Gaddafi hails full US ties
2008-09-01 18:10
Benghazi - Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi said his regime's long estrangement from the United States was finally over as he marked the 39th anniversary on Monday of his overthrow of the Western-backed monarchy.
"The whole business of the conflict between Libya and the United States has been closed once and for all," Gaddafi said in an anniversary speech to the General People's Congress, Libya's equivalent of a parliament.
"There will be no more wars, raids or acts of terrorism," said Gaddafi, whose support for a raft of anti-Western militant groups in the 1980s prompted then US president Ronald Reagan to describe him as a "mad dog".
Last month, Libya finally reached a compensation deal with the families of the 270 victims of the 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, the deadliest attack blamed on Gaddafi's regime.
The move paved the way for the full normalisation of ties with Washington and an expected visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later this week.
But Gaddafi stressed that Libya was not looking for US friendship. "All we want is to be left alone," he said.
'Political victory'
The Libyan leader hailed a new era in relations with former colonial power Italy after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi apologised on Saturday for the damage inflicted on Libya during the colonial era and signed a five-billion-dollar investment deal by way of compensation.
"It's a major political, moral and material victory from which we are going to benefit all our lives," Gaddafi said in the anniversary speech delivered in Libya's second city of Benghazi in the early hours of the morning.
Under the deal, Libya is to receive $200m year from Italy over the next 25 years through investments in infrastructure projects.
Exceptionally Gaddafi himself signed Saturday's agreement with Berlusconi. The Libyan leader normally eschews state functions insisting he is the guide of the revolution not head of state.
Gaddaffi has struck a regal posture throughout this year's lavish celebrations for the anniversary of his regime, unlike last year when he left the limelight to his son and heir apparent Seif al-Islam.
On Saturday, he wore a crown and sceptre for a speech to thousands of supporters in this Mediterranean port city.
The symbols of royalty were gifts from more than 200 African traditional leaders who gathered here for a conference on Thursday at which they bestowed on Gaddaffi the title "king of kings".
The Libyan leader has not given up however on the people's power rhetoric which has marked his four decades in power.
In his speech, he again pledged to scrap most government ministries and hand their budgets directly to the people to spend themselves.
He said that the plan, which he first announced in a speech in March, was a response to complaints from the public of widespread corruption in the administration.
"Libyans should all be ready to receive a share of the oil revenues starting from the beginning of next year," Gaddaffi told the General People's Congress, referring to the plan to hand out $37bn currently spent by non-essential government departments.
"You always accuse the peoples' committees (ministries) of corruption and poor management. These complaints will never end. So everyone (should) have their share (of oil revenues) in their pockets and manage."
Opposing conventional ideas
Gaddafi acknowledged that the scheme risked causing "chaos" for the first couple of years, but he said he it was necessary as any bureaucracy inevitably spawned corruption.
Gaddafi has long opposed conventional ideas of public administration unveiling in 1977 a state of the masses which he called the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Gaddafi first announced his plans to abolish all but the key ministries on the anniversary in March of the Jamahiriya's creation.
Under the ideology set out in the Libyan leader's so-called "Green Book", power supposedly rests with people's committees of which the General People's Congress, or parliament, is the highest instance.