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What Gaddafi told Salim when they met in 1990
What you need to know:
- And although a ceasefire was officially declared in 1987, mistrust between Libya and Chad remained and thus the topic took centre stage when Gaddafi met and held talks with Dr Salim, who a few months earlier had assumed the role of Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which is now known as the African Union
Dar es Salaam. At a time when memories of the Chadian-Libyan War were still fresh in the minds of many, Tanzanian diplomat, Pan-Africanist and Statesman, Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, met and held talks with the then Libyan strongman, Muammar Gaddafi. The war – which was fought between 1978 and 1987 – involved a series of military campaigns in Chad by Libyan and allied Chadian forces against Chadian groups supported by France, with the occasional involvement of other foreign countries and factions.
And although a ceasefire was officially declared in 1987, mistrust between the two countries remained and thus the topic took centre stage when Gaddafi met and held talks with Dr Salim, who a few months earlier had assumed the role of Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which is now known as the African Union (AU).
In his personal notes, Dr Salim, who celebrated his 82nd birthday on Tuesday, says the meeting was held in March 1990 at the former Libyan President’s residence in Tripoli.
In his notes, Dr Salim reveals how Gaddafi asked him to resolve the disputes in Western Sahara and between Libya and Chad.
In the opening of this particular note, Dr Salim states that due to security considerations, following American attempts to physically liquidate Gaddafi, the circumstances of the meeting hung in the “air of melodrama”.
“The only thing that was certain was that I would meet him but nobody would tell us for certain when and where the meeting would take place,” he says.
Alongside him at the residence of Gaddafi’s residence were three other officials Dr Salim describes by their first names as Djinnit, Zongo and Gashut. The four of them were taken to an office building and were later joined by Foreign Minister Jedallah. About 20 minutes later, a protocol office fetched Dr Salim and Jedallah.
“Eventually our car stopped and we were taken a few yards or so and there in front of us near a tent and with a background of some camels was the Libyan leader, standing impressively dressed in the Libyan national attire. Colonel Gaddafi greeted me warmly and invited me to sit. Our discussion lasted some I hour 20 minutes.”
Their conversation began getting intense when Gaddafi emphasized Dr Salim take the lead in solving what he termed ‘African problems’. At that time, former Egyptian President Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was the OAU chairman.
“President Mubarak is very busy with many things and this does not allow him time to concentrate on African problems. Salim should therefore take the initiative. When I met President Mubarak recently, I discussed with him the question of Chad. I said that the OAU should investigate the allegations by Chad on Libya’s involvement in the recent clashes in Dhafur,” Gaddafi is quoted saying in the notes.
Dr Salim says in his notes that during the meeting, Gadaffi categorically criticized the accusation by Western nations that Libya was using the Islamic Legion in the Chad clashes, calling such allegations as nonsense.
According to Dr Salim, Gadaffi said his country was ready for investigation, saying Chad was itself a Muslim country and therefore, there was no way that the Islamic Legion could be of any relevance to the Chadian situation.
“These are attempts by Christian Europeans and others to build the image of Muslim intervention by invoking the ghosts of the Islamic Legion. They are afraid of the impact of the Libyan Revolution among the Africans and the Muslims. They therefore want to tarnish its image,” Gadaffi reportedly said in Dr Salim’s notes.
The Islamic Legion was a special “Pan-African Legion” formed by Gadaffi’s Libya for intervention outside its borders and including other Arabs and black Africans.
Recruited in the Islamic Legion were foreign Arabs, Asians and Africans through offers of high pay and, in some cases, simple dragooning. The creation of the Islamic Legion reflected Gaddafi’s longstanding sense of pan-Arab and pan-Islamic revolutionary mission, which led him to intervene in about 45 countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and even Latin America.
And, during the meeting with Dr Salim, Gaddafi expressed his concerns about how sincere and keen Libya was helping Chad. He further said that the connection between Chad and Libya went as far as historical connections between the two countries.
“Many Chadian leaders and their families were helped here. Our stand has always been not hostile to Chad. We have always been friendly. But the US and France have always sought to create difficulties and division. But these efforts on their part will not change our fraternal attitude towards Chad. I wonder if Habre [Hissène] really knows where his interests are,” Gaddafi questioned. Hissène Habré, also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990.
And Gadaffi further said, “It seems that sometimes he does not understand. It is not in Libya’s interest for Chad to have instability. I profoundly hope that a solution can be found by the efforts of both President Mubarak and Dr Salim teams on the Chad and Sahara situations.”
Dr Salim then responded to him and told Gaddafi that he hoped the dispute between Chad and Libya would be solved by Heads of State and in response Gadafi said he would consult with them and seek their guidance.
The two of them shifted their conversation to discussing the role of OAU in the light of major developments in the world where Gaddafi commented that the biggest challenges that contribute to African problems are getting rid of colonialism and solving internal problems. “With respect to internal problems, Africa has its fair share of them. It will be difficult to keep the map as it is. In Africa there will be a struggle between different races. But in the Continent, it is not just a question of race but also tribal conflicts. But these struggles are universal,” Gaddafi said.
