Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem

Answer to a Question

About the dimensions of the Libyan mediation regarding the Western hostages held in the Philippines

The Libyan mediation in the issue of the Western hostages kidnapped in the Philippines by the Abu Sayyaf group, which has been known for its links with the Libyan regime for two decades, is part of the series of actions aimed at restructuring the image of Libya in the eyes of world public opinion. Part of these actions was Gaddafi's withdrawal of his support to radical groups and his aiding of the peace efforts in the African continent, as well as other actions that will pave the way for Libya's return to the international community, in order to play a vital role in achieving the American interests in general and in the African continent in particular. However, this issue in particular has a specific aspect related to improving the image of the Libyan regime in the eyes of European public opinion. Hence, it was meticulously staged and it was not an incident that happened to be exploited. Evidence of this is reflected in the fact that all the hostages were Europeans. Six of them were French, two Germans and two Finns, in addition to two South African nationals whose presence was necessary for the political scenario, namely the intervention of Nelson Mandela, to plead with the Libyan regime to mediate and negotiate with the kidnappers. Evidently, the release of the hostages will bolster the standing of Gaddafi before African public opinion, which in turn will consolidate the position of Libya in the continent. Another evidence is reflected in the fact that the issue of kidnapping European subjects is almost a routine process in Yemen, and never have such events enjoyed this hyped media coverage on the scale of that given to the Libyan mediation with regard to the hostages of Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines. As for the reason for confining the story to European public opinion, it was due to the notoriety of the Libyan regime, America's agent, in issues that distorted its image before European public opinion throughout the past three decades. For instance, Libya backed the separatist movements in the Balkans, the IRA, Baader-Meinhof and the Red Brigades. The Libyan regime was also implicated in the killing of the British policewoman, which led to the severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and in the bombing of the French aircraft and the PAN-AM aircraft over Lockerby. Furthermore, the Libyan regime has always been opposed to European colonialism in Africa, and this was another service to America. The concomitants of the issue indicate in a conspicuous manner that America has been active through her embassy and her agents in the Philippines in order to make the Libyan mediation a European wish, after she intervened to impede the seemingly successful Libyan attempt at concluding a deal with the kidnappers to free the hostages. This led the Europeans to cling to the Libyan initiative, which has recently succeeded in freeing some of the hostages, thus reflecting the desired image of the Libyan regime before European public opinion.
 
What America aims to achieve from the embellishment of the Libyan regime's image, thus paving the way for its return to the "International Community", is related to the role that she assigned to the Libyan regime in Africa, in addition to the lucrative business that the American oil companies are going to reap from their investments in Libya, now that the sanctions imposed on Libya have kept other competitors at bay. This will also allow Libya to revive her economy so that she could undertake the role assigned to her in Africa with relative ease. The USA is planning to turn the Libyan regime into a custodian of Africa, now that she has succeeded in curbing the European influence in the African continent thanks to Libya in the first instance and Egypt as well. Although America is planning to assign a host of regional roles to Nigeria and South Africa, Libya is however going to be the safety valve of the American policy in Africa, due to the standing of Gaddafi among the African leaders, having helped most of them to seize power in their respective countries after he had, to a large extent, eradicated European influence from the African continent. One of the most prominent roles that the Libyan regime will play in Africa is to act as the gateway to Africa for the Europeans and to restrict the commercial activities of the European companies who hold a host of monopolies in Africa. This constitutes a vital component of a new American policy equation that stipulates the generation of some kind of equilibrium between the rich countries of the north and the poor countries of the south. The aim of this policy is to lend some credibility to the world order that America is currently leading and at the same time aiming to turn the conventional major players such as Europe, Russia and China into parts of this world order, with nothing to distinguish them from the other countries, save for the status of their relationship with the United States. This explains the rise in oil prices which America was behind and which directly harmed the European countries. America aims at curbing the economic superiority of the North at the expense of the South. It is also aimed at tempting the American oil companies to increase their investments. Hence, the strategy from which the Libyan regime departs had been prearranged through the establishment of a host o major investment companies, which would undertake the import of goods from abroad and then re-export them to the various African countries. Gaddafi has also encouraged people in Libya to invest in Africa by undertaking to hand out salaries and support various business ventures undertaken by individuals from Libya; this will enable Libya to carry out the role expected of her in Africa in an efficient manner.

Therefore, Gaddafi is deemed the main inheritor of Jamal Abdu-n-Nasser in serving the American interests. He has served American foreign policy better than the American leaders themselves; he is only rivaled by Saddam Hussein, who enabled America to dominate the Gulf region.
 
The Media Forum of Hizb ut-Tahrir

17th Jumada al-Thaani 1421
15th September 2000

www.hizbuttahrir.org