The Hindu : International : Qadhafi eager to turn over a new leaf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

International

International

Qadhafi eager to turn over a new leaf

BRUSSELS, APRIL 28. Colonel Muammar Qadhafi of Libya has brought his quest for international respectability to the heart of Europe, mesmerising his hosts by pitching a Bedouin tent in the grounds of a Brussels chateau but, for the most part, acting the perfect guest.

He showed how anxious he was to turn over a new leaf, embracing his `friend' Romano Prodi and urging other countries to follow his example and abandon weapons of mass destruction.

``Libya is determined and committed to play a leading role in achieving world peace,'' he declared, in a rambling statement to journalists, but he left flashing a triumphant V-sign before any questions could be asked.

It was a day for rich political theatre, and it was vintage Qadhafi. Demonstrators from black African countries played drums and waved placards greeting the ``guide of the revolution'' as he began talks on energy, investment and immigration with Mr. Prodi, the European Commission's President.

Col. Gadhafi, wearing a brown burnous and black cap, was given a presentation box of euro coins after sweeping up in a white stretch limo accompanied by his female bodyguards in mottled blue camouflage and pearl earrings.

Protesters were kept away by riot police, but slogans including ``Qadhafi is a murderer'' echoed in the deserted streets.

``We are extremely disappointed in the E.U., and especially the British Government, for being so soft on a dictator like Qadhafi,'' said Guma Elgamaty, a Libyan living in London. ``They are rewarding him for nothing. They should pressure him to give freedom to his people.''

Underlining the point, Amnesty International released a report describing a ``climate of fear'' in Libya and the regular use of torture.

It was the first time the colonel, now 62, had set foot on European soil for 15 years. The last time was in 1989, the year Libyan secret agents downed a French airliner over Niger, using the same methods that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie.

Then he delivered a disjointed harangue against Jews and the U.S. dollar. Yesterday, he was on his best behaviour, but there was still a hint of the firebrand who once dazzled the Arab world and infuriated the west by supporting groups such as the ANC, the Palestinian terror group Abu Nidal, and the IRA.

``We do hope that we shall not be forced to go back to those days when we bomb our cars or put explosive belts around our beds and around our women so that we will not be searched and harassed in our bedrooms and in our homes, as is taking place now in Iraq and Palestine,'' he said, as Mr. Prodi fidgeted.

The visit, five years in the planning, could only go ahead after Col. Qadhafi accepted responsibility for the two aircraft bombings, which caused the deaths of 440 people, and last December's announcement that Libya was scrapping its chemical and nuclear weapons programmes.

A visit by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month presaged the lifting of economic sanctions by the U.S. and Britain. The E.U. is shortly expected to lift its arms embargo.

The next step is likely to be a place for Libya in the union's Euro-Mediterranean dialogue, provided it can satisfy German grievances over the bombing of a Berlin disco, and Bulgaria by freeing six medics held since 1999 on charges of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV.

Col. Qadhafi said he was willing to stop boatloads of illegal migrants heading to Europe but wants to buy Italian equipment such as helicopters, radar and night-vision goggles.

The Libyan leader, who leaves Brussels today, was spending last night in the spacious blue tent, pitched in the garden of the city's opulent Chateau Val Duchesse. - Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004.

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