To tell you right away the truth, I have no idea. And maybe nobody has an idea or a clue. As much as I understand about diplomacy – which is quite a lot- Greek diplomatic sources said more or less to local reporters that the message of Gaddafi it’s not easy to be deciphered. Nevertheless, I leave the door open for options like”non-plus ultra secret diplomacy”, “winning time”, “seeking for exile” – or even an unethical one like “Trading shelter for money and weapons arsenal”.
Greek media quotation of Greek diplomatic sources after the meeting of Greek Deputy FM Dimitris Dollis and Libyan envoy Mohamed Tahir Siala:
According to diplomatic sources, the real intentions Gaddafi can not be diagnosed. The positions, however, presented by the Libyan envoy will be transferred to the EU in order to be evaluated as a whole at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting today.
OK, if the message was in the same tune as the majority of Muammar Gaddafi’s speeches I can surely understand the problems of the Greek officials to ‘diagnose’ a possible psychotic mumbling of the still Libyan leader. ( I can recall very well the communication difficulties I had with the Libyan officials either in their country or else where in the world; I can shortly describe it as : total collapse, non-stop black out, brain short circuit. Oh, and they were all called “Ali” without surname…)
Anyway, Portugese diplomats seemed to have similar difficulties to evaluate Gaddafi’s messages via his envoy Mohamed Tahir Siala. A diplomatic source speaking to Portuguese newspaper Publico after the meeting of Siala with FM Luis Amado in Lisbon said “”It’s too early, however, to assess the actual intent of the message and to what extent it is not coincidental statement”.
Prior to his visit in Lisbon Mohamed Tahir Siala had a short stop over in Malta, in order to ”illustrate the Libyan government’s position to the Maltese premier”. I am sure the Maltese have a more effective decoding book for Gaddafi’s messages as they have been functioning as a Libyan satellite for some decades.
What I really understood from the meeting Dollis-Siala is that Athens told him that “Libya must take necessary measures to avoid bloodshed and respect United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Mohamed Tahir Siala is a former Deputy Foreign Minister undersecretary and currently sits on FM Capital Partners Ltd board. London-based FM Capital is a $800 million hedge fund , started with the backing of Gaddafi’s government.
Yesterday, Gaddafi sent another envoy to Cairo this time, the man in charge of military supplies, general Abdel Rahman Ben Ali Said. Just wondering…is he an “Ali” I know?
