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Italy to compensate Libya for colonisation
Italy has become the first former occupier of African soil to affirm its responsibility to pay compensation for its colonisation of LibyaAccording to local media reports, the Libyan leader, Muammar Ghadafi got the pledge after speaking with the Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema over the telephone yesterday. D'Alema is said to have emphasized during the telephone conversation, his commitment of the joint Italian-Libya declaration to compensate the Libyan people for their suffering during the occupation era. This comes exactly 8 years after the signing of the Italian-Libyan Declaration in July 1998. In the declaration, the Italians had apologised for the occupation and promised to offer compensations. Coincidentally, D'Alema was the Prime Minister at that time. Recent manouvres by Algeria to hold the French responsible for what its President, Abdelazizi Bouteflika called, a 'genocidal' occupation have been rebuffed. The situation was further worsened when French President, Jacques Chirac asked French schools to include the positive role played by the country's colonisation of other lands. The French have also been criticised for their treatment of Haiti after former plantation slaves fought off their French masters before proclaiming a republic. The Frech then forced Haiti to may billions of US dollars in compensation for the loss of the colony. In Zimbabwe, the British have not done better. After agitating for the British to honour their pledge to fund land reform, of which 87% was still owned by white British descendents, the current British Premier, Tony Blair finally put the last nail to the coffin. In September 1997, the Blair told Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe that his country could not be held responsible for the 'sins of our forefathers'. This despite that much of the land was still in the hands of British descendants. The results and effects of this letter are now history. In 2000, former war combatants who had fought the liberation war on the promise that land which had been confiscated from many Zimbabweans using unjust apartheid laws, especially under the Land Expropriation Act of 1948 instigated a land revolution. Land was then nationalised. Namibians on the other hand have demanded compensation for atrocities committed by the Germans during their occupation of the country. Negotiations have no yielded any promising results. It is with the background that if the Italians do indeed honour their pledge, they would be the first former colonial power to have done so. Posted by: ryuge 2006-05-24 |
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