Gadhafi tent plans draw political fire
WASHINGTON – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi often lugs a Bedouin tent along on his foreign trips and has pitched one in Cairo, Rome and even next to the Elysee Palace in Paris. But reports that he is planning to set up camp in suburban Englewood, N.J., next month have prompted outrage from U.S. lawmakers and a diplomatic scramble in Washington.
Rep. Steven Rothman, D-N.J., whose district includes Englewood, said Tuesday that he had taken the matter to the State Department and White House and that they had “strongly urged the Libyan government to have Mr. Gadhafi remain only in New York City” when he visits to address the U.N. General Assembly.
The topic dominated the daily State Department news briefing, with spokesman Ian Kelly saying officials were reaching out to congressmen and local authorities about the tent. “We’re also talking to the Libyans, to highlight the concerns that we have and the very raw sensibilities or sensitivities of the families who live in that area,” Kelly said.
After decades of animosity, oil-rich Libya and the U.S. government have normalized ties in recent years, as Gadhafi’s government renounced support for terrorists and dismantled its nuclear program.
But U.S. officials were infuriated by the joyful homecoming celebration in Libya last week for the convicted bomber in the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. They have warned that relations will suffer if the bomber, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, continues to be lionized by his government. Thirty-eight of the 270 victims of the attack lived in New Jersey.
Gadhafi’s planned visit next month would be his first to the United States since becoming Libyan leader in 1969. He had initially asked if he could pitch his tent in Central Park during the U.N. session, but “we said no,” said Jason Post, a spokesman for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
After reports appeared in local newspapers that the Arab ruler would instead set up the tent on the grounds of a home owned by Libya’s U.N. mission in Englewood, a town of 29,000 about 13 miles from Manhattan. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., wrote to Clinton on Monday asking that Gadhafi’s visa restrict him to the area around the U.N. headquarters.
Rothman said the Libyans had bought the house in Englewood in 1982. At the time, the State Department sent the Libyan government a letter saying that the residence was to be used only by the Libyan U.N. ambassador’s family and was not by Gadhafi, Rothman said.
The congressman said he had emphasized to federal officials that those restrictions “should not be waived under any circumstances.” His objections stemmed partly from concerns about local residents’ security and partly from “Gadhafi’s well-deserved reputation as a murderous dictator who had American blood on his hands,” he said.
Kelly, the State Department spokesman, said Tuesday that the Libyan government had not yet decided where Gadhafi would stay.
A Libyan Embassy spokeswoman told the Associated Press that Gadhafi’s tent might be set up in Englewood, but only for social events.