The interview that al-Hayat editor Ghassan Charbel conducted with the former Libyan foreign minister, Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, who recently defected from the Moammar Gaddafi regime, confirms something that was already known. This murderous, repressive regime will leave behind only destruction, killing and the wasting of natural resources of a country that could be advanced and rich in terms of its people and resources. Certainly, anyone who visited Libya several times during the Gaddafi regime era would realize the extent to which the country has deteriorated. This deterioration has affected culture and education, due to Gaddafi's forcing the silly Green Book on young generations, as well as the socio-economic situation. Under the 42 years of this regime, Libya has lost a considerable amount, and the country continues, amid the killing and destruction caused by Gaddafi's insistence on remaining in power. However, it should be acknowledged that the responsibility of those who worked with Gaddafi for long periods of time, like Shalqam, who admitted that he spent a long time at Gaddafi's side, and others who have not yet spoken to the press. They are like the ones who surrounded Hitler and continued to work at his side. A considerable amount of responsibility lies with the west, and particularly the United States, the United Kingdom and France, which received money in exchange for forgiving Gaddafi's crimes, from blowing up airlines and cafes filled with civilians. These countries received him, in a shameful display by democracies that are now trying to seek forgiveness for helping this regime. However, it is difficult for ordinary Arabs to read everything that Shalqam knew while he was foreign minister, and decided to stay in his post. What counts in Shalqam's favor is his fear of Gaddafi's murders and oppression, and the Libyan leader's long hand, which stretched to Egypt when Egyptian intelligence surrendered Mansour Kikhia to Gaddafi's secret police. Indeed, Shalqam's tales about this regime are horrific, but the question is: How did he remain at Gaddafi's side without being bothered by his conscience? He was working for a regime that used its diplomatic skills to defend itself from horrible accusations, such as blowing up a French passenger plane because he thought there was a Libyan dissident on board. Shalqam defected, and this is something good. But how many of those around Gaddafi remain with him? His office director, Saleh Bashir, went to France on two occasions and visited the foreign minister, but there was no clear response about the rumored first condition for negotiations, namely that Gaddafi should step down. The prevailing thinking is that Bashir did not dare relay the message as he clearly received it from the French president. Those around Gaddafi are afraid of him, as in all dictatorships. This recalls a story about the Syrian regime, and how those around the late President Hafez Assad used to be scared to tell him the truth, since they wanted to protect their lives or their positions. At the beginning of his term, the former French president, Jacques Chirac, sent several messages to the late Syrian president, about the need to settle Syria's debt to France. In the end, Chirac sent a ministerial envoy, Herve Gaymard, who met Assad and realized he had no knowledge of the details about the consequences of the matter. This is because those around Assad were afraid of relaying messages to him too clearly. This is the tradition of those who surround such dictators, and Gaddafi's Libya is an example of that. No doubt, when advisors to Gaddafi defect, this helps the revolution. But many of these people, who knew about his crimes and his behavior in power, bear responsibility. What Gaddafi did bears huge consequences and his acts will remain fixed in the minds of the Libyan young people who are in revolt. The notion that they worked for their country, and not for Gaddafi, is inaccurate because they, at least at some levels of power, were working for a corrupt and oppressive ruler who impoverished his country and wasted its resources.
