Gaddafi's ex-foreign minister plans to meet Libya's rebel national council privately in Qatari capital
Moussa Koussa, Muammar Gaddafi's former foreign minister and spy chief and the most senior defector from his regime so far, kept carefully out of sight at the Doha conference about the future of his country. But he was on the minds of Libyans and foreigners alike.
Koussa, likely to be a target for revenge attacks, was protected by heavy security well away from the conference venue and planned to meet members of the rebel interim national council privately, Libyan and western sources confirmed to the Guardian.
Koussa flew to the Qatari capital from Britain where he had been debriefed by MI6 and questioned by Scottish police about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing before being told he was free to travel abroad.
It is understood that he met senior officials in Doha, where the emir is playing a leading role in the anti-Gaddafi coalition. Qatar is one of only two Arab states helping to police the Nato-led no-fly zone. British officials had said Koussa would be "offering insights" on the way ahead.
The UK has placed great emphasis on encouraging high-level defections from Gaddafi's inner circle and there was embarrassment when rebel spokesmen in Benghazi lambasted Koussa for echoing the regime's rhetoric on Monday, when he warned of the danger of a new "Somalia" if Libya's civil war continued. William Hague, the foreign secretary, sought to dismiss questions about Koussa's hostile reception, saying there were likely to be "a wide range of political views" among opposition forces.
Abdulrahman Shalgam, the former Libyan ambassador to the UN and another heavyweight loss to the regime, signalled that Koussa would be a very welcome recruit. Any decision to join the transitional council was a "political choice", but abandoning Gaddafi was the key, Shalgam insisted. "Anyone who leaves Gaddafi – whether a simple soldier, a driver or a nurse – will be welcome by the opposition. Anyone who stays with Gaddafi is drinking Libyans' blood."
British officials have hinted that there are other candidates for defection in Tripoli but admit to serious concerns about intimidation by the regime and especially worries about retaliation against family members who are left behind.
Whitehall's view of Koussa is that he is a "big fish" who helped bring Libya in from the cold during the 14 years he spent as head of Gaddafi's foreign intelligence service. But in 1988, when the Lockerbie bombing took place, he was deputy foreign minister. Officials say the opposition will have a wider political and social base if he and other former loyalists throw in their lot with it.
"Koussa was a member of the regime and an influential one who contributed to Gaddafi's atrocities," said opposition supporter Husam Elgheriani. "I welcome his defection. But that does not guarantee him immunity."