West shuns Gaddafi party

Published on Tuesday 1 September 2009 22:07

LIBYA yesterday began its extravagant 40th-anniversary celebration of the coup that took Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi to power, with a parade, lavish dance spectacles and fighter jets streaking overhead.

The festivities were designed to showcase the former pariah state's acceptance on the world stage after renouncing nuclear weapons and terrorism – but the international guest list hardly showed mainstream approval.

Libya invited many heads of state to the anniversary celebrations. But many sent lower-level representatives or stayed away in a sign of still-touchy relations and concern over how to treat the African nation.

Notable exceptions were President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and some African leaders, including Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Libya's new best European friend, declined to attend.

In fact, Italy's ties with former colony Libya hit a snag when its air force display team, sent by Mr Berlusconi to join the celebrations, refused to trail green smoke instead of Italy's red, white and green.

Italy's ambassador had earlier said that Libya insisted on a fly-past with all-green smoke – that is the colour of the Libyan flag and the traditional colour of Islam. Col Gaddafi is a self-styled defender of the Islamic faith.

The Italian jets later did their flyover spewing out the three colours of their national flag.

The Libyan leader, who is known for his outlandish outfits and penchant for conducting state business in tents, kicked off the celebrations before dawn; it was timed to coincide with the start of the coup. He began with a feast at a former United States air base that was turned into a Libyan military camp.

Philip Skaff, the main architect of this week's anniversary celebrations, said: "Libya is opening up to the world – that is the basic message.

"This is the first time they actually received thousands of foreigners with open arms. They are granting visas for this like they've never done before."

Libya has cut support for armed revolutionary groups around the world and made peace with Washington by scrapping a programme to build nuclear weapons and paying compensation for bombings and other attacks for which it was blamed by the West.

At home, however, political parties remain banned and Col Gaddafi staunchly defends his system of grass-roots government by town-hall committee, rejected by critics as a cloak for authoritarianism.

But foreign companies are back searching for oil or vying for contracts to build roads, railways, phone networks and schools, as Libya tries to make up for lost time.

As Tripoli parties, lasers beam out into the Mediterranean through the hot, humid night air from the roofs of new hotels that have been built to cater for the influx of foreigners.

Lights adorn buildings across the city, walls in the old town have been freshly whitewashed and rows of green Libyan flags flutter over its dusty streets.

Portraits of Col Gaddafi adorn billboards and buildings across the city, his features sometimes traced out in colourful neon lights. Two new oil tankers loom over the main coast road in a statement of Libya's growing might as an energy producer.

Hundreds of thousands were in the capital last night for a three-hour show tracing Libya's history and offering a glimpse of the future. The organisers said its scale rivalled an Olympic opening ceremony.

In the next few days, hot air balloons will rise over the desert and Tuaregs will hold a festival featuring 1,000 camels. Libya's ancient coastal cities of Leptis Magna and Sabratha will come right up to date with sound and light displays.

Col Gaddafi has made Africa the focal point of his return to the global stage, giving generous aid to the continent's poorer nations and campaigning for a United States of Africa, with a common army and currency.