“U.S. interests in Libya include combating terrorism in North Africa — where “al-Qaeda” offshoots have launched attacks in Algeria and Morocco, two countries Rice also visited on her tour— and perhaps most importantly settling the claims for the Lockerbie and La Belle bombings. U.S. officials had hoped that Libya would have deposited hundreds of millions of dollars into the compensation fund by the time Rice arrived. Some of the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have raised vehement objections to Rice meeting with Gaddafi, whom they consider to be unrepentant for the deaths of the 280 people, including 180 Americans, who died in the attack. “
by Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal in New Delhi for Sri Lanka Guardian
(September 06, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardain) Overshadowed by Libya's failure so far to honor a deal offering compensation to families of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a “historic” visit to Libya as part of a North African tour including Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Rice told a news conference in Lisbon before leaving for Tripoli. "It is an historic moment ... that has come after a lot of difficulty and the suffering of many people, which will never be forgotten or assuaged”. Her agenda was to discuss, among other issues, the conflict in Sudan and Libya's "important" role there. Gaddafi usually meets the international dignitaries in tents and huts.
USA feels international climate is conducive now to re-adjustments in bilateral relations. A US State Department spokesman noted that since 1953, "we've had a man land on the moon, the Internet, the Berlin Wall fall, and we've had 10 U.S. presidents. It's a historic stop." U.S. had expected that Rice might see Gaddafi in a tent, his favored location for high-level meetings, surrounded by an all-female bodyguard corps, but the plans changed. For a change he met US guest Rice in a “historic” compound, which includes his former home, which has been kept in ruins since it was bombed by U.S. jets in 1986.The U.S. strike, which killed about 40 people including an adopted daughter of Gaddafi, marked one of the lowest points in the decades of enmity between the two nations. By all accounts it was a meeting to remember.
USA feels international climate is conducive now to re-adjustments in bilateral relations. A US State Department spokesman noted that since 1953, "we've had a man land on the moon, the Internet, the Berlin Wall fall, and we've had 10 U.S. presidents. It's a historic stop." U.S. had expected that Rice might see Gaddafi in a tent, his favored location for high-level meetings, surrounded by an all-female bodyguard corps, but the plans changed. For a change he met US guest Rice in a “historic” compound, which includes his former home, which has been kept in ruins since it was bombed by U.S. jets in 1986.The U.S. strike, which killed about 40 people including an adopted daughter of Gaddafi, marked one of the lowest points in the decades of enmity between the two nations. By all accounts it was a meeting to remember.
The last secretary of state to go there was John Foster Dulles in May 1953, before Rice was even born.
Rice is the first US secretary of state to visit Libya since 1953 and she met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi shaking hands with him. Gaddafi has in the past expressed admiration for Rice. "I support my darling black African woman," he said in an interview with al Jazeera last year. "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders," he continued. "Yes, Leezza, Leezza, Leezza ... I love her very much. I admire her, and I'm proud of her, because she's a black woman of African origin." Rice said she was looking forward to meeting Gaddafi and that Libya is changing will be also good for Libya and for the international community. Rice signed a trade and investment deal. Rice raised some human rights issues and to push Gaddafi on the compensation deal signed on August 14.
"Rice's visit is proof that Libya has changed, America has changed and the world has changed. There are dialogue, understanding and entente between the two countries now," said Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam. Before her meeting with Gaddafi, Rice and Shalgam discussed cooperation in various fields, especially in oil and in education, Libya's official Jana news agency reported. Appearing with Rice at a joint news conference, Shalgam said: "We do not need anybody to come and put pressure on us or to give us lectures on how we should behave." He added that Jahmi had not suffered injustice and was not "under any kind of pressure."
After spending eight hours in Libya -- three hours longer than planned -- Rice flew on to Tunisia as part of a four-day North Africa trip that includes stops in Algeria and Morocco. After visiting Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, Rice returns Washington on September 7.
Issues
Rice's visit comes amid a surge in interest from U.S. companies, particularly in the energy sector, to do business in Libya, where European companies have had much greater access in recent years. Libya's proven oil reserves are the ninth largest in the world, close to 39 billion barrels, and vast areas remain unexplored for new deposits.
Libya was on the US state department list of sponsors of terrorism until 2003, when it abandoned weapons of mass destruction and renounced terrorism. Six years ago, such a visit would have seemed far-fetched, but diplomacy and political will have overcome the obstacles. The US State Department has described it as a "new chapter" in relations between the two countries, following on from the restoration of diplomatic ties in 2006.
