" The ill-fated meeting of the Organization of
African Unity at Tripoli, Libya in late July and ear
ly August is now history. It was a saga of failure
concocted by a greedy king of a north Africa-Arab
nation. '"'-'"-;-',;" -:-
- King Hassan of Morocco was angered months
ago because Edem Kojo of Togo, Secretary General
of the OAU had admitted. the Polisarid the
former Spanish Sahara as a member of this body
of 52 African countries. These freedom fighters
have declared their land and the Sahrawi Arab
Republic where it controls the major towns against
thousands of Royal Moroccan , troops.' Mr. Tojo
had the support of his actions by President Daniel
Arap Mot of Kenya,' chairman of the OAU during
ft
United Nations
. Morocco Wrecks African Unity
' 1
1
By Curtis T,
erk
'erkins
Nigeria President- Siaka Stevens of Sierra Leone.
Several other heads of State known to be friendly to
Morocco and to the U.S., declined jo attend at all
or send any type of representative or observer;
President Moi of Kenva could not be nrcscnt
1982, plus the implicit backing of over one half of because of a coup
the OAU. ' Officials at; the White House and in our U.S.
Department of State may gloat at President Ghad-
Ktng Hassan openly covets the Sahwari Republic
because of its rich deposits of phosphate which he .
deigns to sell to his western friendsprimarily my
country the United States. His awesome military
machine including hundreds of American made
tanks, artillery pieces, machine guns, mortars,
missiles, fighter planes pounds the Polisario .
without results.
So, prior to the OAU conference, which was io 1
have been " hosted by Colonel Muammar- El
Ghaidafi, leader of. Socialist Peoples! Libyan
Jamahiroya (Libya). t the king proceeded to con
tact the heads of many African states. His influence,
in the former black French-speaking colonial coun
tries accrued to his favor. Many others of the sub
Sahara nations, especially those whose leaders had
visited the United States in recent months, also join
ed King Hassan in his ire against the, OAU's
Secretariat. x . .
Colonel Ghaddafi Is Prime Target
Far beyond the seriousness of Morocco's aggran
dizement against the Polisario, I firmly hold that
the unwarranted , wrecking of the OAU delibera-'
tions in Libya were triggered by host Ghaddafi.
Many black African diplomats stationed here at
the United Nations suggested to me many times that
their administrations at home were hostile to Mr.
Ghaddafi and wanted no part of him as chairman
of their beloved OAU. Some resented the Colonel
sending his armed forces into Chad during that
hapless country's civil war. Although invited by the
former President Goukouni Queddi, pressure grew
on the Libyan leader to withdraw. And he did.
Coupled with the Chad incident,, spme African
regimes saw Mr. Ghaddafi as trying to interrupt,
their rule by bringing together on a transnational
basis dissident Moslem and tribal elements under'
his aegis.
Libya has vast oil resources and here again a few
African rulers interpreted Leader Ghaddafi's free
wheeling use of these vast revenues as wasted and
misplaced with undeserving nations, group and
even terrorists. There seems to be a residue of "sour
grapes" in such criticisms for many of these
countries received Libyan aid far below their expec
tations. Some in this school of thought cited the
lack of favorable treatment in the charges for Li-,
byan oil.
A friend of mine, an American supporter of
Libya and Mr. Ghaddafi, has shared a booklet with
me. I find it quite informative. Entitled "Africa",
it is a compendium of the activities of the Libyan
Arab Investment Company headquartered in
Tripoli and authorized by the General Peoples Con
gress (Parliament) February 4, 1981. In addition to
Africa, the Company operates in the Middle East
Asia and.Eurcpe and io Grenada in the West'4ndiesT
I see no reference to any such funding of projects in
the United States among blacks. Possibly this will
develop in the near future because many blacks are
seriously working on the notion.
Anyway, here are some of the nations the Libyan
Arab Foreign Investment Company has joint ven
i tures with in Africa: Algeria, Angola. Benin,
Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa, Chad,
Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau and
Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali,
Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique,, Nigeria, Ruan
da; Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisfa and
Uganda. '
Togo seems to have prospered with Libya
boasting of an oil refinery financed 40 by Libya.
By refining crude from elsewhere, Togo saves
millions yearly in energy costs.
In Africa, the emphasis of the Libyan Arab In
vestment Company centers on agriculture. Com
mon sense mandates that Africa should raise more
of its food with self-sufficiency a needed goal.
Other schemes promote transportation, mining,,
tourism, shipping, fishing, et cetera.
Fawzi Shakshuki is Libya's Minister of Planning.
He directs the Libyan Arab Investment Company
which has dealings with 48 countries. Mr.
