
Diplomats in Brussels said EU foreign ministers would tread a delicate path at a meeting in Brussels on Monday to avoid aggravating the situation.
| Sure wouldn't want to aggrevate the Libyans, now would they. |
According to a draft statement, they will express grave concerns about the plight of the medics and call for a positive, fair and prompt solution to the case.
| Ooooooh, a 'grave' concern, that's even worse than a 'serious' concern. |
At the same time, they are expected to hold out the prospect of benefits to Libya rather than tough steps. The statement is also expected to include the idea that EU-Libya relations could further develop if there is a resolution of this case, a diplomat said, adding that the limited scale of current ties meant there was little to be gained by threatening to review relations.
| "C'mon guys, why won't you take our bribe?" |
It is a difficult balancing act, another EU diplomat said. We want to make clear to Libya that the way they have conducted the trial is just not acceptable. On the other hand, from a Libyan perspective, this is a national judicial process and they dont like being told to do it in a different way.
| "They just hate to be told to follow the rules of humanity." |
Posted by: Steve White 2007-01-20 |
