CAIRO — After decades of opposition, several leading Libyan exiles
have reportedly reconciled with the regime of Col. Moammar Khaddafy.
Libyan officials said the opposition figures have agreed to a pardon by the Khaddafy regime, after months of negotiations. They said the
pardon depended on a commitment to support the ruling colonel and his
family, Middle East Newsline reported.
The effort to persuade leading exiles to return to Libya has been
organized by Khaddafy's son, Seif Al Islam. Al Islam, regarded as Khaddafy's
heir and a critic of the totalitarian regime, was said to have initiated a
dialogue with elements of the Libyan opposition in Europe and the United
States.
On Monday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that the first
major opposition figure to return from exile would be Mohammed Saleh
Buwysir, the son of the late Libyan foreign minister. The Saudi-owned daily
said Buwysir, former chairman of the American-Libyan Alliance for Freedom,
as well as Ramadan Abu Zakuk, were expected to arrive in Tripoli imminently.
Abu Zakuk was identified as a founder of the National Front for the
Salvation of Libya. The newspaper said Buwaysir and Abu Zakuk would attend
the 37th anniversary of the Khaddafy regime in September 2006.
During an official seminar, both former opposition figures would
announce their support for Khaddafy. The seminar entitled "From a Revolution
to a State," would be chaired by Maj. Gen. Sayyid Qadhaf Al Dam, a cousin of
Khaddafy and chief of the Popular Social Command in Libya.
Over the last two years, several prominent Libyan opponents have
reconciled with the regime. They included Bashir Al Rabiti, former head of
the National Organization for Reform, and Maj.
Abdul Munim Al Huni, once a candidate to head the Libyan opposition.
