Author Topic: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya  (Read 2300 times)

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Offline Vito

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Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« on: September 02, 2008, 02:51:48 PM »
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080902/wl_time/italypaysreparationstolibya

Quote
One of the perks of one-man rule is picking your national holidays. Libya's Col. Muammar Gaddafi has invented a few fÊtes for his North African nation since seizing power in a 1969 coup. Three years ago, during stalled negotiations with Italy over reparations for Rome's colonial rule in Libya, he added another: Oct. 7 became "Vendetta Against Italians Day."
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Now, in an unprecedented act of contrition by a former European colonial power, Italy has formally apologized for its past injustices during its 30-year reign in Libya early last century, and agreed to pay $5 billion in reparations to Tripoli. Gaddafi promptly declared Aug 30 - the day the deal was inked in - Libyan-Italian Friendship Day.

Perhaps it should be called "Silvio Day." Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Gaddafi, who share a certain mix of both durability and unpredictability, signed the deal under one of Gaddafi's trademark desert tents in the coastal city of Benghazi, trading jokes and each sharing pictures of their grandchildren.

Berlusconi insists that Libya has inched back into the international community, and that the hefty dollar figure includes a large portion in investment projects that will benefit Italian companies, including a long planned major highway to link Algeria to Tunisia and Egypt. Gaddafi also announced that Italy will get preferential deals on his country's oil and gas reserves, and threw in the return of an ancient Venus statue taken to Rome during colonial times as a sign of goodwill.

Perhaps more crucially for voters at home, Berlusconi received a written assurance from Gaddafi that his country will do more to stem the tide of illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libyan shores, most of whom wash up on Italy's shores.

But not everyone was impressed. "Gaddafi is a dictator," wrote Romano Bracalini in the L'Opinione daily. "He's strengthened politically and can claim victory. This is not a proud day for the Italian Republic."

The agreement also sets an interesting new precedent. Italy also spent time in Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, which may now demand similar compensation.

Former colonies of other European powers may have reason to study Libya's deal. Algerian newspaper Liberte', for instance, called on French President Nicolas Sarkozy to "take heed of the Italian example." The paper L'Expression added that "genocide, torture and crimes against humanity most definitely existed in Algeria. They were the work of colonial France and its military contingent, and lasted 132 years." Le Potential, a daily in Congo, sent a similar message to the Belgium government that once reigned in that country.

Libya's deal with Italy is part of its ongoing effort to reconcile with the West. In July, it reached a final compensation deal with the families of the 270 victims of the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which was blamed on Gaddafi's regime. This deal appears to have led to full normalization of diplomatic relations with Washington and an expected visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice later this week. Condi Day anyone?

Offline Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2008, 02:56:37 PM »
I already saw this, and was going to post on it but you beat me to it. This is beyond ridiculous.  ::)

Offline Ulli

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2008, 03:34:05 PM »
What fools.  :(
"Cities run by progressives don't know how to police. ... Thirty cities went up last night, I went and looked at every one of them. Every one of them has a progressive Democratic mayor." Rudolph Giuliani

Offline briann

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2008, 03:40:07 PM »
Wow.  That just shows how the west will bend over backwards to appease the turd world islamonutz for oil.

This is all in the name of oil.  The US, Italy, and Libya are all of a sudden buddies... so that we can justify freely buying Dirty oil from this dirty regime.

WAY TO GO BERSCULONI!!

Offline MasterWolf1

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2008, 03:58:02 PM »
I am disgusted by it coming from Italian decent
RIGHT WING AMERICAN AND PROUD OF IT. IF YOU WANTED TO PROVE YOU WEREN'T A "RACIST" IN 2008 BY VOTING FOR OBAMA, THEN PROVE IN 2012 YOU ARE NOT AN IDIOT FOR VOTING AGAINST OBAMA!

Offline P J C

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2008, 04:49:13 PM »
This is truly unacceptable.
"A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but a foolish man's heart directs him toward the left." Ecclesiastes 10:2

Offline Americanhero1

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2008, 11:19:58 PM »
This is sad :'(

Offline Vito

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Re: Italy Pays Reparations to Libya
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2008, 11:21:03 PM »
Supposedly this will ease illegal immigration coming from Libya, and throw billions back into the Italian economy being that there is suppose to be a super highway in N.Africa engineered and built by Italian companies. It all leads back to the oil...