Spain says ready to take Libyan children with HIV
Source: Reuters
By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Spain has told Libya it is ready to treat some of the hundreds of children with HIV whose case has raised tensions between the West and Tripoli over six foreign medics condemned to death for infecting them. "We have expressed our willingness," Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos told reporters in Brussels on Monday before discussions on the issue with other EU ministers. He said the offer had been made to the Libyan government, but no numbers had been mentioned. Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were found guilty in December of deliberately starting an HIV outbreak at a hospital in Benghazi in eastern Libya. More than 430 children were infected and at least 50 have died. The death sentences given to the medics have been condemned by Western governments and rights groups, with Bulgaria, which joined the EU this month, among the harshest critics. Some Western scientists blame negligence and poor hospital hygiene for the HIV outbreak and say the medics are scapegoats. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told a news briefing the European Commission had contributed 2.4 million euros ($3.11 million) to a fund to help ensure the victims of the infection received the treatment they needed. She said she had also written to Libya to stress the need to take into account new scientific evidence. "The Libyan authorities have promised that the case will now go to the Supreme Court. I think it is very important that this next step is there," she added. Libya expressed anger over a resolution passed by the European Parliament last week urging EU states to review ties with the oil-rich north African country and step up pressure to secure the early release of the medics. Diplomats in Brussels said EU foreign ministers would tread a delicate path to avoid aggravating the situation. According to a draft statement, they will express "grave concerns" about the plight of the medics and call for a "positive, fair and prompt solution" to the case. At the same time, they are expected to hold out the prospect of a further development of relations. "Member states have made clear that they want to send a very firm signal of solidarity with the Bulgarians and to make clear our position that the trial and verdict were not acceptable," an EU diplomat said. "But we need to be careful not to go over the top and provoke a reaction from Libya that sets back ... discussions." Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said on Saturday Tripoli would not agree to "unfair" European demands as this would mean interfering in the judiciary. But he noted the sentences were not the last word, with a decision by the Supreme Court still to come, then another by the High Judicial Council. The Supreme Court ruling is expected in the next few weeks.
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