Muammar Gaddafi is losing friends and influence in Africa - Muammar Gaddafi is gradually losing its support in Africa, where his generosity has earned him the nickname "king of kings" but is now turning to others to shape their future.
The decision to countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, Liberia, Chad, Gambia or to break or to distance themselves from the Libyan regime due to a certain degree of challenge that the insurgents will eventually bring down the Gaddafi.
It illustrates the role of other less played by Gaddafi in a region where the demand for democracy, the appetite of foreign investors and trade relations with Asia, particularly China, obscure the attraction formerly Libyan petrodollars.
"The rest of the continent has given up on him. The favors he can still claim are rare," says Tara O'Connor, the company Africa Risk Consulting, based in London.
Most of the approximately 50 members of the African Union (AU) favor a policy of neutrality in the conflict Libya, calling for a cease-fire and a "road map" to end the ongoing fighting since mid- February between insurgents and supporters of the regime.
Efforts to maintain a single line within the AU, however, are undermined by a number of countries, encouraged by France and the United States, which is demanding the departure of Qaddafi or have chosen to recognize the insurgents.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, came last week in Benghazi, the "capital" of the insurgents, to announce the recognition by Dakar the CNT (National Transition Council), which oversees the rebellion. He was the first black African leader to have made the trip. Similarly, he received members of the CNT in the Senegalese capital.
Last week, a statement attributed to the head of state of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, who is part of the mediation committee of the AU in Libya, considered the start of Qaddafi needed.
Chad has meanwhile made it clear he does not support Gaddafi said last week the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after a meeting with Foreign Minister of Chad.
A MAN FROM THE PAST
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Tuesday they broke off diplomatic relations with Tripoli, saying that Colonel Gaddafi had lost all legitimacy. The Gambia has done the same.
For most of these countries, the economic impact of a break or a distancing Gaddafi is surprisingly limited.
Despite the promises contained in the "Libya-Africa Portfolio for Investment", consisting unlock billions of dollars for "natural resources, technology, tourism, real estate, services and finance" of African , many of these projects have just begun to emerge, as noted by the Reuters journalists across the continent.
The freeze imposed by the United Nations on financial transactions Libya denies Gaddafi of its pressure tactics. "He has no access to bank accounts abroad, and thus can not transfer funds to his old friends across the Sahel," said analyst Mark Schroeder.
China became the largest trading partner in Africa, is forging agreements on infrastructure and resources across the continent, such as, concluded in March, which involves the construction of over 1,300 km of railways in Chad.
Gaddafi has little influence on the emerging giants of the continent such as South Africa, Nigeria or Egypt, and its past efforts to pressure have outraged some leaders, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, where Tripoli had financed the rebellion that precipitated civil wars.
Some Africans, while acknowledging the role of Gaddafi for the ANC in its struggle against apartheid in South Africa, believe that it is more of his time and in no way supported walking business here for years in sub-Saharan countries toward democratization and pluralism.
"He has done good things in the past," said one Senegalese political analyst Babacar Justin Ndiaye.
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