Tripoli, Sep 1 (DPA) Libya began Tuesday a week of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the coup d'etat that brought Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi to power in 1969.

The festivities are being attended by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez along with African leaders who include Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The African leaders gathered in Tripoli Monday for a one-day African Union summit that was set to coincide with the celebrations.

Many Western countries are only sending low-level diplomatic representation following international protests, particularly from the United States and Britain, over the hero's welcome Tripoli offered to the freed Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi.

France is sending its secretary of state for development, Alain Joyandet.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who met Gaddafi Sunday to celebrate Libyan-Italian Friendship Day, did not attend the ceremony.