LIBYA:SAIF AL-ISLAM Gadafy, son of the Libyan leader and a considerable driving force behind the gradual opening up of the country, has declared that he will step back from matters of state.
In a speech yesterday evening, the apparent heir to Col Muammar Gadafy said all the big battles had been fought and his presence would serve only to confuse things in the future.
He was referring to agreements Libya reached with the United States this month to compensate all US and Libyan victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Another achievement was the release of several Bulgarian nurses who were detained for eight years after being accused of infecting Libyan children with the HIV virus.
Col Gadafy's son and his international foundation played an important part in the release of the nurses last year, intensifying speculation that he would one day succeed his father, who has ruled the country since leading an army coup in 1969.
It is unclear what caused the announcement, but Saif Gadafy sought to pre-empt speculation by insisting that he had not had a dispute with his father and was not being leant on by the old guard. He then denied that an old guard existed, a diplomat said.
Libya, north Africa's richest nation, has oil revenue and a small population.
After years in isolation, political and diplomatic change has been slow.
Saif is seen as a force behind reforms and a link between Libya, run under an esoteric quasi-socialist system, and western countries.
"He has played a very positive and influential role.
"If he disappeared from the scene it would a bit of a gap," the diplomat said.