The Final Call

Libya, Col. Gadhafi celebrates 40th anniversary

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Libyans walk past festive lights and pictures of leader Muammar Gadhafi ahead of celebrations for the 40th anniversary of his coming to power in Tripoli late on August 28. The 40th anniversary of Col. Gadhafi’s rise to power on September 1 poses a diplomatic bind for European states keen to deepen economic ties with his oil-rich country. Photo: Getty Images

The Sept. 1 festivities were designed to show off the former pariah state's acceptance on the world stage after renouncing nuclear weapons and terrorism. But new controversies over the return of the Lockerbie bomber, the detentions of two Swiss businessmen and even the color of smoke emitted by planes at the ceremonies revealed the tenuous nature of Col. Gadhafi's relations with the West.

Col. Gadhafi kicked off the celebrations early Sept. 1, timed to coincide with the coup's start, with a feast at a former U.S. air base that was turned into a Libyan military camp. The celebrations lasted four days.

A military parade and a large-scale celebration in a Tripoli stadium in the evening after the end of the Ramadan fast were part of the celebration.

Ahead of the parade, a large number of uniformed soldiers gathered on a street along the Mediterranean Sea that leads to Tripoli's Green Square, a sweeping plaza decorated with numerous green Libyan flags.

Col. Gadhafi came to power with a military coup in 1969, and was ostracized for decades over accusations of supporting international terrorism, including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people.

But more recently, Col. Gadhafi has tried to restore his country's standing in the world and transform it from a pariah state to a member of the international community.

Col. Gadhafi surprised the world by agreeing to dismantle his country's weapons of mass destruction programs. The United States restored ties with Libya in 2006 after Col. Gadhafi agreed to resolve the Lockerbie issue including paying compensation to the victims' families.

The Libyan leader will be making his first visit to the U.S. later this month to address the United Nations in what was expected to be the culmination of years of effort to repair his international image.