Africa
Gaddafi wants EU cash to stop African migrants
September 1, 2010 · 7 Comments
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi says the EU should pay Libya at least 5bn euros (£4bn; $6.3bn) a year to stop illegal African immigration and avoid a “black Europe”.
Speaking on a visit to Italy, Col Gaddafi said Europe “could turn into Africa” as “there are millions of Africans who want to come in”.
Italy has drawn criticism for handing over to Libya migrants it intercepts at sea, without screening them first.
Far fewer now reach Italy from Libya.
European Commission figures show that in 2009 the number of people caught trying to enter Italy illegally fell to 7,300, from 32,052 in 2008. The data was collected under the EU’s Eurodac fingerprinting system.
Col Gaddafi has forged close ties with Italy since a friendship treaty was signed two years ago. It sought to draw a line under historic bitterness between Libya and Italy, its former colonial master.
“Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in,” said Col Gaddafi, quoted by the AFP news agency.
He was speaking at a ceremony in Rome late on Monday, standing next to Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
“We don’t know what will happen, what will be the reaction of the white and Christian Europeans faced with this influx of starving and ignorant Africans,” Col Gaddafi said.
“We don’t know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions.”
Audience of women
Col Gaddafi has long seen himself as a champion of African interests on the international stage and has hosted many summits with African leaders.
Mr Berlusconi made no immediate comment on Col Gaddafi’s demand.
Italy has been carrying out joint naval patrols with Libya for the past year, intercepting illegal migrants at sea.
The BBC’s David Willey says Col Gaddafi’s visit to Rome was overshadowed by another controversial speech he made – to two groups of several hundred young Italian women, hired at a fee of 70 or 80 euros each from a local modelling agency.
He told them that Islam should become the religion of Europe and gave them free copies of the Koran, after he had lectured them for an hour on the freedoms enjoyed by women in Libya.
Source:BBC
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By Mo Guled
Tags: Col Gaddafi, Gaddafi, Gaddafi calls blacks barbarians
Readers Comments (7)
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What is New with this guy
next time maybe he will immgrant to Euro
Another racist Arab is what he is.
Gaddafi is an arrogant wannabe. He is notorious for being ridiculous and unpredictable. Sometimes he likes Africans, most of the time he hates them.
I wish one of these days he do something realy stupid.. Like, say: give Somaliland a grant of 5bn Euros – just for fun.
Gaddafi and his tabloid controversies, well that's col. qaddafi in show as always and he enjoys it to the teeth!.
Cheers.
I think everyone here is getting too emotional about nothing. Anyone who knows history knows that Libyans including Gaddafi consider themselves as genuine Africans as Berber people of North Africa. He is more than offen very critical of Arabs and he considers himself as champion of Africans including his people. In this context I think he is trying to scare Europe into some sort of handout or settlement for concern African countries (source of immigrantion). Nonetheless, he is ignorant in the sense that he lack diplomatic credentials in behaviour and in conduct. He is part of those leaders around the world like Irans' Ahmedinajad and Pervez of Argentina that don't mature or evolve politically and deplomatically as they childishly give speeches around the world either in the UN or elsewhere.
They don't conduct themselfs as they should as representatives of their people and nations, which they often take for granted or believe they transcend these responsibilities because they are too powerful in their homeland to be accountable for their actions at world stage. I agree with him though about couple of things: that these people leaving for Europe this ways from the South are Africans (therefore black). As Africans they are often poor and ignorant (or why else would you put your life at risk in dangerous seas and hostile terrains to go to atrocious Europe where their hopes get dashed away just to end up in different hellhole exept this time, it is a hellhole in foreign land where your chances of making out alive is reduced by 1000%.
Hey …Man you started well when you began with Col. Gaddafi and his African
Berbers background but blew it off when you indulged yourself into other
deep waters becoming another DHANXIIR hanky Panky GPS Shows. Watch out your loose tongue and big mouth..we are surrounded by an all out dangerous world which's bitterly politically divided and distorted. it does a lot of good when you give space to your foes! As for Col. Gaddafi the guy is from the Arab World no matter what he believes or stands for in that part of the North ArabAfro-Euros cultural ties and foundations. Don't be carried away by the ways the Arabs and Euros and the west as a whole conduct between themselves. black Africa have always been their prey ball game! thus far. By the way you are absolutely correct when you say Africans are often poor and ignorant or why else they risk their lives in dangerous seas and hostile terrains to go to an uncertain world with far reaching implications of policies and political consequences. But that have something to do with the Africas Tribalist mindset dictatorships of bad Governance who create the menace spaces of this kind of Refugee traffic migrations of enormous proportions.
Cheers.
Mohamed, most of what you mentioned is correct ..except col Gadaffi is far more undiplomatic and ignorant than ahmedinjad . Gadaffi is a street urchin who rose into power by a coup de tat and kept an iron grip on power by sheer terror and huge national prisons , even by his people's measure..sheer terror and dictatorship..