Sirte 2.3.2009
Italian Prime Minister Takes Part in Libyan Celebration of the 32nd Anniversary of the People’s Authority
1st Addensum
Sirte 2.3.2009 (JANA)
For so many years, your Leader and I had followed this treaty with a great deal of firmness.
I have to say: I extend my thanks to your Leader who had shown an appreciating the difficulties of our democracy and parliamentary system…which prevented us from reaching this treaty in the time which both the Leader and myself desired.
This treaty brings an end to tragic past…and a one we hope will be a beginning to a new phase of friendship and cooperation.
The Leader told me he intends to make 30/8 a day of Friendship between Gt Jamahiriya and the Republic of Italy.
For me it was a great honour that an invitation was extended to me to come and spend 30/8 in the company of the Leader and to stay over to share you the celebration of the 40th anniversary of your revolution.

The treaty means close friendship between our countries…In addition to financial commitments, Italy will build homes and will use its hospitals to treat victims of the distant past…it also will return to Libya manuscripts, books and valuable antiquities.
On its part the Gt Jamahiriya will open its doors to Italians who were born here and who harbour a great love for your country.
There will be a chance for massive cooperation that will bring major benefits for our two countries.
I just want to say thank you to your Leader for his commitment to this treaty, and avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate him on his election as the Chairman of the African Union…he deserves this being the Leader of the Jamahiriya, the King of African Kings and the Chairman of African Union…he even deserves more, because he more than anybody else struggled for the sake of the unity of African countries.
As a Chairman of the African Union I extend to him an invitation to come to Italy for the first time for a major event, the G8 Summit which will be convened in Italy in Sardinia in July.
In my capacity as the Chairman of the G8, I have introduced changes on the formation of the group…in the first day the meeting will be restricted to the traditional G8, on the second day emerging economies… India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Mexico, and Brazil will join the sessions, while on the third day the meeting will be joined by South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia.
These together represent 83% of the world economy and more than 60% of the world population.
The third day will be entirely devoted to the Chairman of the African Union, your Leader along with five other African countries… to listen to what he have to say and what solutions he may have for the problems of the African continent.
The world of today is united in suffering from a major crisis… there is wound that’s not healed in the world body namely the Israeli-Palestinian struggle which keeps the wound bleeding.
I came to you from Sharm al Sheikh where a conference was convened today for the reconstruction of Gaza…I know how keen your Leader is about this issue.
Today morning, we laid down the basis for international community aid to the Palestinian people.
At the G8 meeting I will suggest to the international community a major plan which I like to call Marshall Plan to support Palestinian economy.
This support aims to bring about prosperity to Palestinians because it is just not possible that two peoples live side by side with such a big gap between wealth in Israel and poverty on the other side.
In this respect I invite all international institutions... and we will build an international airport in the West Bank and big hotel to make it easier for Christians and Muslims in the world to visit the holy places in Palestine.
Healing the wound means to bring about peace and stability for all of the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
I think this will delight the heart of your Leader who very often expresses to me his concern over this unhealed wound.
Once again I express my heartfelt thanks for the generosity ..and once more I condemn our past for what it did to your people and kindly ask you for forgiveness.
We will work with your Leader for the benefit of our peoples.
Forward, as your Leader says.

Sirte, 2.3.2009
(JANA) First we congratulate ourselves on the anniversary of the establishment of the authority of the people... now it became clear that the authority was virtually handed over to the people on 2 March 1977, and they are practicing it in through the Basic People’s Congresses and the people’s committees and all the activists of the Libyan people... there is no authority but to the people.
It has been established to the world that here on this land the state of the masses was set up men and women that’s the Libyan Jamahiriya..
We congratulate ourselves and our guests on this great day.
We extend our compliments to our guests who are with us today to take part in the celebration of this occasion ..namely and foremost our close friend Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy and the high-ranking delegation accompanying him led by our friend Senator Andreotti.
We salute our guests from everywhere in the world who are with us today and also those who were not able to attend but on their way to here.
