Why ridicule and embarrass Gadaffi?

SIR— It is regrettable that after what the Libyan leader Col Muammar Gadaffi has done for Africa and Uganda in particular, someone goes out of his/her way to ridicule, embarrass and abuse his friendship and generosity.One of the dailies published a cartoon on April 3 depicting Gadaffi as begging to be allowed to join the graduands for a degree, something that the Libyan leader has never requested for in writing or otherwise. For he has a number of these from different universities. The suggestion to award Gadaffi an honorary degree was made by individuals who had recognised Gadaffi’s contribution to the development of people.We may need to know the following:a) Gadaffi has done a lot for Africa. He initiated and funded the proposed African Union. He has resisted colonialism, neo-colonialism and western imperialism. He has funded freedom fighters. This has made him one of the most prominent Pan-Africanists worthy of recognition.b) He has endeavoured to provide for the people of Libya an equitable and fair distribution of the country’s resources. One can hardly hear of Libyan immigrant workers or asylum seekers any where in the world.This shows the commitment of a leader of an African country for the betterment of life on the African continent. Many African countries endowed with oil are currently mired in political instability (Angola, Nigeria, Sudan).In order to live in harmony with our African brothers and sisters, we need to respect each other. Furthermore, the world today is increasingly becoming interdependent. Unity and respect for each other will help overcome the obstacles that we presently face. However, lack of respect is lack of maturity in our comprehension of issues.Sulait LuyobyaKampala