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| Africa North |
| Qadaffy, Berlusconi sign accord worth billions |
| 2008-08-31 |
| At a palace which was once the headquarters of the Rome government's senior official during the 1911-1943 colonial rule, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi signed an accord on Saturday under which Italy will pay billions of dollars in investments and compensation for its colonial rule of the North African country, Libyan state television showed. The "friendship pact" accord should remove the latest hurdle to an improvement in ties between Italy and Libya, a major energy producer. Libya accuses Italy of killing thousands of Libyans and driving thousands more from their villages and cities during that era. Berlusconi said on arrival that under the deal $200 million per year will be invested by Italy in Libya over 25 years," "Italian companies will set up more business in Libya," he added, without giving details. Italian officials said earlier the deal covered "some billion dollars" in compensation and $5 billion in investments, including the construction of a highway across Libya from the Tunisian border to Egypt. It also involves a project to clear mines dating back to the colonial era. Italy expects in return to win energy contracts and for the Tripoli government to toughen security measures to stem the flow of illegal migrants, including joint maritime patrols. In a goodwill gesture on Saturday, Italy returned an ancient statue of Venus taken to Rome during colonial rule, Libyan state media reported. The headless "Venus of Cyrene" was carried away from the town of Cyrene, an ancient Greek colony, by Italian troops and put on display in Rome. Italy has had difficult relations with Gaddafi since he took power in 1969. He expelled Italian residents and confiscated their property in 1970. Rome has backed Tripoli's drive to mend fences with the West, which have improved dramatically since 2003 when Libya accepted responsibility for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libya has also said it would stop pursuing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. On Aug. 14 Libya signed a deal with the United States to settle both countries' claims for compensation for bombings. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Again, pointing out the obvious, this is why energy independence from psycho dictatorships is one of the most important security actions a country can do. If McCain wins the presidency, I hope energy independence is his number one priority. It will certainly not be Obama bin Beiden's concern. They will tax gasoline and ensure that tires run at 75 psi, heh. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-08-31 14:49 |
| #2 Now that's a rant! I hadn't thought of Southern European poverty as a direct result of Barbary predation, but it makes sense. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-31 14:25 |
| #1 Insane. Why did the europeans and americans ever considered that oil belonged to the "countries" (entities made up by then, actually) where it laid underground? This disgusts me, libya is a blackhole, unproductive country, a tiny nothing of NO importance, EXCEPT for the oil WE discovered, ruled by a tinpot dictator that has been causing mahyem since always (remember the recent ivory coast mess, blamed on France, which led not only to a major loss of face and influence by France due to shiraq & galouzeau "de villepin" 's total ineptness, but also to a large number of french citizens being expelled after having been looted of all property and sometimes assaulted and gangraped - note that they got NO help at all from the french gvt after coming back to France, whereas african illegals have free healthcare and the like...? Qaddafy was the driving force behind burkina faso's meddlings in that). This is madness; more white guilt blackmail, resentment from the colonial era, this is so rich... libya was not even a country back then, but a nest of barbary piricay, will southern Europe ever get repayments for all the looting and enslavement of CENTURIES upon CENTURIEs of non-stop muslim piracy and razzias? Which incidentally turned the hub and heart of early european civilization into the historically poorer and more backward area it still is today, due to that constant predation which prevented normal life for white europeans there? Also, lybia is using mass african immigration as a tool to pressure european countries into more concessions,a nd more money to help "fight immigration" (which lybian authorities actually fully control and allow, as a weapon... remember qaddaffy's al jeez tombuctu speech, when he predicted the soon to come islamization of Europe, for its greater good???)... and th ehypocrisy! Lybian like all north african arabs are total racists when it comes to blacks, they call them "slaves" (the same arabic word menas "black" and "slave", abid), they park them in ACTUAL ghettoes, and they go on pogroms from time to time. I remember reading about one in the late 90's in lybia where at least 300 african migrants were lynched to death by the locals. Qaddaffy is getting all that he wants; french analysts are pretty sure that the lybian WMD program was going nowhere, due to the backwardness and lack of technical skill, and that "giving up" this was qaddaffy's trump card. I'm disgusted beyond words. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2008-08-31 13:45 |