We salute representatives of Foreign Countries and Brotherly African delegations... I can see high-ranking delegations from Africa and from Asia.
I can see our sister Migawati... and brothers from Guinea Bissau... our sister First Lady of Sierra Leone.
I can see also popular delegations from Tuoureg from outside Libya though they are Libyans but dwell in other countries. I salute all the those here in the audience and I apologize for not seeing other delegations attending.
Once again, as I said on 30/8/2008, in Benghazi in the presence of my dear friend Berlusconi when we signed the friendship, partnership and cooperation agreement between both countries…
Once again I would like to say it is a historic moment to accomplish this, and the thing all of us judged by is that a serious mistake occurred in the relations of both peoples on the opposite banks of the Mediterranean.
However, after long decades, we were able to condemn the mistake and that it was a serious historic mistake, we have turned its page, as your friend Berlusconi asserted, who asked for forgiveness and accepting the apology.
Certainly, August 30, is the day of historic friendship between the Libyan and Italian peoples, and God willing, we will celebrate it annually.
Then the signing of the agreement between both counties, which concerns turning the page of the abhorrent past and condemning the failed colonial scheme, is truly regarded as historic precedent for all countries that colonized and that were colonized.
The historic acknowledgment by the free Italian people, whose will had been liberated from the fascist, colonial, empire and expanding disease, should be enough.
One of the free Italians is here before you in the heart of Libya, in Sirte, which was the battle frontline, telling you it is impossible for a people to govern another, occupy other people or other land, or seek to own it or remain in it.
This concerns us... this is a historic condemnation of the colonial scheme at the world’s level.
After all suffering now Libya became free and it belongs to Libyans not to Italy or the Fascist Mussolini.
It suffices that Mussolini himself was punished by the Italian people who executed him and dragged his body on streets.
But at the same time... the Italian people and we pay tribute to men like Garibaldi, who united Italy, Cavour and Mazzini who thought of uniting Italy and eventually Garibaldi implemented the idea.
Now new Italy if free Italy... we have to accept its apology and we are together against colonialism and condemn the abortive project and turn the black page.
We have to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries.
I say the relationship between Libya and Italy from now will be based on a legal obligation I mean legal authority ..because this is unlike relations between any other two countries in terms of diplomacy, economy and administrative procedures signed by clerics and ministers..the relationship between Libya and Italy is now signed by the Libyan and Italian peoples.
Such relationship is the legal and legitimate and sacred… that respectable being endorsed by the peoples of the two countries that’s friendship and partnership.
This a great historical achievement.
From now on the relationship between the two countries will be based on this premise ..none can violate what was agreed by the two peoples the Libyan and the Italian ..everyone is bound to respect this legal obligation..
I hope that all Libyans would overcome their emotions and to extend the hand of friendship, partnership and cooperation to their Italian friends, and to realize that now it is a relations between two independent peoples and each people enjoys a free will the relation of the equal, a relation of respect and equality.
We should realize that when we wanted to prove our competence in resistance and not recognizing the colonization of our country, we fought and offered the pure blood and precious souls, we were not afraid, and we did not say the Italian monarchy was a great country at the time, and we are a defenseless people who was under the Ottoman colonization, we did not give in when fighting and martyrdom were a duty, we fought and became martyrs.
Now it is time for friendship and the acknowledgement of two equal peoples, each people enjoys an independent will and could accept what’s acceptable or refuse what’s not.
Now, we should accept in spite of the past, to the hand that extended to us and apologized for the past to accept friendship with Italy and to open the new page, and to allow the Italians who resided in Libya to return and visit and tour it, or for Italian companies to work in it.
The ban that was imposed on Italian companies, as contracts were made only through complicated agreements since the revolution and until now, should be lifted after this agreement, rather, Italian companies should be favored, and Italy should favored.
This only happened after our will became free... the freedom of will is very important... There are countries from whom exited, had its own independence flag, but its will is not free..there may be no foreign troops on its land but its will is not free.
