Cablegate: New Zealand band partied with Qadhafi
The mass diplomatic memo dump by the Wikileaks website has revealed New Zealand performers were part of Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi's lavish party celebrating 40 years in power.
The mass diplomatic memo dump by the Wikileaks website has revealed New Zealand performers were part of Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi's lavish party celebrating 40 years in power.
The mass diplomatic memo dump by the Wikileaks website has revealed New Zealand performers were part of Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi's lavish party celebrating 40 years in power.
The report, from the US embassy in Tripoli, was prepared in September 2009 in advance of Mr Qadhafi's visit to speak at the United Nations General Assembly. The report is headed with the subject: "A GLIMPSE INTO LIBYAN LEADER QADHAFI’S ECCENTRICITIES."
The report notes a recent celebration for Mr Qadhafi, and Kiwi involvement: "The three-day spectacle of his 40th anniversary in power included performances by dance troupes from Ukraine, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco, as well as musical performances by bands from Mexico, Russia, New Zealand, and a number of other nations."
The New Zealand performers are unnamed, but are believed to be the Pipes & Drums of Christchurch City.
Christchurch's fine pipers and drummers didn't inspire Mr Qadhafi to visit the garden city, unlike Spanish flamenco dancers: "Qadhafi decided to stop in Seville (for a “personal trip” according to the Spanish Ambassador here) on his way back to Libya from Venezuela specifically to attend a flamenco dance performance. [Note: That stop has reportedly been scrapped for unknown reasons. End note."
The report also reveals the bizarre behaviour and entourage of the Libyan leader.
Mr Qadhafi is said to travel with a team of blond nurses from Eastern Europe: "Qadhafi relies heavily on his long-time Ukrainian nurse, Galyna Kolotnytska, who has been described as a ”voluptuous blonde.”
And word has spread around Libya that these nurses care for more than Mr Qadhafi's health: "Some embassy contacts have claimed that Qadhafi and the 38 year-old Kolotnytska have a romantic relationship. While he did not comment on such rumours, a Ukrainian political officer recently confirmed that the Ukrainian nurses 'travel everywhere with the Leader.'"
Other larger-than-life behaviour exhibited by Mr Qadhafi included refusing to provide a photo to get a US visa to attend the UN. A Libyan official asked the embassy "whether it was necessary for the Leader to submit a portrait of himself that fit consular application regulations, noting that his photo was displayed throughout the city and that anyone of hundreds of billboards could be photographed and shrunken to fit the application’s criteria
Mr Qadhafi eventually conceded to the photographic demands but the US Embassy reported concluded the request was evidence the Libyan was "mercurial and eccentric."