WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's enigmatic Supreme Leader, has undertaken his first trip outside the Arab world in 15 years. Gadhafi, accompanied by his usual entourage of female bodyguards, cheering Congolese supporters and traditional Bedouin tent, is visiting Brussels, the capital of the European Union.
Now that the Libyan leader has abandoned his weapons of mass destructions and distanced himself from international terrorism, he is being welcomed back into the international community. In February Italy's Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi became the first Western leader to visit Libya and meet with Gadhafi, welcoming him out of the cold. Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair followed suit shortly thereafter in March, and French President Jacques Chirac received Gadhafi's Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem at the Elysee Palace in April. Several U.S. congressional delegations also have met with Gadhafi and praised him for voluntarily giving up his WMDs.
On Tuesday, Gadhafi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Romano Prodi and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
Gadhafi's change of heart is to be applauded. But the West -- Europe and particularly the United States, which now see him and the new darling child of the Arab world -- must not forget that at home, Gadhafi is still very much running Libya as he has in the past. This is based not on rule of law, but rather on his whims and commands.
If the Libyan ruler's nukes are gone, his authoritarian rule in Libya remains very much in effect. His secret police still are there to enforce his authority. Despite his overtures to the West and his repentance on past association with terrorism, sadly, his human rights abuses continue. This is a fact that must not be ignored by the international community.
"It's truly sad to see Gadhafi and his son being patted on the back, without the slightest mention of his continued abuse of his own people," says Ali Al-Rida, a Libyan-American.
Indeed, one should not be blinded by Gadhafi's sudden rapprochement with the West and lose track of gross human rights violation and allow him off the hook so easily, say Libyan Americans, who, still wary of the safety of family back home, refuse to be named.
Giving up his weapons of mass destruction program is certainly a first step in the right direction, though it remains to be seen just how advanced, or effective, those programs really were. But, say exiled Libyans and human rights groups, Gadhafi needs to do much more.
"The lack of any convincing legal and democratic reforms in Libya for 34 years, only a few weeks after President Bush lectured the world about the strategic importance of upholding these principles ... is a travesty and a disastrous blunder, par excellence," says Al-Rida.
Amnesty International "remains deeply concerned about the detention of hundreds of political prisoners -- some of whom could be prisoners of conscience -- detained without charge or trial and several cases of people who have 'disappeared.'" Amnesty goes on to say that at a time when Libya seeks to end its isolation and develop its international diplomatic, cultural and commercial ties, "it has yet to take steps to improve its human rights record."
Among those close to Gadhafi, and singled out by exiled Libyans and Western observers as one of the worst offenders of human rights, is Musa Kusa, the head of Libya's intelligence service. Nicknamed the "envoy of death" by his enemies, Kusa was once among the most reviled men in Britain, accused of sending hit men around the world to kill opponents of the Gadhafi regime. Vince Cannistraro, the former CIA head of counter-terrorism has said that Kusa has "blood on his hands all round the world."
Gadhafi describes himself on his Web site as "a true humanitarian whose practical assistance has aided millions of people in every part of the world." But between how he sees himself and how exiled Libyans and humanitarian groups perceive him, there remains a wide difference of opinion.
Despite recent progress, Libya continues to violate basic human rights, and a "climate of fear" persists in the country says an Amnesty International report, timed to coincide with Gadhafi's visit to the Belgian capital Tuesday.
"Today, a pattern of human rights violations, witnessed over the past three decades repeats itself, often under the new rhetoric of the war against terror."
"It is time to turn promises into action and make human rights a reality," Amnesty International said. Indeed.
