I hope de Gondi or eternalcityblues will turn up, and tell us/find out if anyone is trying to press the Prodi government about this.
The other side of the equation is that, according to the article, public opinion has been whipped up in Lybia (scientific evidence dismissed as secret service spin by the victims' parents' representatives), which only adds to the governments' and the hospitals' cover-up. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
To the EU's credit, they at least successfully lobbied for the retrial
Yeah but if procrastination was the regime's chosen tactic for threading themselves between the Rock of international pariahdom and the Hard Place of popular discontent, then that was the EU pushing at an open door.
What can be done now to get these medicos out of this grotesque situation? Beats me.
Regards Luke -- #include witty_sig.h
What I forgot to mention is that personally I believe that Qaddafi won't allow the deaths of these nurses unless he totally loses his marbles. They appear to be such a good bargaining tool, don't they? The Colonel is in a rather intricate situation himself - if he allows the death of the nurses, Libya will be largely shut off from international affairs; on the other hand, if he sets them free, he risks popular unrest. He probably chose the best option for himself by simply procrastinating the trial for years to go. In that light, I don't think the problem will be resolved soon unless some radical change in the pressures and attitudes occurs.
So either he finds a face-saving alternative, and the EU recognises it, doesn't bar it for him and presses him in that direction, or only a much much stronger confrontation would work (which the EU may not be up to even on the level of capabilities).
At any rate, on a broader view, getting off oil and gas is not only a question of climate change but moral politics. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
