6 - 12 September 2001
Issue No.550
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 6 - 12 September 2001 Issue No.550 |
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September's aplomb
Libya celebrates the 32nd anniversary of Al-Fateh Revolution with anti-American tirades and pan-African fanfare. Gamal Nkrumah reports
This week, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi presided over celebrations marking the 32nd anniversary of the September 1969 Al-Fateh Revolution that brought him to power. Having toppled the monarchy, Gaddafi initiated the nationalisation of the oil and natural gas sector, plus the evacuation of American and British military bases and installations in the country -- moves that did nothing to endear the Libyan leader to Western powers.
photo: AP
In the three decades since, the United States has failed to warm up to Gaddafi, maintaining the sanctions it unilaterally imposed in 1986. Libya remains on the US's list of seven states that sponsor terrorism and last month US President George Bush signed a five-year extension of sanctions against foreign companies that conduct business with Libya. In retaliation, Libya recently warned that US oil companies have one year to reactivate the oil fields they abandoned 15 years ago or they will have their operating licences revoked. Libya can afford to be so dismissive. Western European and Asian companies are all vying for lucrative contracts and are eager to snatch up the investment opportunities discarded by the Americans.
Flanked by fellow leaders of states regarded as "pariah" nations in the West -- namely, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe -- Gaddafi lambasted the United States and Western nations in a characteristically meandering, nearly three-hour diatribe. Keen to have a hand in resolving the Sudanese civil war, Tripoli has embarked on an initiative with Egypt to broker a deal between the Sudanese government and opposition groups. At the celebrations, however, Gaddafi expressed open dissatisfaction with the main Sudanese armed opposition group, the southern Sudanese-based Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), for its insistence on self-determination for the people of southern Sudan. "If Sudan breaks up, that will open the door for the disintegration of other African countries," Gaddafi told the visiting dignitaries. "We stand for African unity; we do not want the further Balkanisation of Africa."
Gaddafi has gone out of his way to champion the cause of Mugabe's Zimbabwe, currently badgered by Western powers for inciting indigenous African peasants to forcibly occupy agricultural land owned by European settlers. Last month, Libya signed a deal with fuel-short Zimbabwe to supply $360 million worth of petroleum in exchange for Zimbabwean mineral and agricultural products.
Gaddafi delivered his speech at a graduation ceremony of army and police officers, among whom was his son Khamis. His address, not confined to African issues, touched on ticklish domestic topics. He declared a war on nepotism and corruption in the state sector and warned that oil wealth must be utilised properly for the public good, not squandered by unscrupulous individuals. He also threatened those who accept bribes and illegally accumulate wealth with retribution.
According to the United Nations Human Development Report 2001, Libya tops the African continent's human development index, making Libya Africa's most developed nation. Libya, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with a production quota of 1.3 million barrels per day and a population of barely six million, has the means to upgrade education, health and social services. There has been a marked improvement in living standards and welfare provisions since Al-Fateh Revolution.
In spite of Al-Fateh's enviable socio- economic achievements, Gaddafi promised the further betterment of his people, pledging to raise per capita income from $5,000 per annum to $24,000. Agriculture, manufacturing and even tourism are to be given top priority in a new drive to steer the Libyan economy away from dependence on oil exports. The country has tremendous tourism potential with over 1,500 kilometres of unspoilt Mediterranean coastline; scenic and pristine mountain spots; captivating Saharan oases; unparalleled desert eco-tourism possibilities; unique pre-historic sites; and Phoenician, Greek and Roman ruins -- including Leptis Magna, the world's third largest Roman settlement. Still, only 60,000 tourists, mostly European, visit the country annually. The government recently hired Briton Jim Fletcher to draw up a plan for the Libyan Tourism Investment and Promotion Board to boost tourism.
In an attempt to make amends with the West -- and after personal assurances of a fair trial by high-level Saudi and South African mediators, including former South African President Nelson Mandela -- Gaddafi handed over Libyan intelligence agents Lamine Khalifa Fhimah and Abdel-Baset Ali Al-Megrahi in 1999 after they were accused of masterminding the bombing of a Pan-Am airliner over the Scottish village of Lockerbie in 1988 that killed 270 people. As a result of the handover, the UN suspended the sanctions it had imposed on Libya. A Scottish court in the Netherlands acquitted Fhimah of all charges but sentenced Al- Megrahi to life imprisonment. Al-Megrahi has appealed and a final ruling is pending.
To coincide with Al-Fateh celebrations, the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations, headed by another of Gaddafi's sons, Seif Al-Islam, announced the release of 107 political prisoners. Among them was Ahmed Al-Zubayr Al-Senousi, Libya's longest serving political prisoner, who was jailed in 1970.
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