Among the biggest question marks is the often unpredictable behavior of Libya's mercurial supreme leader, the sunglasses-clad Gaddafi, who has cultivated images as both an Arab potentate and African monarch since taking power in a 1969 coup. Despite Gadhafi's 2003 decision to abandon nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs, renounce terrorism and then begin to compensate victims, not all questions have been settled and USA is not fully satisfied with Tripoli’s complying with US demands.
U.S. interests in Libya include combating terrorism in North Africa — where “al-Qaeda” offshoots have launched attacks in Algeria and Morocco, two countries Rice also visited on her tour— and perhaps most importantly settling the claims for the Lockerbie and La Belle bombings. U.S. officials had hoped that Libya would have deposited hundreds of millions of dollars into the compensation fund by the time Rice arrived. Some of the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have raised vehement objections to Rice meeting with Gaddafi, whom they consider to be unrepentant for the deaths of the 280 people, including 180 Americans, who died in the attack.
A leading Libyan reformer, Fathi al-Jhami, whose case has been championed by the Bush administration and by Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, remained in detention, where he has been near continuously since 2002. H.Rights groups say hundreds of other political prisoners are still being held. Rice has come under some domestic criticism for making the trip before the compensation money was paid out. Rights groups are critical because some cases, such as that of ailing political dissident Fathi el-Jahmi, have not been resolved. Rice said she had raised human rights cases in her talks in Libya. She did not name the individuals she had discussed, but she was responding to a question about whether she had raised cases including that of Jahmi. Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden has taken up Jahmi's case. "The secretary of state is now going to provide legitimacy to a dictator”, he said.
The Bush administration has expressed sympathy with the families but said it is time to move ahead with Libya, which is the first, and thus far only, country designated by the State Department to be a "state sponsor of terrorism" to be removed from that list by its own actions.
Rice held back from visiting Libya until a compensation package was signed last month to cover legal claims involving victims of U.S. and Libyan bombings. Libya finalised the legal arrangements on Sept 04 for setting up a fund into which money will be paid. But one senior U.S. official said it would take "more than days" before payments could be made to both sides. U.S. victims covered include those who died in the Pan Am bombing, which killed 270 people, and the 1986 Libyan attack on a Berlin disco that killed three people and wounded 229. It also compensates Libyans killed in 1986 when U.S. planes bombed Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 40 people.
Rice held back from visiting Libya until a compensation package was signed last month to cover legal claims involving victims of U.S. and Libyan bombings. Libya finalised the legal arrangements on Sept 04 for setting up a fund into which money will be paid. But one senior U.S. official said it would take "more than days" before payments could be made to both sides. U.S. victims covered include those who died in the Pan Am bombing, which killed 270 people, and the 1986 Libyan attack on a Berlin disco that killed three people and wounded 229. It also compensates Libyans killed in 1986 when U.S. planes bombed Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 40 people.
Libya has agreed to pay compensation to the families of victims of the 1998 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland (for which it formally accepted responsibility in 2003), and those of a 1986 attack on a disco in Berlin, which prompted President Reagan to order retaliatory air-strikes on Libyan targets. The deal includes compensation for Libyan victims of the United States' retaliatory bombing raid over Libya in 1986. The money is not yet all there, but U.S. officials say they are confident it will be paid soon. Yet relations between the countries — once marked by violence and insults — still will face strains on a number of fronts, ranging from human rights to the final resolution of legal claims from the terror bombings.
Enemy Turned Friend? Or Gaddafi's shrewd move?
Libya is now an elected member of the U.N. Security Council and has voted with the United States on issues related to Iran's nuclear program and has helped with the Darfur crisis. But its support on other key issues, notably the Middle East peace process, is far from clear.
For years, Washington considered Gaddafi a major supporter of terrorism and one of its most prominent enemies. Incidents such as the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland, for which a Libyan agent was convicted, and the U.S. air raids on Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986 sent tensions soaring. But in recent years Gaddafi has cooled his anti-Western rhetoric and sought to bring Libya back into the international mainstream.
Enemy Turned Friend? Or Gaddafi's shrewd move?
Libya is now an elected member of the U.N. Security Council and has voted with the United States on issues related to Iran's nuclear program and has helped with the Darfur crisis. But its support on other key issues, notably the Middle East peace process, is far from clear.
For years, Washington considered Gaddafi a major supporter of terrorism and one of its most prominent enemies. Incidents such as the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland, for which a Libyan agent was convicted, and the U.S. air raids on Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986 sent tensions soaring. But in recent years Gaddafi has cooled his anti-Western rhetoric and sought to bring Libya back into the international mainstream.
