Libyans torn between joy, scepticism

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TRIPOLI (AFP) — In Tripoli's bustling old town ordinary Libyans view the decision by leader Muammar Qadhafi to renounce unconventional arms with a mixture of pride in their government and mistrust of their old arch-enemy, the United States. "We are very proud of our government regardless of its decisions," said Dia, a forty-something bank employee who studied in the US state Arizona.

"It is a good decision and it was about time it was taken. We do not need these arms. We need something different. Nobody here should be living out of a garbage can. We are rich because we have oil."

Libya on Dec. 19, in a surprise move following nine months of secret talks with the United States and Britain, announced that it was giving up the quest for chemical, biological and nuclear arms.

Within days it opened its doors to inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which now has a mission of four experts in the north African country.

IAEA chief Mohammad Al Baradei met with Qadhafi here on Monday and confirmed that he wanted to "turn a page in his country's history and promote its social and economic development." Mohammad, a waiter smilingly serving tea in a small cafe in the medina, told AFP: "What the government has done is a very, very good thing. I am very happy."

But at the Arafat Beauty Salon with its bright green shutters, the owner Ali angrily wanted to know: "Why do the Americans not do to North Korea what they have done to Iraq and what they wanted to do to us?"

"I will tell you why: because the United States are scared of (North) Korea," he says, adding that for Washington's dealings with countries suspected of seeking nuclear arms came down to either using force or bribery.

The United Nations lifted an embargo against Libya in September after it accepted guilt for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and agreed to pay compensation, but the country still faces a range of US sanctions and Qadhafi's move is seen partly as a bid to get them removed.

At the fishmarket in Tripoli, sitting next to impressive Roman ruins, men and women in flowing djellabas waited for the day's catch of sardines and cob at Brahim's stall.

He was not too optimistic about the sudden prospect of better relations with the United States after Libya has spent many years as one of the world's pariah states.

"There is no reason to be poor forever. But, we have had many promises, we have been told so many things ..." Moustafa, a former technician who spent two years in France and now runs a chicken restaurant, was more upbeat. "This is a time for peace, not for war," he said, and added with a wave to Qadhafi's picture on the wall and a nod to the ephemeral nature of politics: "Allah is the only saviour."

He explained that his restaurant is called Philadelphia, after the legend that a ship docked here in the early 19th century and took Libyans to work as slaves in the US city.

At the nearby "Baghdad Cafe" a man called Edriss sipped mint tea uunder a palm tree.

He said he left his native Morocco for Libya 15 years ago and that since then the people of Tripoli have become more open and independent-minded, in spite of Qadhafi's iron grip on his country.

"Now that we have foreign television channels on satellite, the Libyans are less afraid to speak their minds. And they can also see all the things they do not have, so they are organising themselves.

"Today, you can find anything you like on the black market. Even alcohol, though it is strictly forbidden around here. Do you want a bottle of wine?"