Libya taking new path to break isolation

Gaddafi

TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) -- By helping to free foreign hostages held in the Philippines, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hopes to present a new image to the world and end years of isolation for his country, diplomats said here Thursday.

While little has been reported of Libya's mediation efforts in the domestic media, it is clear that envoy Rajab Azzarouq was acting on Gaddafi's behalf, they said.

"Because Gaddafi is directly involved, the Libyans here don't want to take any chances," a senior Western diplomat said. "They'll throw the biggest show when the hostages land here."

Azzarouq, a former Libyan ambassador to the Philippines, has played a key role mediating between Muslim separatists and the Philippine government.

Separatist guerrillas, seeking an independent Muslim state in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines, kidnapped 21 people -- tourists and staff -- from Malaysia's Sipadan island resort, off Borneo, on April 23.

The hostages were taken to the southern Philippine island of Jolo. Following the release of several captives, 16 hostages remain in rebel hands.

The Libyan envoy had been due to fly to Jolo with the government's chief negotiator Thursday to collect the freed hostages, but rain and poor visibility prevented his plane from taking off, officials in the Philippines said.

However, sources close to the negotiations said the rebels were unwilling to give up three French television journalists, abducted last month while reporting on the hostage crisis.

Diplomats said Gaddafi was using one of his top officials to help resolve the issue, and hoped a successful outcome would help present him as a modern, responsible leader.

"Rajab is a heavyweight here. He enjoys easy access to Gaddafi. The man has been prime minister and twice a government minister in the 1980s before becoming a diplomat. That's why he was selected for this mission," an Arab diplomat said.

Diplomats said Gaddafi hoped to regain a prominent profile for Tripoli after years of international isolation following the bombing of a U.S. airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 and of a French airliner over the Sahara in 1989.

U.N. sanctions imposed on Libya over the Lockerbie bombing were suspended when Tripoli last year handed over two Libyan suspects for trial. Gaddafi wants them lifted completely.

France refused to comment Wednesday on a report in the investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaine that it had pledged to help Libya end its isolation in return for help in freeing French hostages.

Libya has also been involved in peacemaking efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and other trouble spots such as Chechnya.

The efforts have yielded mixed results, but underlined Gaddafi's drive to capitalize on his old links with rebel groups that he once financed, diplomats said.

"Gaddafi knows every leader in Africa and wants to take advantage of his relations with revolutionaries to present himself to the world as a responsible leader engaged in a smooth transition at home," the Western diplomat said.

He and other Western and Arab diplomats said "realistic diplomacy" abroad had been coupled with economic and politic changes at home.

"Since 1998 Libya has undertaken steps to open the economy to the private sector. As a result you can see private businesses opening almost daily, particularly in the retail trade," a diplomat said.

"The Revolutionary Committees have become less obvious in cracking down on wealthy people. The new rich are busy showing off their status. New palaces have been built with swimming pools and all the trappings," another diplomat said.

They said the reforms and soaring oil prices had made living easier for Libyans after eight years of crippling sanctions, but said they were also viewed in some quarters as widening the gap between rich and poor.

"Life has been booming in the past year with more business opportunities, but this dynamic economy does not benefit most people. Many have been left feeling they are outside the new system," a diplomat said.

Earlier this year Gaddafi moved to trim the government bureaucracy and shift more power to local governments, known as Chaabiyate, and to the Peoples' General Congress, which includes representatives from Libya's districts.

Diplomats said the number of government ministers had been cut from 22 to nine and they were now open to more parliamentary scrutiny.

Diplomats said in rhetoric at least, Gaddafi had broken with the past.

They also believe his power is secure for years to come, with no serious challenges from home-grown opposition.

"Gaddafi is in good health and is only 58. As for succession by one of his sons, he seems in no hurry," a senior Western diplomat said.

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