It has been a while since Saif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Gaddafi was in the Philippines. So much has happened since his first visit in which it is widely believed he helped free Americans who were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf. We will know shortly why he has come again.
The visit comes spot on with the conviction of 14 members of the Abu Sayyaf for the 2001 kidnapping which ended with two Americans being killed. The conviction from a local court was hailed by the US government. Robert Courtney, US Department of Justice attaché, said, “It sends a strong message about the mobility of the Philippine law enforcement to deal with terrorist activities through the criminal justice system. It shows that the rule of law applies in the Philippines in terrorism cases.” He added he was “very impressed with the thoroughness and care with which the court had analyzed the evidence and reached the verdict. “The two Americans killed were Peru-born American hostage Guillermo Sobero, who was beheaded and US missionary Martin Burnham who was shot dead with three other hostages when the military attempted a rescue in June 2002. Burnham’s wife, Gracia Burnham, was shot and wounded in the rescue attempt. She survived and later returned to the Philippines briefly to testify against some of the defendants.
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When Saif arrives in Manila this time he will be feted and honored as a benefactor to Filipinos. I have two invitations on my desk one from Dr. Ricardo de Leon, president of the Mindanao State University System, who will confer on him the degree of Doctor of Humanities (honoris causa) on December 13 at Malacanang. The other is from Speaker JDV who will honor him with the Congressional Medal of Achievement for his many works as president of the Gaddafi Foundation for Charitable Associations and Development on Dec. 12.
Whatever he is coming for, those who have followed the work of father and son in the Philippines are aware that for the Gaddafis a visit here is a sentimental journey. It dates back to Marcos days when the first peace agreement was forged between the Misuari-led MNLF and the Philippine government. The failed Tripoli agreement as it was called continues to be used as a measure of other negotiations in troubled Muslim Mindanao. That, I am told, is why the older Gaddafi has a fondness for the Philippines. He feels an attachment to it because of the Tripoli agreement and has often told his son, now regarded as his heir apparent, to continue that legacy.
But times change. At the time of the father’s first foray in the Philippines, the Libyan leader was an international pariah. Today this image is no longer true and the son is in charge of reinforcing this turn-around in relations with the West for the oil-rich country.
Therefore his visit should be taken seriously and watched keenly. Scott Macleod wrote in an article in Time some time ago that according to Saif al Islam, it was British Prime Minister Tony Blair who pleaded with Gaddafi when the Libyan leader hesitated after the capture of Saddam Hussein.
“The personal diplomacy worked, and an announcement was made on December 19, 2003 that Gaddafi had agreed to dismantle his weapons. Ten months later, after Western agents had worked to remove all the components of Libya’s WMD program and dismantle its long-range ballistic missiles, Blair sent the Libyan leader a friendly letter of congratulation, addressing him as “Dear Muammar” and signing off, “Best wishes, Yours ever, Tony.”
In an interview as early as 2001, the elder Gaddafi had made the overtures to shift Libya’s strategic orientation to normalize relations with the West and align with Africa rather than the Middle East. “I supported all liberation movements fighting imperialism but I believe that is over now.” In a TIME interview in January 2005, he went further: “There is never permanent animosity or permanent friendship. We all made mistakes, both sides. The most important thing is to rectify the mistakes.”
Saif al Islam was put in charge of forging the rapprochement in exchange for Libya giving up its nuclear ambitions. Although he has become a power on his own, Saif still has to get approval from his father and this was most evident in the strategic turnaround of relations with the west. His father kept his cards close to his chest even as Saif galloped along with the new thrusts. “I will see if we can be friends,” he quotes his father saying. After many talks, the Libyans finally agreed in principle to throw its WMD projects wide open to an MI6-CIA team of technical experts. The elder Gaddafi insisted on guaranteed incentives — like military cooperation and a complete end to sanctions — if Libya followed through and not only admitted but dismantled its WMD programs. According to Time, when Gaddafi grew nervous, Saif al Islam says he reassured his father about the West’s intentions, telling him, “‘Trust me.’”
The seal of triumph for Saif came when Secretary Condoleeza Rice cited Libya’s continuing “excellent cooperation” in fighting international terrorism. After all his neck was on the line if anything went wrong with the venture to reach out to the West after years of isolation. In dozens of articles in Western media, he received plaudits for his influential, if at times, lonely advocacy for reform and human rights in Libya. It is well known that for this task he has had to hurdle difficult generation gaps not only with his father but also with other elders in the regime.
Very much a man in a hurry, Saif said he wanted to destroy everything and then rebuild, but most of all, to never waste time. To critics who think that he might be too much in a hurry, he answers that he could do with gradual reform as well, as long as it is done. He thinks of himself as “a utopian, leading Libya like the wise man of a village.” When he faces obstacles he shrugs these off and accepts that indeed “‘life is more complicated than this.’” Since he is at the forefront of Libya’s efforts to modernize it is natural for people to ask if he is will succeed his father. He denies the speculation and says his goal is to encourage a civil society prelude to Libya’s democratization.
A graduate student at the London School of Economics and president of an international foundation in aid of poor Muslims he relishes being an intermediary between Western governments as well. He played that role when he brokered with France for the release of the Bulgarian medics. In exchange Libya will receive a bonanza of nuclear cooperation with France. Having surrendered a nuclear-weapons program working on its own, Libya will now have the best civil technology money can buy. Not bad. Whatever could he want from the Philippines?
