Pucker Up Buttercup

What a horrible insult. Canada was hurt, spited, banned, blackballed and downright shunned. It would have been the highlight of St. John’s Newfoundland’s international status. St. John’s would have joined the ranks of Moscow, Paris, Rome and New York. But, the self proclaimed “President-for-Life” of Libya and confessed associate of the Lockerbie bomber that snuffed 270 souls, will not be pitching his tent on Canadian soil. Somewhere today in Newfoundland is a codfish poised in puckered position waiting for an intimate moment with a despot. But that intimate moment will have to wait, ‘Muammar, you don’t know what you’re missing’.

If you have not heard, the “King of Kings in Africa” had scheduled a refuelling stop and short camp-out at St. John’s, Newfoundland after being served an eviction notice from the Mayor of Bedford, NY. The former chair of the United Nations Humans Rights Commission, Muammar Gadhafi has not had a good diplomatic run in North America last week. It is enough to make the strongman weep. But to shun the good folks of St. John’s is just downright rude.

His problems started in New York when he arrived to address the United Nations. Gadhafi, who always pitches a Bedouin-style tent in the country he visits as a symbol of his nation, wanted to set-up camp in Central Park, New York. The fine folks of that city remembering this dictator’s former deeds, would have nothing of it. Instead Donald Trump steps in and has him pound stakes on some real estate in the town of Bedford. Not to be outdone the Mayor and Council there say ‘nay-nay’ and a court order is served. Muammar decides to ignore that order, but within days, a U-Haul trailer arrives and the dictator moves on. Historically, that moment became the first time an African tent trailer turned a wheel on American soil.

Meanwhile, waiting with bated breath is the city of St. John’s. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper was expecting the arrival of our African visitor. Reports have it that Harper had planned on sending Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon to meet Gadhafi and express Canada’s displeasure over Libya’s hero welcome they gave the Lockerbie bomber upon his release from prison. But, in only what could be seen as either a diplomatic snub or a misdirected tent dwellers trip plan gone wrong, Gadhafi decides that he would visit another place of his choosing. Venezuela is where he found himself. Newfoundland…Venezuela… sounds similar, ok I’ll give him that one.

Visiting Canada aside, Muammar Gadhafi is one interesting subject. He admits to the world that his country was involved in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland killing 270 people. The Libyan agent involved was sent to jail only to be released on compassionate leave after being diagnosed with cancer.

Gadhafi has governed his country with a horrible record of human rights abuses. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion are not freely respected in Libya. Records of arrest without grounds, torture of prisoners held without trial for long periods of time have also been reported. Yet in 2003 Libya was voted in the United Nations as the chair of the United Nations Humans Rights Commission. A time when Gadhafi was admitting his government’s involvement in terrorist activity and was still listed as a terrorist nation.

Recently in an attempt to be a kinder, and gentle tyrant, Gadhafi openly admitted to the Lockerbie incident, apologized and paid restitution for the deaths of the innocent. He even met the families of the slain and is quoted as saying, “It was a friendly meeting and encounter” and “very sentimental.”

Yet, last week when Gadhafi gave a 90 minutes speech in the UN and when he began to lose the attention span of his ‘colleagues’ he stopped and hollered, “Please pay attention!” Ego from a man who’s sociopathic behaviour have kept his country in nearly a four decade oppression. Although he has gone on record as hating America and all thing American, he views himself a friend and ‘brother’ to Barack Obama. In his long address to the world at the UN he stated, “We Africans are happy, proud that a son of Africa governs the United States of America.” With true ignorance of democracy he suggested to Obama that he take a cue from Libya and declare himself President-for-life.

So what did Gadhafi do instead of kissing a codfish in St. John’s? He landed a meeting with Hugo Chavez, another ‘reformed’ radical military man, and dictator. And, while the Mayor of St. John’s was looking for evidence of tent pegs on civic soil, Gadhafi and Chavez shook hands in agreement to build an alliance to form a “NATO of the south.” He is quoted as saying in Venezuela, “Those who were betting on NATO, we now say to them that we’re going to bet on SATO. We are going to have our treaty too.” Splitting the world into an old fashioned North against the South.

If only Gadhafi would have taken the time to visit Newfoundland he would have truly experienced the difference. Personally I blame Harper for scaring Gadhafi off. The fear of getting a good old fashioned Canadian chastisement by Lawrence Cannon could scare off even the stiffest dictator, or is Muammar just allergic to fish?