President Abbas meets Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

Published today, Sept 1, 2009, 16:43

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi in the Tripoli on Monday.

Gaddafi, the chairman of the African Union, told delegates at a special summit of the organization in Triopli that Israel was fueling conflicts across Africa.

Israel is "behind all of Africa's conflicts," Gaddafi told about 30 African leaders gathered under a huge tent at Tripoli airport, according to Al-Jazeera.

"As African brothers, we must find solutions to stop the superpowers who are pillaging our continent," he said, according to the network.

He demanded the closure of all Israeli embassies across the continent, describing Israel as a "gang" and saying it uses "the protection of minorities as an excuse to launch conflicts."

Israel, Al-Jazeera states, has acknowledged operating what it called a “forward policy” in Africa between the 1960s and 1980s, intervening in wars in Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan.

Ghaddafi calls for resolving African conflicts by self

2009-09-01 03:01:44  

    CAIRO, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) --

Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi told a special summit of the African Union (AU) that African countries should face regional challenges and resolve the conflicts plaguing the African continent by themselves.

    In his opening speech, Ghaddafi stressed the importance of solving the conflicts facing Africa as they threaten the peace and security of the whole world.

    He said, "We should find solutions to conflicts among the African brothers and move forward to stop the superpowers pillaging Africa's resources," according to Libya's official Jamahiriya News Agency.

    The Libyan leader said Israel stands behind all of Africa's conflicts, calling for expelling Israeli embassies out of African countries because Israel seeks to stir up sedition as a pretext to protect minorities.

    Ghaddafi held Israel responsible for fueling the conflict in Darfur, saying that Israel's hosting to an office of Sudan Liberation movement of Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur is a proof.

    He also expressed his regret that France hosts Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur while claiming its commitment to world peace and security.

    Touching on Sudan, Ghaddafi, the current chairman of the 53-nation bloc, said the Darfur crisis can be solved by Sudanese hands, noting hat international interference deepened Darfur crisis.

    The Libyan leader described the relations between Sudan and Chad as a reflection to the internal conflict that the two nations suffer due to the increasing of rebel groups in the two nations.

    Meanwhile, he called on leaders and governments of Africa not to give any value to the national borders, saying that the borders created by occupation would disappear to give away to one African space, one common market, one currency, one central bank, one defensive power, one interior security and one identity.

    He said this is happening not just in Africa, but the entire world is turning into bigger entities with full potential of competing with each other in a way that the national state no longer able to do.

    Ghaddafi stressed the need for Africa both current and future generations that there are no African conflicts and wars especially now that the continent is heading towards establishing the United States of Africa.

    The AU kicked off the special summit in Libya earlier in the day to tackle regional conflicts, especially situations in Somalia, Sudan's Darfur and the Great Lakes region.

    About 30 African leaders attended the special summit, which is held on the eve of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution, which brought Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi to power after overthrowing Western-backed King Idriss on Sept. 1, 1969.

    It is AU's third summit this year. The 53-member organization normally holds two summits a year.

    At its 13th summit held in Libya's Sirte city in July, the AU accepted its current chairman Ghaddafi's proposal to hold a special session on the consideration and resolution of conflicts in Africa.

    The AU, established in 2002 to replace the Organization of African Unity that was founded in 1963, aims at preserving and promoting peace and stability in the African continent, carrying out the strategy of reform and poverty reduction and realizing the development and renewal of Africa. 

Editor: Mu Xuequan