Enigmatic Gadhafi lets people rule<\/p>\n
Agence France Presse, Tripoli, Libya<\/p>\n
Libya's mercurial leader Moamar Gadhafi, who has led the north
\nAfrican country for 34 years, has again surprised the world by
\nrenouncing his weapons of mass destruction and vowing to allow
\ninternational experts to inspect installations.<\/p>\n
The move, announced late Friday by the United States and
\nBritain, was yet another taken by Gadhafi in recent years to tone
\ndown his image as the "enfant terrible" of world leaders and help
\nbring Libya back into the fold of the international community.<\/p>\n
Gadhafi came to power in 1969, aged just 27, when he deposed
\nKing Idriss. He immediately altered the calendar and renamed the
\nmonths of the year to herald his new era.<\/p>\n
He insists he no longer rules the oil-rich state, whose
\neconomy has been crushed by years of crippling sanctions, and
\nthat all power lies in the hands of the people.<\/p>\n
"The ignorant, the superficial and those driven by hate ask
\nhow I've stayed in power for 34 years. But I do not govern. It is
\nthe people who have ruled since 1977, which is why the United
\nStates could not effect regime change in Libya," Gadhafi said in
\nSeptember in a televised speech to mark the anniversary of his
\naccession to power.<\/p>\n
In 1977, Gadhafi proclaimed what he called the Jamahiriya --
\nor "state of the masses" -- governed by elected committees. His
\nofficial title is "guide of the revolution".<\/p>\n
The veteran leader has said his revolutionary Green Book, also
\npublished in 1977, offers "a third theory of the world," between
\ncapitalism and socialism, and provides the only real solution to
\nhumanity.<\/p>\n
Attacks on Rome and Vienna airports by Libyan-based
\nPalestinian militants prompted Washington to break off diplomatic
\nrelations in January 1986.<\/p>\n
And the bombing of a Berlin discotheque which killed a US
\nservicemen sparked U.S. air raids from British bases in which 37
\npeople, including one of Gadhafi's sons, were reported killed
\nlater the same year.<\/p>\n
A Libyan agent was convicted for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am
\njet over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people, and Libya
\nhas also been blamed for the downing of a French UTA DC-10 after
\nit exploded in 1989 over Niger.<\/p>\n
The United Nations lifted sanctions imposed on Libya over the
\nLockerbie bombing, after Washington and London brokered a deal
\nfor Tripoli to pay 2.7 billion dollars in compensation to
\nrelations of those killed, but Libya remains under U.S.
\nsanctions.<\/p>\n
Long a champion of Arab nationalism, Gadhafi has led his
\ncountry through numerous abortive projects at Arab unity and
\nearned the wrath of the West through his support of radical
\nPalestinian and other Arab groups.<\/p>\n
For someone who has cast himself a champion in the Arab
\nstruggle against Israel, Gadhafi has recently backtracked
\nsomewhat.<\/p>\n
He has called for the formation of a bi-national Israeli and
\nPalestinian state called "Israetine" as the means to solving the
\nMiddle East conflict.<\/p>\n
Gadhafi, who has been accused of bankrolling a number of
\nAfrican rebel groups and extremist organizations, has also been
\nbusy trying to carve out a role as an international mediator,
\npartly using the leverage afforded by Libya's huge oil reserves.<\/p>\n
In 2000, he brokered the release of German hostages held by
\nIslamic radicals in the Philippines. More recently, he aided the
\nfreeing of 14 Europeans being held captive in Algeria.<\/p>\n
He has also tried in vain to shore up pacts with other Arab
\nstates such as Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia, but remains a volatile
\ncharacter.<\/p>\n
His government withdrew last year from the Arab League, but
\nlater recanted, saying such a move "should be decided by the
\nLibyan people."<\/p>\n
He has also retreated somewhat on his socialist past.<\/p>\n
Last June he unveiled intentions to privates the floundering
\nstate monopolies, particularly oil, on which the economy depends,
\nadmitting that the public sector had failed.<\/p>\n
Making that announcement, he dropped his insistence that
\nLibyans are "partners not (company) employees".<\/p>\n
at\/jm\/kdz\/al<\/p>\n
Libya-Kadhafi-profile
\nAFP<\/p>\n
GetAFP 2.10 -- DEC 20, 2003 17:28:52<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/enigmatic-gadhafi-lets-people-rule-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }