Qaddafi to visit Indonesia

Qaddafi to visit Indonesia

JAKARTA: Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi will pay a state visit to Indonesia next month and hold talks with President Megawati Soekarnoputri, a foreign ministry official said on Friday.

Qaddafi's visit is "tentatively" scheduled for Feb.10, said the official, who declined to be named.

Megawati met Qaddafi during her visit to Tripoli last September and said she had his support in the fight against separatist rebels in her country's Aceh province.

Some leading members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), including the military chief Muzakkir Manaf, were originally trained in Libya. Megawati said at the time that the training was not provided by the Libyan government.

She also held talks with Qaddafi about the international fight against terrorism.

Western nations have long accused Qaddafi of sponsoring terrorism. Ties have improved after he announced last month that he was dismantling all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs.

Indonesia has in recent years been battling a series of terror attacks blamed on the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.--AFP