Africa rejects Iraq war - Gaddafi
2003-02-04 10:27
Addis Ababa - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Monday Africa was united in its opposition to war in Iraq, and that the United States would suffer if it acted against the will of the rest of the world.
Speaking in a tent put up in the lavish gardens of Addis Ababa's Sheraton hotel, where he is staying for a summit of the African Union, Gaddafi said African leaders were categorical in their rejection of a conflict in the Gulf.
"The African Union categorically refused the war and we support resolving this problem in a peaceful way," the man Libyans call "The Leader" told reporters, surrounded by bodyguards.
"The whole world is against war, including the American people...The US was fighting terrorism, and the world was standing with it. When the objectives and the aims of the US changed, it became a bilateral issue," he said.
"It is a loss to all of us because all of us were against terror, but now all of us are against the US...We do not know the consequences, perhaps there will be repercussions from this war. At the end, terrorism will be victorious if we follow this course," Gaddafi added.
Was this a way to divert attention from the plight of the Palestinians, he asked.
Gaddafi, who swept into the Ethiopian capital for the two- day summit surrounded by several hundred bodyguards and attendants, said there was no discussion about Libya offering asylum in exile to Iraq's President Saddam Hussein.
"I do not believe that Saddam will leave Iraq," he said, sitting in a plastic chair before a tent wall covered in images of palm trees and camels. "He will stay in Iraq, he will die in Iraq."
Gaddafi, known for his passionate pan-Africanism, said the African Union (AU), holding an extraordinary summit to discuss constitutional issues and the numerous conflicts around the continent, said Africa was aiming for total unity.
His plan for a "United States of Africa" was dismissed from the summit's agenda by leaders who said the continent was not ripe for complete integration.
But Gaddafi said his vision remained of a continent with one currency, one army, and one identity.