THE CENTRE-RIGHT government of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi came in for bitter criticism yesterday for its failure to condemn the Libyan government’s violent repression of the pro-democracy protests.
Opposition figures argued that Italy was compromised in its dealings with its former colony by the close personal relationship between Libyan leader Col Muammar Gadafy and Mr Berlusconi: “The Berlusconi government is silent because it simply can’t speak, because it is compromised in the most incredible manner”, said Democratic Party (PD) leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who added that the Italian government should be outlining to the EU its plans for dealing with Libyan refugees.
“Given that Italy is Libya’s number one economic and commercial partner in the West, and given our good relations as underlined by the Italy-Libya friendship treaty, then Italy should be using its influence with the Libyan leadership, encouraging the dictator Gadafy down the path of dialogue”, said Gianni Vernetti of centrist Alliance For Italy (API), a former junior foreign minister.
Criticism of Mr Berlusconi was prompted by his comments at the weekend that he did not want “to disturb” the Libyan leader when the “situation is in evolution”.
Last night, however, Mr Berlusconi said Libya’s use of violence on civilians was “unacceptable”. “Prime minister Berlusconi is alarmed over the escalation of clashes in Libya and for the unacceptable use of violence on the civilian population,” the government said.
“The European Union and the international community must do everything to prevent the Libyan crisis from degenerating into a civil war with unpredictable consequences and favour a peaceful solution that protects citizens, the integrity and the stability of the country and the entire region.”