'New Libyan government firmly nationalist'

6 Sep, 2011 07:30 / Updated 13 years ago

There are some signals that Libya’s National Transitional Council is pursuing its own independent policies, Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle East policy studies at City University London, told RT.

”I am not so sure that the new Libyan government will be pro-West,” she said. “There are three of four signals so far that they are very firmly nationalist.” ”For example, they said they are not extraditing any Libyan, including Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, who was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing and the Americans want him,” Hollis added. “He is now close to death and living in Tripoli and the National Transitional Council says that is where he stays.”According to Hollis, Libya’s interim governing body is drawing a distinctive line between what is their business and what international help is useful for.“The other signals are that they are talking about. ‘Yes, it will be nice to have UN help preparing for elections, but no, we do not want the international observers,’” she said. Rosemary Hollis concluded that pursuing its independent policy is the only way for the new Libyan government to survive.