Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi began his first visit to Italy on Wednesday with a warm embrace from Premier Silvio Berlusconi
An hour late, Gadhafi stepped off the Libyan plane wearing full dress military uniform. He escorted down the steps the elderly, white-robed son of a Libyan national hero who was executed by Italian colonial authorities for leading a guerrilla war against the Italians in the 1920s and 1930s.
Mohammed Omar al-Mukhtar, son of Omar al-Mukhtar, stepped gingerly down the steps,
Pinned to Gadhafi's uniform was a faded, black-and-white photo of the late hero chained by his Italian captors.
Under Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, tens of thousands of Italians settled in the Italian colony in the 1930s, taking charge of road construction, power plants and other public works. Libya declared its independence in 1951.
No comments:
Post a Comment