Therefore these countries are not free ..independence is the independence of the will ..if your will is not independent you are not free and hence you are enslaved even if there is no foreign soldiers on your land.. there is no value for this independence.
According to this treaty we accept an apology from Italy..according to this treaty Italy will compensate the Libyan people by paying 250 million dollars annually for 20 years.
Furthermore the manuscripts and antiquities taken from Libya during the colonial era will be returned.
You know that our friend Berlusconi came to Benghazi on 30.8 with “Venus of Cyrene” the famous antiquity which was recovered.
Prior to Berlusconi our friend D’Alema then Prime Minister of Italy came “Aphrodite” which is now in the museum.. it was taken from Libya.
The recovery of these two pieces of antiquity opened the way for returning all antiquities that were looted from Libya under the Italian colonial rule and so were all manuscripts.
Then, according to the agreement, cooperation between Italy and Libyan will at all levels and by all means, to determine the fate of the thousands of Libyans who were exiled to Italy and forcefully taken from their homes and cities to Italy.
We are yet to determine their fate: Have all of them died? Were they murdered? Have they been released? Have they married in Italy and had children? Are they children? Are they grandchildren? Where are their graves? How were they buried? How did each one of them die… was it due to illness? Famine? Torture? Execution? Or a natural disease?
The fate of thousands of Libyan is unknown.
I am very sorry to say that between 1945 and until the revolution in 1969, Libyan had to pay attention to this dangerous issue, as in that period some of the exiled…perhaps large number of them were alive.
Why didn’t the Libyans talk about the exiled…someone’s grandfather was exiled, another father, mother, sister, and even a son!?
Now they say yes, someone comes to me and tells me yes my father was with the exiled, my grandfather, uncle, wife, sister and mother.
Why haven’t you talked? It is not one, two or three, rather thousands of Libyans…this means they have thousands of families.
Members of the council of representatives had relatives among the exiled, I told them why haven’t raised your father’s and grandfather’s issue? We answered we didn’t think about it and we couldn’t talk.
I mean a human being feels but feel unfortunate that from 1945 when the British administration was introduced… when the allies triumphed over the axis countries from 45 up to the outbreak of the revolution.. .all this period was suitable enough to search for the exiles.
But we cannot... nor can the world, humanity and history afford to remain silent over the faith of thousands who were deported from their country.
According to this treaty, Italy and our friend Berlusconi share with us the anguish of over the exiles case.
They say we feel sorry for the thousands of Libyans who were deported from Libya to Italy and their whereabouts.
Our Italian friends have but to cooperate to solve this case.
We are all in the same boat... we and them... they are feeling sorry so we do... they do not know what happened to the exiles so do we.
Again, according to the agreement, Italy will establish hospitals in Benghazi to implant limbs for Libyans who were injured by landmines, planted in Libya during the era of the Italian colonization or during World War II.
And also promised to treat Libyans injured by landmines at Italy’s expense in Italy.
And according to the agreement, Italy also promised to accept Libyan students in continuous batches at Italy’s expense, undergraduate and post graduate studies, as a continuous scholarship.
Then there are other things such as building some residents in some damaged areas, and assistance in constructing areas destroyed by mines, mine maps concerning the location of mines… and things of this sort.
But at the same time everybody has to know that the issue of mines in particular, and also the archaeology and the archives is not the responsibility of Italy only. Germany and Britain are also responsible for laying mines in Libya during WWII.
The evidence is also available. The German mines which we removed from Libyan territory covered whole fields planted by Germany and Rommel. This is quite known.
This is another issue and we will co-operate with Italy and with these countries regarding the mines.
Perhaps some manuscripts or achieves and archaeological pieces were moved from Libya to Britain and Germany during WW2 at the time of the British administration. As for the Libyan manuscripts moved to Turkey during the Ottoman colonization of Libya, this is another issue and we will claim it these things from Turkey.
As our friend Berlusconi said this agreement is an example to be followed by other countries and the European Union is interested in it.
He told you yesterday that he was in the European Union Council and the European Union supports this agreement and it considers that its impacts are not limited to Libya or Italy only but go beyond that to Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean.
