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In recent years, you've had a rapprochement with
Western countries.
You've had important Western leaders
like Tony Blair coming here.
Gathafi wasn't sitting in any tent, twiddling his thumbs,
over these last ten years.
This man has been investing in African development.
But now, there are Western leaders who are queuing
up to say you should go.
Do you feel a sense of betrayal about that?
Has Gathafi used the oil-money to build Libya? Yes.
Did Gathafi use oil-money and discover water under the
Sahara desert and brought that water to the surface?
They cut off communications, electricity, water.
Did he impose farming in the desert, so that they
could feed their own people? Yes.
Are there billions of dollars that he's spending,
building homes, building apartments for his people? Yes.
They destroyed our radios.
They deprived us of radio of television
and communication means.
How much money is being spent to arm the
so-called rebels? They're dissatisfied. Well what is
their dissatisfaction about?
An investigation into Muammar Gathafi's violent death
a year ago has challenged the version of events given
by Libya's new rulers.
Something is under this.
The State of Libya is a coastal country in North Africa
between Tunisia and Egypt.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres
(700,000 square miles), Libya is the
17th largest country in the world.
Because Libya is mostly arid desert, a large proportion
of its 6 million strong population is concentrated
in cities on the Mediterranean coastline.
From 1951 to 1969, following its independence from Italian
colonial-rule, Libya was ruled by a constitutional and
hereditary monarchy under King Idris.
Idris administered over what can be seen as a parliament
and regime with more loyalty to powerful Western actors
than to the Libyan people.
The people of Libya were becoming increasingly uneasy about
the King's loyalty to colonial forces and the concentration
of wealth into his and his constituency's hands.
Developmental plans such as water acquisition and
agricultural projects were slow to be implemented
and Libya was, at this time, one of the poorest countries
in the world.
Muammar al Gadhafi was born on the 7th of June, 1942, to a
Bedouin family in the desert city of Sirte.
He grew up as part of the Berber Qadhadhfi tribe.
His illiterate parents were too poor to pay for his
education, so he would sleep in a mosque in another city,
and walk twenty miles every weekend to his family's tent.
Which at the time was being supplied by the army.
When he grew up he enrolled at the Benghazi University
to study geography, but due to political circumstances
in his country, he dropped out to join the army.
Between 1961 and 1966 Muammar studied at the Libyan
military academy in Benghazi as well as having some
military training in Great Britain.
Having grown up in poverty seen a lot of colonial oppression,
Muammar becomes interested in freedom movements, education
and development.
On the 1st of September, 1969, Muammar led a bloodless coup against
Libya's King, who at the time, was in Italy receiving medical treatment.
That following year Muammar expels all Italians from Libya.
Muammar wanted to distance Libya from the influence of the
former colonial powers of the West,
and went about redesigning Libya
based on the longstanding local tradition of Islam.
He vowed that every single Libyan citizen would be
housed, promising that even he and his parents
would not move into the new houses he was constructing
until every Libyan was housed.
Sadly, his father died before he was able
to fulfil this promise.
By 1973 Muammar had developed and established
a different kind of democratic system for Libya:
One in which the masses rule the state on many
different levels. Whether genuine in practice or not,
he laid down a foundation for a system beyond representative
democracy he called the Jamahiriya or 'State of the Masses'.
Which involved a participatory form of democracy.
Muammar's system made necessary the construction of hundreds
of congress halls for peoples' congresses.
They were created with respect to the tribal system
of order that had been in place for generations.
At the time, Libya had only 4 million people which were
divided into 2000 peoples' congresses.
With congress halls In which almost the entire country
would meet to discuss international,
domestic and local affairs.
Economic and political power rested in the hands of the masses.
and it seemed to work well for them.
In the first stages there were the monarchies.
Where the monarch owned the land and whatever was
on that land.
And the people had no choice but to think
he was God's gift to Earth.
Then there was a second stage ëthe republics',
where people were allowed to choose the monarch,
that is, choose who should rule over them,
like a President.
Gathafi's revolution and his oil-well have no
doubt raised the standard of living of the Libyan
people to one of the highest in the Middle-East.
He has started massive agricultural projects even
in the heart of the desert, to make Libya
self-sufficient in food by the end of the decade.
Part of what he calls 'the Green Revolution'.
Profits from oil allow him to import foreign
technology even expertise from Americans,
some of whom apparently do not agree with Washington's
antagonism towards Gathafi and Libya.
We have no problems with the Libyan government
whatsoever, the politicians from back home cause
us nothing but problems.
Whereas representative democracies
that we are used to allow us
to select people to represent us.
Participatory democracies allow for people
to vote for the policies themselves directly,
as well as who should execute them.
