South African President Jacob Zuma on Friday said slain Libyan strongman Moamer Qadhafi should have been handed to the international war crimes court after his capture. "It was expected that Moamer Qadhafi would be held if he was caught," said Zuma who was part of a high-level African Union panel that failed to mediate a cease-fire in Libya.
"Those who caught him should have known that there was an international warrant out against him and that he should have been handed over to the International Criminal Court." South Africa voted for a UN resolution that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya but Zuma later accused Nato of over-stepping its mandate with airstrikes aimed at protecting civilians and of blocking AU peace initiatives.
"It is difficult to judge what happened because one doesn't have all the details," said Zuma at a briefing after talks with his counterpart from Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema. "Those fighting for democracy in Libya would have been happier if Qadhafi had been handed over to the ICC." South Africa on Thursday pledged to support Libya's new leaders and reiterated calls for an inclusive political process in Libya ahead of the north African state's first democratic polls as the key to lasting peace.
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