Gaddafi, once called "the mad dog of the Middle East" by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, has in the past expressed admiration for Rice. On Friday, Gaddafi welcomed Rice in an incense-perfumed room in his compound and they later took Iftar, the traditional meal breaking the fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Gaddafi, wearing a white robe and a green brooch in the shape of Africa, did not shake hands with Rice but put his right hand over his heart. By Muslim tradition, men should avoid contact with females during the fasting time. "This demonstrates that the U.S. doesn't have permanent enemies," Rice said of her visit. "It demonstrates that when countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the USA is prepared to respond. Quite frankly I never thought I would be visiting Libya and so it is quite something," she said.
U.S. officials said Rice's talks with Gaddafi had been wide-ranging and he gave her a mandolin as a gift. The two discussed Sudan's Darfur conflict, the Middle East, and terrorism, among other issues. Rice dinner with Gaddafi at a compound bombed by U.S. warplanes in 1986 and told they are off to a good start. It is only a start but after many, many years, it is a very good thing that the United States and Libya are establishing a way forward. She hoped there would be a new U.S. ambassador in Libya "soon." The tone of talks was reportedly friendly.
U.S. officials said Rice's talks with Gaddafi had been wide-ranging and he gave her a mandolin as a gift. The two discussed Sudan's Darfur conflict, the Middle East, and terrorism, among other issues. Rice dinner with Gaddafi at a compound bombed by U.S. warplanes in 1986 and told they are off to a good start. It is only a start but after many, many years, it is a very good thing that the United States and Libya are establishing a way forward. She hoped there would be a new U.S. ambassador in Libya "soon." The tone of talks was reportedly friendly.
Col Gaddafi has stopped short of referring to America as a friend, but in a press conference he said improved relations were a way for both countries to leave each other alone. USA says that the visit would show other countries they have "a way forward" if they change their behavior and co-operate with the US. Although the visit is largely symbolic diplomacy, many in Libya are upbeat and hope that US-Libyan relations will only improve in the long-run and they cannot be faulted at all.
Western media are still doubtful about Libyan intentions, but do say Libya is changing now. Gaddafi has long ago stopped using aggressive tone to describe USA and is seeking economic ties with USA and its European allies.
An Observation: Way forward?
Rice was the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit since then-Vice President Richard Nixon in 1957. The last secretary of state to go there was John Foster Dulles in May 1953, before Rice was even born. Future course of bilateral relations could be decided by the results of this visit. The net acheivements of the trip are yet to be ascertained by the USA and Libya.
As the first secretary of state to visit the former pariah, oil-rich country in more than a half-century, Rice's visit certainly represented a foreign policy success for a Bush administration badly in need of one in its final months.
The trip signals improved ties between the two countries, which began to warm after Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction program in 2003. Condoleezza Rice said her historic visit to meet Libyan leader Muammar proved that Washington had no permanent enemies. Rice's trip, the first by a U.S. secretary of state to the North African country in 55 years, is intended to end decades of enmity, five years after Libya gave up its weapons of mass destruction programme.
Rice's visit was partly intended to be a reward for successful completion of the “compensation” deal, but Libya has not yet transferred the promised hundreds of millions of dollars into a humanitarian account. A USA spokesman said he was optimistic the transfer would happen soon but that Ms Rice would press Libya on this issue. Washington is negotiating a "military memorandum of understanding" with Libya but signed a cultural and educational agreement was put off after Libya asked for changes to some of the language.
Rice's visit was partly intended to be a reward for successful completion of the “compensation” deal, but Libya has not yet transferred the promised hundreds of millions of dollars into a humanitarian account. A USA spokesman said he was optimistic the transfer would happen soon but that Ms Rice would press Libya on this issue. Washington is negotiating a "military memorandum of understanding" with Libya but signed a cultural and educational agreement was put off after Libya asked for changes to some of the language.
Tripoli is seen being busy with prospectively rescheduling its foreign policy foundations to suit the needs of the new times. The way Gaddafi move swiftly to mend ways with USA by compromising with the West by almost condoning the soft terrorism unleashed by Western nurses in a Libyan hospital killing many children. Obviously, as it stands now, when US has removed the “terrorism” tag from Libya, albeit hesitantly, and Libya has come forward to make amendments in its policies towards the US-led Wes, the US-Libyan ties will get further boosting in the years to come. Considering the evolutionary process of positive Libyan-US relationship, the tensions between them will go down drastically, if the present trend continues.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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