The just completed African Union summit in Addis Ababa was partly a celebration of the continent’s achievements, and partly a reminder of how deeply it remains troubled by wars, poverty and flawed leadership. Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Libyan leader was elected head of the African Union, a 53-state bloc, a position long sought by the eccentric dictator pushing his oil-rich nation into the international mainstream after years of isolation. Some African leaders offered lukewarm praise for the choice of Col Gaddafi, who grabbed power in a 1969 coup. Rights groups called him a poor model for Africa at a time when democratic gains are being reversed in countries such as Mauritania and Guinea.
Gadhafi was hailed by his supporters as ‘the king of kings’ as he was sworn in as AU chairman for the coming year presided over by the outgoing chairman, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
Once ostracised by the West for sponsoring terrorism, Col Gaddafi has been trying to increase Libya’s presence on the global stage and its regional influence – mediating African conflicts, sponsoring efforts to spread Islam on the continent and pushing for the creation of a single African government.
Col. Gaddafi told about 20 of his fellow heads of state that he would work to unite the continent into “the United States of Africaâ€.
Diplomats who attended the closed-door meetings in which Col Gaddafi was chosen said several countries vigorously opposed him, seeking alternatives from Lesotho and Sierra Leone.
However, the AU’s chairmanship rotates among Africa’s regions, and a North African had not chaired the continental body since 2000, when Algeria held the post. Meetings to select the chairman are held in private. The leader is usually nominated and then chosen by consensus.
Even in public, the reception to Col. Gaddafi’s appointment was measured.
“I think his time has come,†Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president, said.
“He’s worked for it. I think it’s up to us to make sure it comes out best.â€
Since he seized power, Col. Gaddafi has ruled the oil-rich state with an iron hand and the often quixotic ideology laid out in his famous “Green Book,†which outlines his anti-democratic and economic policies.
Speaking in Arabic through an interpreter, Mr. Gadhafi said in his Green Book, a collection of thoughts published in 1988, he had predicted the election of a black president in the United States.
“But the Green Book says after analysis, after all various conditions that black people will prevail over the world, and today Obama, the Kenyan son has imposed himself in the United States of America, defying openly. It was a kind of challenge against this despicable attitude toward the black population, the looting of African wealth and the looting and pillaging of the continent,†he said.
Later, in answer to a reporter’s question, the Libyan leader railed against multi-party democracy, calling it an imported system that has brought nothing but chaos to Africa.
“Finally there was multi-partyism, but this new method, which is imported, is now faced with many challenges. Unfortunately, we have seen coup d’états and rebellions are showing back their ugly heads. After elections, there are massacres as it happened in Kenya. Also results of elections are made public then followed by rebellion, a president is elected and a revolt follows and a coup d’état takes place, a rebellion and so on,†said the Libyan leader
In 2007, Gaddafi released five Bulgarian nurses and a naturalised Palestinian doctor after eight years in prison for allegedly infecting Libyan children with HIV. They were released following a deal struck by the European Union that involved payment of millions of dollars in aid to Libya.
“The Libyan government continues to imprison people for criticising Gaddafi,†said Reed Brody, a Brussels-based lawyer with Human Rights Watch who watched Col. Gaddafi take the helm of the AU.
“Hundreds more have been ‘disappeared.’ Libya has no independent NGOs and the government tightly controls all forms of public expression.â€
Following the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, the United Nations imposed sanctions on Libya and Britain and the United States broke all diplomatic ties.
Col. Gaddafi renounced terrorism in 2003 and Libya has paid out over a billion dollars to the families of the Lockerbie victims.
Libya has also entered into deals with major oil companies for exploitation of its reserves and re-established diplomatic ties with the UK and the US.
Col. Gaddafi has also been involved in mediating the conflict in Darfur, with little success. He has mediated between Chad and Sudan – both have accused each other of supporting the other’s rebel groups.
The Libyan leader’s mediation has resulted in deals between Chad and Sudan, which have later been violated.
Libya has never held the chairmanship in the 46-year-history of the African Union and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity.
This contributed to Col. Gaddafi being denied the chairmanship of the Organisation of African Unity in 1982.
In the end, this was Mr. Gadhafi’s summit, and he insisted he is pushing ahead with his plans. It was left to Africa’s chief diplomat, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping to explain to reporters that, despite what Mr. Gadhafi may say, his dream of a continent-wide government will not be coming true any time soon.
The chairmanship of the African Union is a rotating position for one year and gives the holder some influence over the continent’s politics, but carries no real power.
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