Zuma says Gaddafi is ready for truce

By Lelethu Mquqo
31 May 2011

President Jacob Zuma says Muammar Gaddafi is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in Libya.

After his meeting in Tripoli with the Libyan leader, Zuma mentioned some conditions that Gaddafi insists on, that analysts say have scuttled previous cease-fire efforts.

Gaddafi will accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities, including Nato airstrikes in support of rebel forces.

But as part of what Zuma called a “roadmap” Gaddafi wants all Libyans to be given a chance to discuss the country's future.

Zuma did not say the Brother Leader, as Gaddafi is known, was ready to step down.

This is the central demand of the rebels.

Meanwhile, political analyst Harald Pakendorf says nothing came of an earlier attempt by a delegation from the African Union because rebel forces will accept no less than Muammar Gaddafi’s removal from power.

Pakendorf says Gaddafi’s close ties to the ANC may help Zuma tackle the problem.