Shakshuki portrays Africa as in need of a new
economic order, He sees her resources exploited
and blatantly stolen by some industrial countries
and their multinational corporations
. I agree. I boldly state that Libya's Ghaddafi is no
fool. The OAU and others should take note. There
is great merit in his willingness to help his people
and the needy on his continent and others in other
parts of the world.
The U.S. Shadow In Tripoli
When the OAU collapsed because of a lack of a
quorum, a sense of shame came over me.
Libya is a small country less than 4,000,000
human being who were exploited by occupiers and
a decadent political system until Colonel Muammar
Ghaddafi took over with the blessing of his people.
No one recalls any wholesale murders by this
devout, yet puzzling Muslim. Propaganda and poor
reporting by the Western press has done this man a
grave injustice. '
President Reagan had Sgt. Samuel K. Doc. .
Chairman of the Peoples Movement in Liberia, the
other day at the White House. The sergeant killed
scores of the former ruling group, pushed them into
a common grave and imprisoned hundreds of
others. Mr. Doc did" destroy a corrupt Libcrian
regime, but did he have to kill? ) say no!
Yet. when Colonel Ghaddafi. a-few months back,
claimed a part, of the Gulf of Serf as Libyan ter- ,
' ritorial waters, President Ronald Reagan ordered
the U.S. Sixth Fleet into the area and shot down
severar Libyan planes. Mr. Reagan then barred the
importation of Libyan oil and cut. off diplomatic
relations. Yet Libya has' been a great admirer of :
American goods and services and a consistent and
reliable trading partner.. Although most U.S. na- ;
tionals were ordered out of Libya by President :
Reagan, mSny technicians and professionals, saw,
this as a silly ploy. . '
Dr. Armarid , Hammer, the American in-
dustrialist, chairman of Occidental Petroleum
which is a prime "oil operator in Libya, also has
misgivings of Mr.. Reagan's harsh treatment of ,
Libya! .'
' 'Thirty-two. nations sent delegates, two short of a
. quorum. Twenty-four heads of state were in atten
dance at Tripoli. . , 1
The fine hand of U.S. sabotage-was witnessed by '
a few veteran correspondents at Tripoli many ;
tu. lie on4 nthar Wctt-n muntriM nut nf a
IIUMI Ills WiJi biiu viiivi r j ( W 8;
total of 109. They noted the absences of President p
Washington President Alhaji Shehu Shagari of
dati's put-down as Chairman of the OAU for
1982-83 because he could not muster a quorum. But
sucrr joy is shortsighted. Negotiation and talking to
him and to President Fidpl Castro of Cuba could be
a helpful maneuver against the Soviet Union and
for world peace. . ..
. Stranger than fiction to me is why was a coterie
of ex-CIA agents and former Green Beret adven-
turers so active in Libyan affairs. These include Ed
wjn Wilson, the leader of the ex-CIA cabal now
under U.S. arrest, Frank Terpil, a refugee with an
arrest warrant over his head; Eugene Tafoya, the
. former Green Beret indicted for., murder, and
Jerome Brower, plus others for gun running.
The OAU Must Remain Viable
When ex-President Idi Amin of Uganda was
SAT'JT, T. nM3ER 25, 1982 THE CAROLINA TIMES-IS
Chairman of the OAU. in ' member kept htm
muzzled and in line. The OAU is needed to lackfe
the apartheid policies' or South Africa, push for in
dependence for Namibia, work on a new economic
order, educate its people, set up infrastructures io
develop and feed its multitudes, etc.
Let us admit that President Ghaddafi may in the
eyes of the world and some Africans be eccentric,
erratic, mystical and a revolutionary. He should
under no circumstances be denied the chairmanship
Of the Organization of African Unity. Africa has a
good crop of leadership and the OAU has a capable
Secretariat. There is Paul Onu,.the dedicated and
knowledgeable Nigerian who is Assistant Secretary
Generals His talents could be utilized to help direct
. events here. It is Africa together that can mesh Col
onel Ghaddafi's better instincts toward exemplary
service to the continent, the United Nations and the
world in general.
Finally, Morocco must be made to realize by the
OAU that it is so detrimental to the well-being of its
"(Continued on Page 16 1
8 mg. "tar". 0.6 mg. nicotine av. per cigarette by
.-.n-olo.roccoca Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined
That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health.
i
' ' a ' '
'...'
, One Beautiful Menthol
One Beautiful Box.
One Refreshing Slim 100.
: n Mr. r i
' ' feif IV. M
( Hi htf' mm t.M 1
A ill tmmw& w Wl ' m '