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| Syria-Lebanon |
| Libya Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Lebanon |
| 2003-09-03 |
| EFL-FU: Libya has decided to sever diplomatic ties with Lebanon after coming under pressure to reveal the fate of a missing Lebanese Shiite cleric, a Libyan Embassy official said Wednesday. Hussein al-Sharif, the charge d’affaires at the Office of Arab Fraternity, as the Libyan Embassy is called, said the decision was made after recent statements by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Berri and Nasrallah, both Shiite Muslims, urged Libya to reveal the whereabouts of Imam Mousa Sadr, the spiritual leader of Lebanon’s Shiite Muslim community who disappeared during a visit to Libya in 1978. "Our decision was taken as a result of recent speeches made by Lebanese officials and some editorials that appeared in the (local) newspapers that contained improper words and style," al-Sharif told The Associated Press. Humm, touched a sore point, did they? While Lebanese Shiites have long blamed Libya for Sadr’s disappearance, such calls intensified after Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Scotland that killed 270 people and agreed to pay compensation. Berri accused Libya of favoring Western states and not caring about Lebanon. "Why did you succumb to the foreigners and forget those who are close to you?" he asked. Cuz they have cash to spend on oil. Libya insists Sadr and his two aides left its territory on a flight to Rome at the end of their August 1978 visit, but Italian authorities have denied he arrived. "Nope, never seen him." Lebanese officials believe Sadr disappeared after having an argument with Gadhafi. One of those 9mm arguments, Gadhafi had a hot temper back in the day. Relations between Lebanon and Libya have often been strained by the Sadr issue. Last year, Libya asked for a change of venue for the Arab summit in Beirut after leading Lebanese Shiites urged the government to bar Gadhafi. The government said he could attend, but he sent an envoy instead. I love Arab unity, oh wait, Kadaffi is a African this week. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Sort of embarassing when they ask for their cleric back and expect you to still have them. It sounds like the Polish Officers that Stalin could never find after he became one of the allies. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-3 1:16:45 PM |
| #1 Libya insists Sadr and his two aides left its territory on a flight to Rome at the end of their August 1978 visit, but Italian authorities have denied he arrived. Both could be correct -- he could have gone splashing into the Mediterranean mid-flight. |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-9-3 11:08:56 AM |