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----- Original Message -----
From: Walter Lippmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: CubaNews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 11:03 PM
Subject: [CubaNews] Castro Stops in Oil-Rich Libya
Wednesday May 16 3:12 PM ET
Castro Stops in Oil-Rich Libya
By KHALID Al-DEEB, Associated Press Writer
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro flew Wednesday
to oil-rich Libya, which once honored him with a human rights
award for crusading against the United States.
Castro came to Libya from Syria, where he held talks with
President Bashar Assad as part of an extended tour to
strengthen ties with new and old allies in the Middle East and
Asia and seek cheap supplies of energy.
The 74-year-old Castro was met by three members of the
Revolutionary Command Council, the country's top
decision-making body, and was whisked for a meeting with
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. No other details were
available.
Cuban and Libyan flags fluttered over the road leading to the
airport and along major streets in the city. Pictures of the
visiting leader were plastered on the capital's walls.
The visit is Castro's second to this north African country.
The previous one was in March 1977. The two socialist states
share anti-U.S. sentiments and were close allies of the former
Soviet Union.
Libya has supported Cuba throughout a decades-old U.S. trade
embargo while the Latin American state stood by Libya during a
seven-year U.N. air embargo. The sanctions were imposed to
force Libya to hand over two suspects in the bombing of Pan Am
Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988.
The embargo against Cuba remains in place, while that against
Libya was suspended after it handed over the two suspects in
1999. The United States, however, has maintained unilateral
sanctions against Libya, citing state support of terrorism.
In 1998, Libya honored Castro with its human rights award for
the ``defense of his people and his steadfast stand against
the imperialism that surrounds him.''
Castro's stop in Libya is the sixth on a tour that began May
6. The Cuban leader has stopped in Algeria, Iran, Malaysia,
Qatar and Syria.
Before flying to Libya on Wednesday, Castro visited parts of
the Syrian capital's ancient quarter, including the Omayyad
Mosque, a sprawling complex that houses a tomb believed to
contain the head of St. John the Baptist.
He then met Assad for talks over lunch, according to the
official Syrian Arab News Agency. It was Castro's first visit
to Syria. The Cuban leader met with Assad's father, the late
Syrian leader Hafez Assad, several times at international
gatherings.
Like Cuba, Libya and Syria are on the U.S. State Department
list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
