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Italy to compensate Libya for colonisation

May 23, 2006

By Peter Moyo

Italy has become the first former occupier of African soil to affirm its responsibility to pay compensation for its colonisation of Libya

According 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.

Libya under Italian occupation:

In October 1911 the Italian fleet invaded Libya and the Libyans resisted the invaders with whatever little weapons they could get.

Although the Italians succeeded in controlling most of Libya after years of resistance and struggle (Jihad), they could not control the whole country because the Libyan fighters (Mojahideen) left their homes and headed for the mountains where they planned their attacks against the Italian armies.

Some of the major Libyan fighters (Mojahideen) against the Italians were Omar Al-Moktar, Ramadan As-Swaihli, Mohammad Farhat Az-Zawi, Al-Fadeel Bo-Omar, Solaiman Al-Barouni and Silima An-Nailiah to name a few. Omar Al-Moktar is considered the great symbol for the Libyan resistance (Jihad) against the Italian occupation. He reorganized the Mojahideen in The Green Mountain (Aj-Jabal Al-Akdar) North East Libya and he re-ignited the resistance against Italy after World War I when the Italians thought that they succeeded in silencing the Libyan resistance.

Feeling that they may lose Libya to the Mojahideen, the Italian authorities sent one of their bloodiest high ranking officers Badolio who used the most inhuman measures to end the resistance. He did not just lead the fight against Omar Al-Moktar and his comrades, but he also punished even those who were living peacefully in the cities and villages accusing them of helping the Mojahideen.

Badolio was not the only one whome the Italian government thought able to end the Libyan resistance through using the most inhumane and blodiest measures. Mosoliny, the infamous Italian dictator, sent another high ranking officer to kill thousands and thousands of innocent Libyans, young and old - fighters and non-fighters. Mosolini thought that the solution to the Libyan problem was Rodolfo Grasiani. Grasiani's plan was: First to isolate Libya completely and prevent any direct or indirect contact between the Mojahideen and their neighbours who supply the Libyan Mojahideen with weapons and information. The second part of the plan was to built concentration camps where thousands of Libyans must live under complete control of the Italian army. By the end of November 1929, thousands and thousands of Libyans were forced to leave their land and live in one of the concentration camps.

Life in the camps was miserable and thousands of Libyans died of hunger, illness and some of them were hanged or shot because they believed to be helping the Mojahideen. In 1933, the Italian Army Health Department

Chairman, Dr. Todesky wrote in his book (Cerinaica today):

"From May 1930 to September 1930 more than 80,000 Libyans were forced to leave their land and live in concentration camps, they were taken 300 at a time watched by soldiers to make sure that the Libyans go directly to the concentration camps. " Dr. Todesky continued " By the end of 1930 all Libyans who live in tents were forced to go and live in the camps. 55% of the Libyans died in the camps."

The Libyan historian Mahmoud Ali At-Taeb said in an interview with the Libyan magazine Ash-Shoura (October 1979) that in November 1930 there were at least seventeen funerals a day in the camps due to hunger, illness and depression.

In September 16, 1931 the Italians hanged Omar Al-Moktar in the city of Solouq and they forced the Libyans to watch their hero been hanged. No consideration to Omar Al-Moktar's old age, no consideration to international law and no consideration to world war treaties. Libya was under the Italian occupation till 1943 when Italy was defeated in World War II and Libya became under the Allies Armies occupation till December 24, 1951 when Libya achieved its independence.