Gaddafi and Berlusconi hold amity talks in Bedouin tent (Roundup)

Aug 30, 2010, 18:48 GMT

Rome - Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi during the second day of his visit in Rome held talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi focusing on trade relations between their two countries.

Gaddafi's trip to Italy marks the second anniversary of the signing of a friendship accord in which Berlusconi's conservative government agreed to pay Libya some 5 billion dollars in compensation for transgressions committed during three decades of Italian colonial rule over the North African nation.

The talks with Berlusconi in a Bedouin tent pitched on the grounds of Libya's embassy in the Italian capital, took place amid criticism over remarks reportedly made by Gaddafi since his arrival in Rome.

In a meeting on Sunday with hundreds of Italian young women, he reportedly expressed hope that Islam would become the main religion of Europe.

And several young women who attended a separate meeting with Gaddafi on Monday, said he had told them that women are treated with greater respect in Libya than in the United States or Europe where, according to the Libyan leader, they are employed in work not suited to them like tram-drivers and miners.

'If I went to Tripoli to tell the Libyans to convert to Christianity, I bet I wouldn't come back in one piece,' said Rocco Buttiglione, a leading member of the opposition centrist UDC party said.

Opposition leaders, human rights activists and Catholic Church officials also renewed their condemnation of a Rome-Tripoli pact which allows for the immediate deportation to Libya of would-be immigrants intercepted in international waters.

Critics say the so-called 'push-backs' violate the rights of asylum seekers including those fleeing from religious and political persecution.

'Before (the accord), some 75 per cent of those who arrived in Italy via Libya would request asylum and following individual assessments, in 50 per cent of those cases the request would be granted,' said Laura Boldrini a spokeswoman for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

With the drastic cut in Mediterranean crossings since the accord came into effect, and a decision by the Tripoli authorities to restrict the UNHCR's operations in Libya, such asylum seekers have been left in 'limbo' Boldrini said.

For his visit to Rome, Gaddafi, also brought around 30 Berber horses that were scheduled to take part at an equestrian show to be held at military barracks to celebrate the 2008 friendship agreement.

Berlusconi was also slated to attend the event. The two leaders were also expected to share an evening Ramadan-fast breaking meal.

In terms of the 2008 deal the 5 billion dollars pledged over 20 years will mostly be paid to Italian companies to build a road across Libya from Tunisia to Egypt.

Gaddafi's visit to Italy - the North African country's biggest trade partner - is his fourth in two years. He was scheduled to return to Tripoli on Tuesday.