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Libya wants WMD reward
24/11/2004 15:06 - (SA)
Paris - Libya is "a little disappointed" that it has not won enough reward from the international community for renouncing weapons of mass destruction, leader Muammar Gaddafi said in a French newspaper on Wednesday.
Interviewed by Le Figaro newspaper ahead of a visit by President Jacques Chirac of France, Gaddafi said Libya still waited to be "properly recompensed" for its decision.
"To tell you the truth, we have been a little disappointed by the reaction of Europe, the United States and Japan. They haven't really rewarded Libya for its contribution to international peace," he said.
"And we're still waiting. If we are not recompensed, other countries will not follow our example and dismantle their own programmes."
No longer a pariah
Gaddafi said it was a point particularly made by North Korea and Iran, both of which are alleged to have programmes of weapons of mass destruction.
"They say to us, 'what did you get in return? What did you obtain from the international community? So why do you want us to dismantle our programme?'"
Libya emerged from the diplomatic cold, shedding a reputation as a sponsor of international terrorism, when it surprisingly renounced the development of weapons of mass destruction late last year.
It was part of a spectacular diplomatic reversal by Gaddafi, who took power in a coup in 1969, which has also included admitting responsibility for a wave of terrorist attacks such as the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.
The United States and the European Union have since dropped most sanctions slapped on Libya after the attacks, while last month Brussels removed an arms embargo.
European leaders - Chirac's trip on Wednesday comes after visits by Britain's Tony Blair, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Germany's Gerhard Schroeder - have also called in on Gaddafi, no longer considered a pariah.
But the Libyan leader outlined some of the rewards he is looking for.
"A country that gets rid of its weapons of mass destruction should at least obtain guarantees from the international community on its national security," he said.
Libya should also be helped to develop its military material for civilian use, including being given "civilian-use technology in return for abandoning military technology."
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