TRIPOLI: At least two sons of colonel Muammar Gaddafi are proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to a constitutional democracy under the direction of his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, a diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan said.
The rebels challenging Gaddafi as well as the US and European powers supporting them with air strikes have so far insisted on a more radical break with his 40 years of rule. And it is not clear whether Gaddafi, 68, has signed on to the reported proposal backed by his sons, Saif and Saadi Gaddafi, although one person close to the sons said the father appeared willing to go along.
Speaking in Rome, a representative of the rebels, Ali al-Essawi, the former Libyan ambassador to India, said on Monday that it was unacceptable to replace Gaddafi with one of his sons. "There's no way to replace Gaddafi with a small Gaddafi," he said in an interview.
But the proposal offers a new window into the dynamics of the Gaddafi family at a time when the colonel, who has seven sons, is relying heavily on them. Stripped of one of his closest confidantes by the defection of foreign minister Moussa Koussa and isolated by decades of attempted coups and internal purges, he is leaning on his sons as trusted aides and military commanders.
The idea also touches on longstanding differences among his sons. While Saif and Saadi have leaned toward western-style economic and political openings, Khamis and Mutuassim are considered hard-liners. Khamis leads a fearsome militia focused on repressing internal unrest. And Mutuassim, a national security adviser who also commands his own militia, has been considered a rival to Seif in the competition to succeed their father. But Saadi, who has drifted through careers as a professional soccer player, a military officer and a businessman, firmly backs the plan, an associate said.
The two sons "want to move toward change for the country" without their father, one person close to Saif and Saadi camp said. One son, this person said, has said many times "the wishes of the rebellion were his own."
The rebels challenging Gaddafi as well as the US and European powers supporting them with air strikes have so far insisted on a more radical break with his 40 years of rule. And it is not clear whether Gaddafi, 68, has signed on to the reported proposal backed by his sons, Saif and Saadi Gaddafi, although one person close to the sons said the father appeared willing to go along.
Speaking in Rome, a representative of the rebels, Ali al-Essawi, the former Libyan ambassador to India, said on Monday that it was unacceptable to replace Gaddafi with one of his sons. "There's no way to replace Gaddafi with a small Gaddafi," he said in an interview.
But the proposal offers a new window into the dynamics of the Gaddafi family at a time when the colonel, who has seven sons, is relying heavily on them. Stripped of one of his closest confidantes by the defection of foreign minister Moussa Koussa and isolated by decades of attempted coups and internal purges, he is leaning on his sons as trusted aides and military commanders.
The idea also touches on longstanding differences among his sons. While Saif and Saadi have leaned toward western-style economic and political openings, Khamis and Mutuassim are considered hard-liners. Khamis leads a fearsome militia focused on repressing internal unrest. And Mutuassim, a national security adviser who also commands his own militia, has been considered a rival to Seif in the competition to succeed their father. But Saadi, who has drifted through careers as a professional soccer player, a military officer and a businessman, firmly backs the plan, an associate said.
The two sons "want to move toward change for the country" without their father, one person close to Saif and Saadi camp said. One son, this person said, has said many times "the wishes of the rebellion were his own."
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