Posted on 08/31/2008 1:20:13 AM PDT by HAL9000
Italy agreed to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year occupation of the country during the 20th century. The money will be invested by Italy over a 25-year period. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday signed a "friendship pact" with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in Libya. Under the pact, Italy agreed to compensate Libya for abuses it committed during its colonial rule of the North African country.
Italy will invest $5 billion in Libya in a deal that effectively turns the page on colonial-era disputes that have long tarnished their relations.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made the announcement during a visit to the Mediterranean city of Benghazi where he met Libyan leader Moammar Gadhdafi. He said the accord would provide for $200 million a year over the next 25 years through investments in infrastructure projects in Libya.
The compensation package involves construction projects, student grants, and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians during World War II. It also includes a coastal highway stretching across the country from Tunisia to Egypt.
Mr. Berlusconi's office said in a statement that the premier would also hand over to Gadhafi the goddess Venus of Cyrene, an ancient Roman statue taken in 1913 by Italian troops from the ruins of the Greek and Roman settlement of Cyrene, on the Libyan coast.
Prime Minister Berlusconi said this agreement should put an end to 40 years of discord and is a concrete and moral acknowledgment of the damage inflicted on Libya by Italy during the colonial era. But many Libyans who lived under Italy's domination find it difficult to forget. A man says the behavior of Italians was cruel. They treated the Libyans like dogs.
Italy is Libya's biggest trade partner with 25 percent of Italian oil imports coming from the North African country. It now also hopes the agreement will open the path to further cooperation.
Italy would like to see Libya crack down further on illegal migrants turning up on Italian shores and will fund $500 million worth of electronic monitoring devices on the Libyan coastline.
Relations between the two countries have warmed over the last few years but it has taken years of negotiations for the two sides to hammer out a deal on compensation for Italy's rule over Libya from 1911 to 1943.
Following Saturday's agreement, Libya named August 30, Libyan-Italian Friendship Day.
On the one hand Italy’s government takes a firm stand against islam in Italy, yet they cower before Ghaddafi and pay “reparations” to Lybia. Dopes.
Pure genius. I wonder how this is going over with the extreme political wings. I'd be upset my tax dollars funding bribery for corporation market who just turn 'round to charge me full price. Oh wait, that's our globalist kleptocracy. Like I said pure genius.
So a decade from now, will they be paying reparations-reparations for the damage caused by funding the tribal warlords who’ll inevitably be the ones to end up with the current reparations (and using it to further oppress the people who never see a dime of it)?
And then after that, reparations-reparations-reparations...ad infinitum.
I don't know the whole story, but perhaps those still-living Libyan soldiers (and/or their widows) really did get short shrift after the war. I am certainly no friend of the current Libyan regime, but I suppose that there could still be thousands of Libyan veterans who were not adequately compensated for their military duty in the service of Italy. As long as those veterans (and/or their survivors) are still living, I see nothing wrong with providing them with a decent pension.
Regards,
“and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians during World War II.”
Obviously we are unlikely to actually see any details on this part of the deal, but it is quite possible the italians are at least in some legal sense on the hook here, or at least for part of it.
Any local color on this issue?
“On the one hand Italy’s government takes a firm stand against islam in Italy, yet they cower before Ghaddafi and pay “reparations” to Lybia. Dopes.”
Much of the ‘stand’ on islam in italy has been local politics iirc, also the EU and US are essentially buying off libya in return for a number of concessions of value. Buying off implies a monetary price.
So when does Rome have to go back and rebuild Carthage????
The energy sluts preferred the associated cash spread on the oil. If it wasn’t for the oil, they could have said, you got over that in infrastructure for your camels, keep your immigrants and the importation of the muslim ignorance would be over.
The oil connection probably farther enhanced by Ghadaffis crew making its way into the government.
IMO
I wonder what Ghadaffi would have sounded like speaking German?
Reparation of any kind to any group who were not FIRST HAND injured, is stupid. It is something that liberals do to redistribute wealth.
“Italy would like to see Libya crack down further on illegal migrants turning up on Italian shores”
I wonder how big a part of the move this was?
Berlusconi Faces Muslim Clash
The Telegraph (UK) | 5-4-2008 | Malcolm Moore
Posted on 05/04/2008 6:54:21 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011260/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.