Gaddafi's Roman holiday

The arrival in Rome of Libya's Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, surrounded by his troop of female bodyguards and with a photo of a hero of the anticolonial resistance Omar Al-Moukhtar pinned to his chest, is on most of Italy's front pages today. This is the first time the "Revolutionary Guide", who never misses an opportunity to express some anti-Italian sentiments, has visited the former colonial power. His visit has sparked off several protests in the political world, reason for which the speech he was supposed to deliver to the Italian Senate has been cancelled. For Corriere della Sera, Gaddafi's visit is an "historical opportunity" to discuss some unresolved historical issues - such as support Gaddafi once provided European terrorists, the involvement of Tripoli in several bomb attacks... and immigration policy in the Mediterranean. Gaddafi is a key partner both for Italy and Europe and the Italian goverment is right to adopt a pragmatic attitude towards the Libyan leader, opines the Milanese daily. While Italy, however, has been apologising for its past colonial excesses, from 1912 to 1943, no-one ( remarks the daily ) should forget acts perpetrated by the Libyans in the last few decades. "Italians seem so read to pay him hommage that the need to strike the right balance in terms of historical memory has become quite urgent" the Corriere concludes.