Paris: Gaddafi’s secret weapon

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Officially, no European country traded military equipment with Libya until after the European Union lifted the embargo on October 14, 2004. Yet documents obtained by OWNI.fr reveal that France was providing arms to Tripoli in 1999, long before the EU’s decision. All this was under the table, and clearly in violation with the international resolution during the time.

This discovery contradicts the recent remarks from Laurent Teisseire, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense. During a press briefing on February 24, he described the situation as an “extremely minor” cooperation between the two countries over weaponry. According to his statement, the trade arrangements only dates back to 2007.

The records of the meetings described cover secret talks which occurred on February 13 and 14, 1999 in Tripoli. The parties involved were representatives of the French company Thales Group (Previously known as Thomson-CSF) and military staff serving under Gaddafi.

Jospin’s government

As stated in the document above, the meetings were held “with the authorization of the French Government.” At the time, this included Prime Minister Lionel Jospin from the Socialist party, and the Minister of Defense Alain Richard. The talks were conducted with the presences of Jean-Paul Perrier (president of the export company Thales International), along with Libyan General Abdel Rahman Esseed. This senior officer in the Libyan army headed the department which acquired spare parts for military equipment, despite the embargo imposed on Libya.

During this period, the Libyan regime mainly expressed its desire to upgrade their aviation equipment. Because France acquired their desired system, Libya asked Thales to upgrade the electronic system for the MirageF1(From the Dassault Group).

Arm sales

The MirageF1 Libyan aircrafts were restored by Thales. The timing of these secret negotiations closely followed the evolution of the UTA Flight 772 [EN] judicial proceedings conducted in Paris, an attack that was perpetrated nearly 10 years earlier. On March 10, 1999, the Assize Court recognized Libya’s responsibility in organizing the attack. The families of the victims knew what compensation to expect at that point.

Yet one of the families filed a lawsuit directly against Gaddafi, claiming he was responsible for the sponsoring the attack. The Paris prosecutors steadfastly opposed this new development, and after several years of procedural disputes the complaint was dismissed by the French Supreme Court of Judicature in March 2001. In January 2004 (only a few months before the embargo was lifted) Thales and Libya formed a more formal relationship, which is evident from the records of the confidential discussions.

In the context of cooperation between G.S.P.L.J. and France, a team led by Mr. Jean Paul Perrier (the President of Thales International) visited Libya between January 11-12 2004.

The negotiations that France prioritized over international law could explain the warm reception given to the French Minister of Defense Michèle Alliot-Marie during her trip to Tripoli in February of 2005. In “Arms of mass destruction,” journalist Jean Guisnel describes the scene between these two government officials. Gaddafi immediately inquires about the well-being of Michèle’s husband, Patrick Ollier (a lobbyist for Libya and the current Minister responsible for the interest group’s relationship with the French Parliament).

Contacted for this article, neither Thales nor the Minister of Foreign Affairs responded to our requests for an interview.

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Photo Credits: CC FlickR jmiguel.rodriguez

Translation: Stefanie Chernow