Sadat’s Widow Denounces Kadafi : Says Libyan Leader Has Craving for Intense Publicity

By strongly denouncing Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and imposing sanctions on the North African nation, President Reagan may have given Kadafi “more publicity than he deserves,” former Egyptian First Lady Jihan Sadat said in San Diego Wednesday night.

Speaking at the downtown Civic Theatre as part of Congregation Beth Israel’s “Images of the ‘80s” lecture series, the widow of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said that she agrees with Reagan’s assessment of Kadafi as “a pariah in the world community” for his support of terrorism.

However, Sadat noted that the President’s harsh words, combined with his order earlier this week directing all Americans to leave Libya and instructing U.S. companies to end economic dealings with the country, also generated the kind of intense publicity than Kadafi seems to crave.

“It’s a pity that we have leaders like this in our area,” Sadat said in response to a question from the audience after her speech. “I don’t think (Kadafi) deserves . . . all this publicity.”

In her speech, Sadat focused on the subjects of peace and women’s rights in Egypt.

Saying that she believes that her assassinated husband’s “life will not go in vain,” Sadat said that she hopes that Reagan one day brings Israeli, Palestinian and Arab leaders “together to negotiate . . . a lasting peace” in the Middle East.

“An American President can do that,” Sadat said. “We look to the United States as the most powerful country in the whole world. And because of that, we believe you can do something.”

The prospects for a lasting Mideast peace “would be much better” if her husband were still alive to continue the process that he began by negotiating a peace settlement with Israel in the 1970s, Sadat said. However, she added that she believes that “what my husband started will last.”

“The day will come when peace will prevail in our area,” she said. “Peace is not only a state of mind. It is a conscious decision--it is a commitment and an obstinate determination.”

In regard to women’s rights in Egypt, Sadat said that an increasing number of women are pursuing higher education and professional careers, and predicted continued advances.

“I always believed that the women of Egypt had a great capacity for creative work,” she said. “The only thing that held them back were chains of ignorance.”