President Nicolas Sarkozy
of France recently welcomed what
may end up being one of the most
controversial visitors during
his term. Colonel Muammar
el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader
classified as a dictator for
years arrived in Paris December
10, coincidentally International
Human Rights day. Qaddafi is
known for his appalling human
rights record established during
the 36 years he has been in
power, the third longest for a
dictator.
Sarkozy invited Qaddafi
to France five months after the
liberation of the Bulgarian
nurses who had spent 8 years
locked up in Libya, accused of
intentionally infecting 438
children with the HIV. The
conditions of the release are
still a bit mysterious as
Sarkozy has not openly stated
the figure he paid for their
release. The liberation was a
victory for human rights
organizations and independent
observers who had contested the
imprisonment. For Sarkozy the
liberation was an achievement, a
sign that early on in his term
he was already fulfilling his
campaign promises.
This time around it was
France that was rewarded as
Sarkozy signed a ten billion
euro contract including several
Airbus planes, army planes, and
collaboration for a factory to
extract salt from seawater with
the help of a nuclear reactor.
The French president used these
successful contracts to defend
his acceptance of the Libyan
leader. Sarkozy broadcasted a
message of promise for the
French saying this was for the
“employment and growth of the
French. So that things are
clear, I’m also here to fight on
the side of French businesses so
we can get contracts and orders
that others would be happy to
have”.
But the French were more
concerned with the Qaddafi’s
human rights record. Fifty two
percent of French claimed to be
against the visit according to a
poll taken at the end of the
five day visit. Sarkozy’s own
Human Rights Minister, Rama Yade,
openly stating her
discontentment in a highly
controversial article, published
on the first day of the visit.
“Colonel Qaddafi must understand
that our country is not a
doormat on which a leader,
terrorist or not, can come and
wipe the blood of his crimes off
his feet. France should not
receive this kiss of death,” she
said. Other members of Sarkozy’s
UMP party were more discreet but
absented themselves from various
meetings with the Libyan
leader. The opposition
Socialist party assailed the
visit and ripped into Sarkozy
for welcoming Qaddafi for his
first visit in over three
decades.
Although Qaddafi has
renounced his actions, given up
his nuclear arms and paid
compensation for the French and
U.S. mid-air plane bombings, his
future intentions remain
unclear. Sarkozy highlighted
the fact that the only way to
progress was to be open to
discussion with leaders, whoever
they were. He promised to raise
the issue in his meetings and
after Monday’s first encounter
proclaimed that they had made
advancements.
But Sarkozy got a nasty
slap in the face when Qaddafi
denied any discussions about the
subject and went as far as
condemning France for their own
record. In a UNESCO address he
focused on the treatment
immigrants received in his host
country, notably in the suburbs,
an obvious reference to the
riots in 2005 and just a few
weeks ago.
For the French president
to have worked so hard to
convince politicians and the
public that this was the right
things to do, this forthright
criticism is likely to hurt his
reputation. As for Qaddafi,
well, he’s off to Spain so we’ll
have to see what the next visit
holds in store.