Even Muammar admitted himself there was no practical
way to achieve this form of socialism,
but said there were just as many flaws in the capitalist
democracies and communism
which opposed each other on the world-stage at the time.
The people were able to establish and vote on committees
to ultimately carry out those decisions made within the
peoples' congresses.
He was described by many as a progressive Jamahiriya socialist.
In 1975, Muammar published his Green Book, which expressed
his personal and political views on a wide range of subjects.
In his Green Book he advocated the use of participatory
democracy over the representative democracy
we are familiar with.
As well as ways to improve the lives of citizens by
providing housing, healthcare, education and living allowances
as human rights that should be delivered by the state.
It claimed Western-style democracy and parliaments were
inherently corrupt due to their separation from the
people and loose representative nature in practice.
Apparently, Muammar used this system to eventually leave his
formal position and hand over decisive-power to the people
and their councils.
For this reason, Muammar is said to have not had any
official power since 1977, only holding a symbolic
position just like the kings or queens of some
European states today.
The first stage is the Jamahiriya.
Where people rule themselves, by themselves and
they can do away with an election system in order to
select someone who can rule over them.
This means 'the state of the masses'.
A revolutionary who believes people should rule
themselves, not be ruled by government.
A man who promised to turn the desert green and
is keeping that promise.
That same year, Libya officially became the
"Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".
Muammar officially passed power to the General People's
Committees and henceforth claimed to be no more
than a symbolic figurehead.
Having stepped down, and with no official function
in Libya, Muammar's role was boiled down
to the 'overseer of Libya' whereby he kept the title:
'Leader of the Revolution', 'Guide of the First of
September Great Revolution of the Socialist
People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya' or 'Brotherly Leader
and Guide of the Revolution'.
Believing every human need should be a human right,
Muammar advocated a policy of farming,
infrastructure and water reserves, which he funded
with money Libya was receiving from sales of oil.
Libya has one of the largest proven oil reserves in
Africa and became the third largest supplier to the
United States of crude-oil.
Because of Muammar's revolution in Libya, together with
the massive oil reserves Libya enjoys,
Libya went from being one of the poorest countries
in the world to having the almost
the highest living standards in the Middle-East
and the highest in Africa.
Rating higher than many large countries worldwide.
Libya's dependence on foreign imports for food
has always been very high.
Muammar wanted to spread farming to the desert and
make sure water reached the furthest corners of Libya.
With this water he brought agriculture and farming to
the formerly arid parts of the Libyan Desert,
which he called the ëGreen Revolution'.
To reach the goal of meeting fresh water demands in Libya,
Muammar invested $33bn in the building of pipelines that
were eventually able to produce 2 million cubic metres
of water per day. Today they are estimated to be
worth $7tn. Due to the size and cost of the project,
and with reference to controversies during the eighties
regarding Libya, the Great Manmade River was referred to
as the 'Great Madman River'.
And I think other journalists should be giving that country
and his view a legitimate hearing rather than out of hand..
You know, rejecting it seems to have been the policy here as
far as media and our country are concerned.
It seems that way to me as an independent producer.
That and at the official governmental level it can be
suggested or even at a corporate level.
And certainly on the part of the people themselves of the
United States, it seems to me, would do well to
give a consideration other than the propagandistic.
At this point, let's put this into perspective,
Muammar al Gathafi was no angel and the system he
laid down was not perfect.
Accusations of human rights violations and public
executions at the decision of Councils were commonplace.
Much like any leaders good or bad, he was a fierce opponent
of threats to the stability of his homeland both foreign
and domestic.
Public hangings of enemies of the state were even
televised at one point.
Military commentators say you already have far more arms and
tanks and planes than your army of 40,000 men could possibly
ever use.
We have armed people.
We need weapons for the people, the armed people.
Every citizen must have a weapon, not in his house but in
storage. And indeed in time for defense for his independence..
Defense from what, Colonel Gathafi?
Against whom you mean?
Against whom, yes?
Just any enemy who might attack my country, attack my people.
My people must be armed and be ready to face any aggression.
How do you answer charges that Libya is involved in promoting
and supporting and training international terrorists?
This accusation without any justification? Also no evidence
that we support or promote terrorism. We are against
terrorism absolutely. And we should have very severe laws
against any terrorist actions.
Therefore, we are absolutely against terrorism.
But now, we must clarify the meaning of terrorism.
What is terrorism?
We consider the manufacturing of nuclear weapons as a
terrorist action.
And establishing foreign military bases in the
land of others is also terrorism.
And making people suffer from famine.
To keep food from them.
It is also terrorism.
And hijacking the airplanes planes and for honest people
to be victims of this action is also terrorism
but it is a very small one in comparison
to the big action of terrorism
which America is doing now.
