Ederlezi
04-04-11, 18:24
Danish People’s Party’s idea to even stakes between Gaddafi and rebels nonpluses parliament
http://www.cphpost.dk/images/stories/20110318-soren-espersen_500.jpg
Søren Espersen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Danish People’s Party floated his strategy last week for how to remain neutral while carrying out the Nato coalition’s goal of protecting Libyan civilians.
Espersen said we ought to blow up the rebels’ weapons too.
His comments were met with head-shaking and disbelief from a range of other party spokesmen, reports Politiken newspaper.
Espersen pointed out that the rebels also have a lot of weapons – which he fears they will use to continue a civil war.
“We can't have that. Then it's a new situation. Then we might also have to destroy their combat vehicles,” he said.
“The situation is very complex. What do we do if rebels, with heavy artillery, make headway? We cannot accept that the one side is picked off as they drive around in their combat vehicles, while the other side gets a free pass to continue. I don't think that the rebels are any gentler than the other side,” Espersen added.
Espersen’s colleagues in parliament – including his party’s traditional allies in the Conservative and Liberal Parties – were shocked by his outlook on the Libyan issue.
“We are totally against that. We don't accept that Gaddafi has a legitimate right to rule the country. We therefore have to try to build a good relationship with the rebels and open an active dialogue with them,” said Michael Aastrup Jensen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the prime minister’s Liberal Party.
“We're not going to get off on the right foot by bombing them,” he added.
The Conservative Party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Naser Khader, summed up his reaction simply: “It shocks me. I don't understand what Søren Espersen is thinking. He needs to stop.”
Hier (http://www.cphpost.dk/news/politics/90-politics/51318-danish-peoples-party-why-not-bomb-rebels-too.html)
http://www.cphpost.dk/images/stories/20110318-soren-espersen_500.jpg
Søren Espersen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Danish People’s Party floated his strategy last week for how to remain neutral while carrying out the Nato coalition’s goal of protecting Libyan civilians.
Espersen said we ought to blow up the rebels’ weapons too.
His comments were met with head-shaking and disbelief from a range of other party spokesmen, reports Politiken newspaper.
Espersen pointed out that the rebels also have a lot of weapons – which he fears they will use to continue a civil war.
“We can't have that. Then it's a new situation. Then we might also have to destroy their combat vehicles,” he said.
“The situation is very complex. What do we do if rebels, with heavy artillery, make headway? We cannot accept that the one side is picked off as they drive around in their combat vehicles, while the other side gets a free pass to continue. I don't think that the rebels are any gentler than the other side,” Espersen added.
Espersen’s colleagues in parliament – including his party’s traditional allies in the Conservative and Liberal Parties – were shocked by his outlook on the Libyan issue.
“We are totally against that. We don't accept that Gaddafi has a legitimate right to rule the country. We therefore have to try to build a good relationship with the rebels and open an active dialogue with them,” said Michael Aastrup Jensen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the prime minister’s Liberal Party.
“We're not going to get off on the right foot by bombing them,” he added.
The Conservative Party’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Naser Khader, summed up his reaction simply: “It shocks me. I don't understand what Søren Espersen is thinking. He needs to stop.”
Hier (http://www.cphpost.dk/news/politics/90-politics/51318-danish-peoples-party-why-not-bomb-rebels-too.html)