Italian historian: our colonialism of Libya devastated the people
Libya-Italy, Politics, 3/9/2006

Italian historian Angelo Del Bocca said that the Italian colonization of Libya had constituted "a big calamity for Libyan people especially in terms of the great number of its citizens who sacrificed their lives to defend their homeland against this colonialism besides the victims who are still suffering due to mines planted in Libya."

JANA reported him saying in a telephone contact conducted with him Wednesday morning by RAI News 24 Hours official TV channel in Italy that "no matter how much compensation was given to Libyan people that will not parallel the tragedies the Libyan people were exposed to at the hands of Italian colonialism and which are still remembered in the minds of Libyans."

Del Bocca underlined that the importance of the recent address of the Leader leader Muammar al-Qathafi in which "he called upon Italy to fulfill its obligations by compensating the Libyan people for the tragedies of that colonial era, asserting the need to fold the pages of the past in order to overcome those tragedies and open new page of relations, and that these relations will remain in danger as long as Italy does not bear its historic responsibility by paying compensations to the Libyan people for that era and its tragedies."

ALso, JANA noted that "The Founder of the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto Italian journalist Valentino Peirlato stressed the right of Libya to compensation for the crimes of Italian colonialism against the Libyan people."

JANA added "In his comments on the speech of the Leader of the Revolution on this respect in the great celebrations of the 29th anniversary of the Proclamation of the People's Authority and the birth of the first Jamahiriya in history Peirlato said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera published Tuesday in Rome that The Leader al-Qathafi is right in what he said for colonialist Italy stained its hands with brutal massacres not only during the era of fascism but also during the period of Jollity government And that the goal of Italy was the annihilation of Libyans and replacing them with Italian colonialists to whom Libyan land would be distributed. Peirlato urged the Italian government to offer compensations underlining that such a move would calm down feelings and in turn would serve Italian interests in Libya Italian relations with North Africa and the Mediterranean."

Previous Stories:
  Italian consulate in Benghazi burnt, many killed in cartoon protests   (2/18/2006)
  Libyans anniversary of Day of Mourning of Italian occupation   (10/27/2005)
  The Battle of alMerghib Commemoration in Libya   (10/25/2005)

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