Speaker, well, the difficulty really with the current Libyan situation is that nobody knows who these rebels are. They are a potpourri of ethnic groupings because the Libyan situation was very unfortunate in the sense that brother leader, Col Muammar Gaddafi, presided over that country with a small group of military generals - about 11 of them - over all these years. I think five years ago, he even reduced that number to six. So his cabinet, so to speak, consisted of only six members. And the institutions were really tribal institutions.
The only advantage is that at least they were able to invest in the education of their citizens. So, there are so many highly educated people in Libya because the state covered the studies of their citizens up to PhD level. Hopefully, because they are educated, one would assume that they are cultured and would see value in dialogue and in finding an inclusive solution. Otherwise, it is really an ethnic community.
That is why, when the Gaddafi government started bombing Benghazi, the soldiers who were - even generals - in that army who came from those tribes of Benghazi left the army, because their own tribesmen and children were being bombed and they went back home. Essentially, they need to establish almost from scratch the institutions of democracy. And that is why we believe they need all the assistance they can receive in that direction.
Extent of South African involvement in relief efforts in respect of humanitarian crises in Somalia
8. Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) What is the full extent of all South African relief efforts in respect of the current humanitarian crises in Somalia;
(2) whether the Government co-operated with any African Union member states in contributing to the relief efforts; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) with which specified countries and (b) what are the further relevant details of the contributions? NO2519E