1 Oct
2006

















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     More fibre fever

Intellectual bankruptcy? Digital fetishism? Or just a knack for mooning the international media on a slow news day? We're not sure what to make of the latest announcement from Libya, the sandy version of Venezuela (with members of the Gaddafi clan playing the part of Hugo Chavez).

Earlier in the year we questioned Syria's announcement of plans for the all-singing, all-dancing 'internet city', promoted as an international centre of commerce, innovation, learning and freedom.

Now Al-Saadi Gaddafi has announced that Libya will build a multi-billion-dollar, hi-tech 'enterprise city' as "a Western version of Hong Kong".

The son of Libya's president-for-life reportedly hopes that the "semi-independent" city will attract foreign investment and speed up development of the oil-rich state, which as usual is "seeking a bigger role on the world stage".

Why park your business (or your body) in a location where marvellous scenery is somewhat offset by assistance from the secret police and a disregard for commercial law?

Al-Saadi says the city would offer "easy access" (no promises about the adequacy of infrastructure), "low taxes", "offshore banking" and - wait for it - "a liberal social regime that would allow a variety of faiths". Apparently Libya "would like to create an environment that enables investors to make projects like they do in Paris, New York and London". Al-Saadi indicated that he would return from his current home in Italy to live in the new city. He expects to be closely involved with administration of the project. Nothing like having dad's ear.

Supposedly the plan will be a "practical" way to "solve many problems in our lives in Libya", where there are "many conferences, many meetings, we create many institutions for investments and investment laws. But nothing happens. The bureaucracy is slow and a bit backward." Apparently that will be solved by adding some post-modern architecture, consultants, an airport, bandwidth and stirring.

There is no indication that building a new Hong Kong will involve relaxation of family/party control. Al-Saadi proclaimed that "This is a historic decision. We are talking about two systems and one country".

It is probably about time for Robert Mugabe to announce that he plans to build an internet city ... a centre of trade, learning, entertainment and of course freedom.

Al-Saadi has not commented on the ongoing show trial of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor over alleged deliberate infection of children in the Al Fateh hospital in Benghazi.

In 1999, following reports of AIDS infections among Al Fateh patients, Libyan police arrested a swag of medical personnel. 17 foreigners and 11 local administrators were eventually released but the government detained the nurses and doctor, claiming that they were spies engaged in a sinister "genocidal" plot - apparently under direction of Zionists. Where would you be if you couldn't blame the Zionists?

The claims were later changed, albeit after the alleged perpetrators confessed. They have attributed those confessions to torture (beatings, attacks by dogs, electric shocks, violation of body cavities and the other niceties you might expect in the dictatorship). Independent reports have suggested that infections did occur and were the result of systemic failures of hygiene in the hospital, in particular re-use of unsterilised needles.

Libyan courts have dismissed the reports on the basis that the information contradicts conclusions reached by a panel of Libyan doctors. The government has hinted that release of the defendants might be secured through a substantial gift from Europe or by Bulgaria paying the children's families US$2.7bn (the same amount paid by Libya in compensation for the Lockerbie bomb). Meanwhile the nurses wait in prison, presumably without the bandwidth hyped by Al-Saadi.





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