VZCZCXRO5616
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHTRO #0436/01 1241202
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 041202Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2217
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 2532

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000436 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/MAG, AF/SPG 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  5/4/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPKO LY
SUBJECT: LIBYA: DARFUR CONFERENCE ATMOSPHERICS 
 
REF: (A) TRIPOLI 417 
 
TRIPOLI 00000436  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Ethan Goldrich, DCM, Embassy Tripoli, Department 
of State. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY.  A Libyan-organized conference on Darfur April 
28-29 was a substantive success (Reftel), but the scheduling 
challenges posed by a last minute decision by the Leader to fly 
all delegates to Sirte to meet with him exemplify the capricious 
environment in which even Libya's most senior diplomats operate. 
  African Affairs Secretary Ali Treiki pulled out all stops, 
organizing the conference in Tripoli's most expensive venue, the 
Corinthia Hotel, and bedecking it with all the trappings (flags, 
signs, simultaneous translation in three languages etc.), but 
had to smile his way through an eight hour delay in start time 
(from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.) in order to fly all conferees to Sirte 
and back, with a lengthy delay in Sirt waiting for the Leader. 
Once the conference actually started, most delegations expressed 
satisfaction with Libya's role as host, though the Sirte 
misadventure and ever-shifting schedule could make many think 
twice before attending another conference in Libya.  END SUMMARY. 
 
CONFERENCE START DELAYED TO ACCOMMODATE SIRT DIVERSION 
 
¶2.  (C)  Treki informed early-arriving delegates, including UN 
Special Envoy Jan Eliasson and AU Representative Salim Ahmed 
Salim, on April 27 that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi had 
invited visiting delegations to Sirte the following day.  Treki 
told delegates that buses would leave from the Corinthia Hotel 
for the airport at 1030.  When buses showed up at 1115, Protocol 
had to scramble to find the approximately 100 delegates. 
Delegates left the hotel around 1145, arrived at Tripoli airport 
at 1215, and eventually boarded a chartered Libyan Airbus A-300 
named "Qardabia." (Note:  The airplane was named after an early 
20th century battle with the Italians that was coincidentally 
being commemorated in Sirte that day and was the proximate 
reason for the Leader's absence from Tripoli.  The delegates had 
time to reflect on this historical coincidence as the sat on the 
tarmac for another hour before finally arriving in Sirte around 
¶1400. End Note.) 
 
¶3. (C) In Sirte delegates were shown two reservoirs and a 
variety of pipes belonging to the Great Manmade River Project, 
before being fed a large lunch in a reservoir-side tent.  After 
lunch delegates discovered that while the Great Man Made River 
has many pipes, none in the vicinity of the reservoir led to 
toilet facilities.  They then endured an additional two hour 
wait until the Libyan Leader arrived and gave a twenty minute 
talk to the attendees. 
 
QADHAFI LECTURES FOREIGN DELEGATIONS NOT TO OVEREMPHASIZE DARFUR 
 
¶4.  (C)  Qadhafi stressed familiar themes during his 20 minute 
lecture to the delegates, claiming that there are more serious 
conflicts in the world than Darfur, and questioning the motives 
of the international community for drawing so much attention to 
it.  African problems require African solutions, said the Libyan 
leader.  Qadhafi cast scorn on the Darfur rebels as well as on 
UN peacekeeping troops, alluding to reports of their sexual 
misconduct in other countries.  He concluded by thanking the 
delegates for their interest.  UN Special Envoy Jan Eliasson 
presented a five-minute response on behalf of the international 
community in which he pointed out that the Darfur conflict 
threatens both regional and global security. 
 
STRONG LEADERSHIP FROM DIPLOMAT TREKI KEEPS CONFERENCE ON TRACK 
 
¶5.  (C)  Though the delegates were clearly annoyed and exhausted 
by the Sirte delay, once the conference finally began at 2300 in 
Tripoli most delegations expressed satisfaction at the 
professional caliber of the proceedings.  (Comment:  Had the 
conference started at 1500 as originally planned, they might 
actually have been impressed by the Libyans' ability to organize 
the event.  Instead they were left with the mixed impression of 
professionals like Ali Treki trying to run a serious conference, 
even as the Libyan Leader undermined efforts by capriciously 
inserting himself into the event in as time-consuming a way as 
possible.  End Comment.) A detailed discussion of conference 
proceedings is reported ref A. 
 
LIBYAN PRESS: QADHAFI URGES RECALCITRANT LEADERS TO HELP AFRICA 
 
¶6.  (C)  Libyan press did their best to spin the Sirt meeting as 
Qadhafi's valiant attempt to urge recalcitrant foreign leaders 
to do more to stop the violence in Darfur.  Press accounts 
hailed Qadhafi's leadership in keeping foreign troops out of 
Africa and criticized efforts by the international community to 
deploy UN peacekeepers to Darfur.  The Libyan state-run press 
agency "quoted" a significantly mangled text of the conference 
 
TRIPOLI 00000436  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
conclusions, deleting a carefully negotiated mention of the 
transition to a UN/AU hybrid operation and adding repeated 
references to the international community's appreciation for 
"brother Leader's" leadership of the Africa dossier. 
CECIL