Gaddafi. Brutal dictator
Photo: AFP
Zohir Andreus
The truth about Gaddafi
Op-ed: Arab journalist provides behind-the-scenes account of Arab-Israeli delegation to Libya
In April 2010, I visited Libya in the framework of a delegation of Arabs who met with ruler Muammar Gaddafi in a modern, air-conditioned tent. Three days were enough for me to understand that we were in a state ruled by the police, army and intelligence service, as authorities prevented us from meeting regular folk.
Today, in the midst of the Libyan people’s revolution to topple the brutal dictator, who is massacring his own people, we are seeing venomous criticism hurled at delegation members. The debate is legitimate, yet the court-martial we are subjected to is wholly disproportional: We did not arrive in Libya to change the regime, but rather, the visit came in the framework of the relationship between Arab Palestinians living in the state of the Jews and Arabs living throughout the region.
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After all, we the Palestinians in Israel are an inseparable part of the Arab nation. Our national and moral duty is to maintain ties with our brethren wherever they are. Should we decide not to visit Arab states because of their reactionary regimes, we’ll end up staying in our homeland and not going anywhere, as to my great regret democracy is light years away from all Arab rulers, with no exception. (And here is a personal confession: About a decade ago, Egyptian authorities informed me that I am a persona non grata there and are preventing my entry to this day.)
However, the bitter truth must be told: The visit to Libya exposed us to odd experiences, courtesy of the twisted imagination of Libyan officials.
On my first night, I walked towards the beach close to our five-star hotel. I will never forget the stench and the dirt. Soon after I reached a nearby market and was stunned, to put it mildly. The difference between the hotel and the merchants and people at the market was huge. The goods offered for sale were outdated and not usable. The chaos, dirt and smells prompted me to get out of there as quickly as I could. This was my only contact with residents of the capital, Tripoli. Now imagine what’s happening in peripheral areas?
On our second day in Libya we were ordered to show up at the hotel lobby, without knowing where they’ll be taking us. Nobody said a word; we were like disciplined children. Two minibuses took us to a military airport. One delegation member was left at the hotel and had to miss the trip; the Libyans said the plane must take off. All delegation members complied and nobody said a word to the Libyans. When in Rome, act like a Roman.
Humiliated by Gaddafi
The plane landed in the city of Sert, where Gaddafi was staying. We were taken to a convention center where the Arab League summit was held. We waited for an hour or two, maybe even more, until we were told that we’re going to meet the leader of the eminent September revolution. After about an hour on minibuses (I don’t know why they traveled so slowly) we reached the site. Libyan officials ordered us to leave our cameras and cell phones on the bus.
The site was in the middle of nowhere, in the desert under the scorching sun. Here we were in for another surprise, which in retrospect showed us that Gaddafi is detached from reality. While we received the invitations for the visit via Libya’s embassy in Amman – that is, we were an official delegation in every way – things in practice were different than in theory.
Members of the presidential guard subjected each one of us to security screening while utilizing advanced means. Here too, none of the delegation members objected. Imagine what would have happened had this search taken place at an Israeli airport?
Inside the tent, several Knesset members delivered a speech. One of them referred to Gaddafi as the king of African kings and gave him the Palestinian Keffiyah as a gift. Another person referred to him as the king of world kings. Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi was courageous enough to interfere when he asked us to marry two, three, or four women, as Islam permits. Zoabi told him most delegation members opposed this.
The visit to Libya was my first (but not the last) trip to an Arab state that does not maintain ties with Israel. Three days were enough for me to get tired of life under Gaddafi; what would the people who have been under his rule for 40 years say?
I suggest that leaders of the Palestinian public expose the whole truth about what happened behind the scenes during this historic visit. They should display leadership and national responsibility, and openly declare that we were humiliated in Libya, and that during the meeting with Gaddafi we saw a competition of insincerity and hypocrisy. These leaders must take the initiative, because they were elected to represent the Palestinians in Israel and therefore owe them a full report about the visit.
Zohir Andreus is the editor-in-chief of Israeli Arab newspaper Ma-Alhadath
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