I wrote this column last December 26 while I was flying to San Francisco, California, exactly 41 years after that day when I sat down with Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi in his presidential tent at the outskirts of Tripoli and, thus, I earned the modest distinction of being the first Filipino and Asian journalist to have an exclusive interview with the then-reclusive and controversial leader of the North African country.
After the usual amenities, I asked him: “The Western press described you a tyrant, the Israelis tagged you a terrorist and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat has called you a mad man. Would you like to comment on these?”
Before he answered, I got the sneaky idea in my mind that I might have irked him with my question but, to my comfort, he just smiled and said: “I don’t fit any of those
descriptions.”
“Anwar is not even a qualified physician to call me a mad man.
“We will support revolutionary movements, but only for a just cause and independence. If liberation is terrorism, then we support terrorism.
“But let’s not waste our time on these,” Qaddafi said, suggesting instead that we discuss other matters.
“I agreed,” he added, “to talk to President Marcos and his officials on the issues in Mindanao. I met with your First Lady, Mrs. Marcos, on several occasions. I can tell much about her. I had the honor of meeting her and got acquainted with her during her visit to Tripoli. She has an extraordinary ability to achieve solutions to problems. We are proud to see a woman of a Third World country playing an important role for her people,” Qaddafi said.
“And how about President Marcos?”
“He is a very nice man to talk to on the phone. He sounded very efficient and a very strong leader. I hope to see him soon,” Qaddafi said, after mentioning that he had a series of telephone conversations with Marcos during the negotiations between the Philippine panel and representatives of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
My meeting with Qaddafi turned into a question-and-answer interview on many issues, including his book, the Green Revolution, trade, economy and his plans about Libya. He freely answered my questions, dispelling doubts in my mind that he was abrasive and discourteous.
“I hope you write a fair impression about my country and our people,” he said, after handing me copies of his book.
I had the impression that he was friendly to me, and he might have liked the way I directly and candidly asked questions. He noticed that the watch he was wearing with a revolving dial that shows his picture in military uniform had drawn my attention and, before I could say something, he removed it and told me I could have it.
I told the President I was just curious about his watch, and I did not want to have it, but he told me not to decline a small gift from a friend. “Really,” he said, “I want you please keep it!” So, I accepted it with reluctance, thanked the President and had souvenir photos with him.
It was Defense Undersecretary Carmelo Z. Barbero who handed my request to Libyan Foreign Minister Ali Treki for an interview with President Qaddafi on December 24, the day after the signing of the Tripoli Agreement between the Philippine panel headed by Barbero and the MNLF led by Nur Misuari.
A day after, three Libyan security officers were in my hotel room on the third floor of the Palace Hotel. When I inquired, they told me the presidential palace had ordered them to move me to the new room. I became apprehensive, thinking Qaddafi had a second thought on his watch and that I had become a security risk being a journalist and, at the same time, a member of the government panel.
I tried to phone Secretary Barbero, but I could not contact him. Neither could I get in touch with his senior aide, Col. Eduardo Ermita. The Barbero group subsequently departed for Rome, but one of them told me that my request for interview had already been approved.
The hotel manager returned my passport and told me that I was under his personal care as a VIP and not to worry because somebody from the presidential palace will soon fetch me. My food changed from Libyan to European and accorded me with a first-class treatment.
At 10:30 a.m., December 26, a limousine with three security officers took me to the presidential tent. Before we drove on, one of the officers told me I was a guest of President Qaddafi.
Wearing a woolen topcoat matching his gray t-shirt and flared corduroy pants, a towering man appeared before me at the entrance of the tent: “Welcome!” the smiling President said.
Born in 1942 like me, he stands 5’11” and towers over most Libyans. He was 27 years old and was just seven years in power after he and his fellow young military officers had staged a bloodless coup in 1969 that ousted King Idris, a devout pro-Western leader, when he granted me an exclusive interview.
I wrote a series of articles about our interview and sent him copies through the Libyan Ministry of Information. Two months later, I got a personal invitation from the President to attend the eighth Islamic Conference in Tripoli the following year.
Warts and all, I reminisced the past about the controversial strongman and the way he was ousted and killed in 2011 when I saw his watch while cleaning my library. To my surprise, I saw his face glowing and smiling.
I told myself: “What an interesting experience and a priceless piece of gift that nearly got me jailed in Egypt, a generation and 11 years ago!”
To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@gmail.com.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano