One of the most significant outcomes of Colonel Qaddafi’s recent visit to Paris is that it revealed the double standard practiced in French politics, a quality that is ingrained in all its consecutive governments.
I must admit that I’m a great admirer of the French school which believes that politics is never unilateral; it always has two faces.
In the Arab world we falsely believe that two-faced politics was invented by the White House in Washington, especially in relation to the Arab-Israeli conflict, where they se t one standard here, and another one there.
The truth is France outdid the Americans by a long haul in that respect. We should have realized this simply by looking at the brutal colonialist project of the land of liberty, equality and fraternity in Africa, especially in Algeria.
Although we must admit that France has changed much since the colonial age, yet its two-faced policies have not. Here it is receiving the Libyan Colonel to finalize commercial agreements worth billions. But at the same time it shuns him for being a dictator, for violating human rights and for supporting terrorism. How brilliant.their political shrewdness makes US politics seem naïve in comparison.
In Paris, Qaddafi and his counterparts in the Elysee will discuss a civil aviation deal worth 3 billion euros, the sale of a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes worth over 1 billion euros as well as a military equipment deal.
This is precisely the kind of deal coveted by Western champions of democracy and human rights. Tony Blair cut a similar transaction in his last days as British Prime Minister with a massive petroleum deal with Libya, the third largest oil-producing country in Africa.
The genius of French politics reached new heights this time with its discreet distribution of roles. While President Sarkozy expressed his delight with Qaddafi’s visit, his cabinet ministers blatantly rejected it.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner himself publicly voiced his discontent so that no one would accuse him of not representing the government. France’s Human Rights Minister Rama Yade was even more blunt when she attacked Sarkozy for letting the Libyan leader treat France like a “doormat for “wiping off the his blood-stained feet . She even went on to describe Qaddafi’s visit as the “kiss of death which France must not accept.
French opposition leader and chairman of the French Socialist Party Francois Hollande also attacked Sarkozy for agreeing to receive Qaddafi, whom he described as “a dictator, seasoned in terrorism . Even the conservative Le Monde newspaper accused Sarkozy of not keeping his election campaign promise of always championing the subjugated.
As I applaud the brilliance of France’s two-faced politics, I must express my absolute rejection of the “lack of decorum with which Qaddafi spoke in Paris, when he drew attention to human rights violations committed by both the French and the Belgian governments against Arab and African immigrants. By this he undermined the credibility of those who accuse him of human rights violations in Libya. It’s as if he was telling them: “Look at yourselves in the mirror! – not a very tactful move in a country known for its diplomatic “elegance .
There are, of course, those who are simple-minded enough to ask: Why would France agree to receive Qaddafi if it condemns his policies? But these people forget that French politics is far too sophisticated to reject the Libyan leader outright – it can condemn his policies, but that shouldn’t stand in the way of accepting his billions.
By that, France has proven that the US did not invent the policy of raking in Arab oil and wealth, while supporting Israel in its conflict with the Arabs.
Doesn’t France’s stance deserve the utmost respect, or at least shouldn’t we learn from the French the art of saying what we don’t do and doing what we don’t say? We must also learn from them the art of distributing roles, instead of simply agreeing to do and say nothing at all?!
Mohamed Salmawyis President of the Arab Writer’s Union and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo. This article is syndicated in the Arabic press.
