The past and present of Europe’s fling with Gaddafi
by Recep Korkut*

In fact Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said the revolt that has been going on in the country for several weeks and has already resulted in the killing of more than 200 people is a dagger that has stabbed the regime in the back. According to him, the rebellious public is a “network” that wants to ruin stability.

After taking a lesson from Turkey’s experience with coups, Gaddafi staged a coup in 1969 and has clung to power ever since. Libya has been rotting away in the hands of Gaddafi for 42 years. Even though it is an oil-rich country, the majority of the people live in poverty. It enjoys high per capita income as compared to the rest of Africa, but the income is not distributed evenly among the public. The unemployment rate is around 30 percent. National resources are spent on projects that don’t concern development. Gaddafi, who does not respect the public’s human and democratic rights, employs slavery. Libya’s foreign policy depends on Gaddafi’s mood. Once he made an appeal to the EU not to accept Turkey as a member. He said Turkey was a Trojan horse and would bring thousands of militants like bin Laden to the EU. One of his other tendencies is damaging the global image of Islam. He used to talk about the need to have many children in order to fight against the Israelis and to wipe Jews off the face of the earth, as well as openly supported certain terror organizations. As a result he played into the hands of opponents of Islam in the West. Now Libyans are putting their lives on the line to get rid of this regime and dictator.

However, Libya’s case shows us something else: Every country has its own values and interests. While at times these values and interests overlap, sometimes they contradict each other. But we see that while Westerners constantly talk about values, in practice they only act in line with their interests. Libya is the most obvious example of this hypocrisy. This is why Gaddafi’s tendency to give moral lessons during his visits to European countries did not bother leaders. The main underlying reason for the West’s flirtation with Libya is not Gaddafi’s moderate stance against Islamic fundamentalism. Surely this is one of the reasons why Gaddafi exists and is accepted and why Gaddafi started appearing in the international arena. However the main unshakable bond between them is based on Gaddafi’s role as a guard that protects the white West from black African invaders.

Libya’s role as doorman is not actually new. Many years ago, Libyan cities were transit stops in the slave trade to the West. The small merchant class that controlled these affairs in the past left their place to Gaddafi. Pursuant to the repatriation agreement with the EU, Libya takes back immigrants and refugees who reach Europe via Libya. In return for this voluntary service, Libya receives million of euros every year. Sometimes refugees are the subject of special offers that come with certain agreements.

In addition to repatriation from European countries, there are many countries that use Libya as a waiting room for migrants. In fact, some cities look just like an open-air refugee camp. Immigrants and refugees in this country, which is like a dead-end street for them, must endure deplorable treatment. Not only do they have no legal protections, but they can’t even meet their basic needs. They are susceptible to exploitation and are struggling to stay alive. We learned about agreements that aimed to stop migration to European countries mainly because Gaddafi would make a clamor over them to obtain a little more money. For example, prior to signing a deal to stop illegal immigration to Europe, Gaddafi made the following remarks to heat up the bargaining process: “We don’t know what will happen, what will be the reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans. We don’t know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent, or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions.”

As Libyans prepare for the post-Gaddafi period and seek to end his rule out of legitimate anger, Gaddafi has quickly used this trump card to keep the West from emphasizing democracy. Libya has warned the EU that it will stop cooperating on illegal immigration if the EU encourages anti-government demonstrations in the country. Another striking development is that Gaddafi has brought snipers in from other African countries. It shows that he sees his citizens as a threat and is looking for help from other countries.

Even though conditions in Libya are unfortunate enough to make citizens want to escape to other countries, they still have hopes in their country. This undermines the reputation of the West. The current situation shows that one aspect of the decadent administration in Libya concerns Europe. The West is just as guilty for the 42-year rule of Gaddafi in Libya. It may be too early to speculate about whether the West’s unshakable bond with dictators is ending. But even if this alliance ends, we still can’t say that Europe’s values prevail over its interests.