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By Tedla Yeneakal - Capital
29 January 2007
Libyan leader Muamar Ghadafi has brought in 15 cars and two bags full of gold as a gift for African heads of states who are expected to participate in the 8th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, scheduled to open tomorrow, Monday, January 29th.
Reliable sources disclosed to Capital that Ghadafi’s 15 cars have already arrived at Bole International Airport and have been issued permits to enter the country; however, the two bags of gold are kept in a room at the airport awaiting consent from Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The Assembly of the Union is expected to discuss and pass several decisions on the crisis in Somalia and Darfur, Sudan, in addition to conferring on other important issues, such as climate change in Africa.
Ghadafi is expected to lead a large delegation that will stay at the Sheraton Addis. We have not received any confirmation as to whether the Libyan leader has been given the green light from the Ethiopian Prime Minister to bring in the gold until we went to print.
Sources from Bole International Airport disclosed that the two bags of gold have been seized to check on the legality of bringing gold into the country.
Ghadafi is noted for engaging in very controversial ventures; Britain and the United States restored diplomatic relations with Libya in 1999 after a 15- year hiatus and have been involved in negotiations to end the country’s international isolation.
The United States, which retained its 17-year embargo, has Libya on its list of nations that sponsor terrorism. The U.N. Security Council ended sanctions against Libya after Ghadafi’s government took responsibility for the Pan Am bombing and agreed to pay 2.7 billion USD to the victims’ families.
In relation to Ethiopia, Ghadafi has been pushing for many years to have the headquarters of the African Union shifted from Addis Ababa to the Libyan capital Tripoli.