Even though we have totally rejected the project of the union for the Mediterranean and you have seen its tangible projects in the form of the Gaza massacre… the Israelis and the Palestinians are member in the union for the Mediterranean.
This is the Union of the Mediterranean. Is for the Mediterranean? Are the Palestinians and the Israelis members in a union for the Mediterranean or the non Mediterranean? Is the union a massacre in Gaza? From the onset we told them that they are not qualified to be members in the Union for the Mediterranean.
If the Union for the Mediterranean gathers Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Turks and Kurds to fight each other this is a time bomb. It is already exploding and we are rejecting it. It is really a massacre, the massacre of Gaza. This has slaughtered the Union for the Mediterranean. However we are committed to 5 + 5 or in fact to 6 + 6 adding Egypt and Greece. We are committed to the co-operation of the African Union with the European Union.
We are committed that 5 + 5 or 6 + 6 forms a link between south Europe and north Africa, a link between the two unions.
This is reasonable. This is useful and it is practical. But jumping in the air and other sentimental or expansionist projects cannot be successful.
As the process of Barcelona failed Libya did not participate in the Barcelona process and judged it as a failure from the first day and then in failed and perished within ten years and the Union for the Mediterranean came on its relics, We now declare that the Union for the Mediterranean is born dead and will not survive. It will not continue and it is useless.
Therefore we will act for a Union of Co-operation between the African Union and the European Union. This is welcome – it is useful and logical between south Europe and North Africa. We welcome 5 + 5 and 6 + 6. Anything else is not accepted because it is not useful and would not succeed.
This agreement established a strong link between North Africa and South Europe. It created a strategic bridge for co-operation partnership and friendship, not only between Libya and Italy but between Africa and Europe. The credit goes to the Libyans and Italians who established this bridge.
I have another observation. There were Libyans who were recruited by Italy and they used to receive pensions but that was cut and in line with the agreement Italy would resume paying the pensions for those Libyans or their relatives. Even though the Libyans are not in need of that but this is rehabilitation. At the same time it is proof that the Italy of today is not the colonialist Italy and it is compensating the Libyans who fought for Italy.
We do not forget the favors of neighboring nations Egypt, Chad and Tunisia. These are sisterly countries that have always accommodated us when Italy invaded us and we thank them on such a day as history is being rectified.
In the end what I conclude in respect of this agreement is that I would rather the Libyans appreciate at first the courage of their Italian friends like Berlusconi and even Prodi, D’Alema, Dini and Andreotti. I mean those courageous men who took his brave decision.
The declaration was signed in 1998 but we did not find one with enough courage to sign the agreement. Of course those who came before our friend Berlusconi paved the way for the real agreement and they would not respect the agreement. No one would have wished that it is signed so many times.
Even our friend Prodi told me yesterday “I wish the agreement has been signed in my time”. I told him you have contributed to this outcome and you have taken good steps. What I want to say is that I know that we have sentiments full of passion, traumas and wounds of the past because we have a large number of those here present who have their relatives and grandfathers and sons killed by the mines in addition to what took place in the colonialist days. All these means material and psychological traumas. But now we have to know that Italy itself shares our pain of what the Italian. Fascist colonizers did to us.
It is enough that the Italians themselves say to us it is impossible and impractical that a nation rules another nation or occupies the land of another nation or has ambitions to remain in it.
Of course we have many reservations regarding Italy. Firstly I personally and for forty years from the revolution abstained from visiting Italy but how you are free to go to Italy. You are free and you can go to have what you want in Italy because it is a friendly country and opens you doors, borders and hearts.
I have accepted with pleasure the invitation of my friend Berlusconi to visit Italy thanks to God who turned the enemies into friends. The hostile spirit changed to a spirit of friendship and co-operation. Thanks God we have reached such a day in this historic moment.
We implore mercy on the spirits of the martyrs, our fathers and grandfathers who fought the Italian colonization.
We say let Libyan – Italian friendship continue forever.

Jamahiriya News Agency