By threatening others and famine of people, not to sell or
give wheat. And not to give to the poor people, and so on.
He was also a flamboyant capitalist and spared no expense
in lavish goods from abroad and had no shame in flaunting
his wealth.
Nevertheless, Muammar was a staunch critic of oppression
worldwide, claiming that just causes were quite
easy to define.
In 1982, the peoples' councils of Libya had established
Mathaba', which roughly means 'A gathering place for
people with a common purpose'.
In this forum, intellectuals and revolutionaries
from around the world could meet and discuss ideas
and develop revolutionary knowledge.
This helped intensify Libya's support for
movements worldwide.
Muammar made for tricky relations with his Western
clients by supporting groups around the world in
different ways who he felt were victims of domination
and unfair treatment in their own countries.
Tensions between Libya and the West reached a peak during
the Ronald Reagan administration, which tried to
overthrow Muammar.
There is a clear difference between supporting the just
cause of nations struggling for their freedom and
liberation, between that and terrorism.
And it is one of our basic principles to support nations
that are struggling for the sake of their freedom.
To support those exploited and oppressed.
Be they in Southern Philippines or Northern Ireland.
We support them morally at least.
But how do you differentiate between a terrorist
and a freedom fighter?
In any case, the just causes are clear.
They are nations struggling against usurpers.
To be rid of foreign control and wanting to risk their
freedom and to live free, and with dignity.
We are morally responsible to stand by these just causes.
As for terrorism, that is another matter which
we are completely against.
We have no objections as far as we are able to aiding with arms
and money nations struggling for the sake of their freedom.
The Reagan administration viewed Libya as a belligerent
rogue state because of its uncompromising stance on
Palestinian independence, its support for revolutionary
Iran in its 1980-1988 war against Saddam Hussein's
Iraq and its backing for ìliberation movementsî in the
developing world.
Ronald Reagan called Muammar
the ìmad dog of the Middle Eastî.
Depending on the frequently changing
foreign attitude toward Libya,
numerous assassination attempts and other
policies against Muammar and Libya were intermittent.
In March 1982, following the accusation of terrorist
bombings accredited to Libyan officials, the U.S.
declared a ban on the import of Libyan oil and the
export to Libya of US oil industry technology.
At that time European nations did not follow suit.
Libya became the centre a lot of political hostility from the
international community and the U.N. had placed an embargo
on Libyan oil exports on which their economy,
and therefore food and water supply, were
completely dependent.
The Al Gathafi International Prize for Human Rights was
established in 1988 by virtue of a decision issued
by the Libyan Peoples Congresses in indebtedness
and gratitude for the Revolutionary Muammer Al Gathafi
and in appreciation for his role in firmly establishing
the principle of direct democracy.
It was also rewarded for his persistent struggle and
distinctive inspiration and continuous instigation
for the consolidation of human liberty. And for issuing
the Great Green Document. In compliance with international
regulations in relation to the war on terror, Libya
abandoned its nuclear program in 2004.
In 2011, Muammar was a top-runner for the online poll
by Amnesty International USA for
"Human Rights Hero of 2011", followed by
Michael Jackson in second place.
In 1989 Muammar awarded Nelson Mandela with the
MuammarGathafi Prize for Human Rights in recognition
of his peaceful fight against the apartheid oppressors
in South Africa.
In 1997 following his release from 27 years in prison,
Nelson Mandela ignored the United Nations embargo
and dismissal of Libya and flew to greet Muammar.
On the 28th of October, 1997, Nelson Mandela awarded
Muammar with the Good Hope Golden Medal, the
highest mark of respect awarded by South Africa
for supporting human rights and the struggle
against apartheid.
What do we call 'collateral damage' and what do we
call 'killing the innocents'?
No, it's whoever we decide is our enemy we put on the
'terrorist list' and whoever we decide is our ally
we put on the 'good guys' list.
And from time to time that changes.
I mean, what happened in South Africa was nearly a miracle,
and the people we call terrorists turn out to be the least
violent people in the history of mankind.
I mean, right up there with Mahatma Gandhi, and we
had them on our terrorist list.
Gives you a sense of what nonsense all of this is.
It was the 1988 bombing of Pan-AM flight 103 over Lockerbie,
Scotland, that triggered Libya's isolation and UN sanctions.
Libya was blamed for the bomb that killed 270 people.
It was one of the most infamous terrorist acts
of that decade.
To end the sanctions, Gathafi will pay one of the biggest
compensation packages of all time.
A total of $10billion to the victims' families.
To the UN, he also had to admit responsibility for
the actions of his officials.
But to his domestic audience, Gathafi is defiant.
He said the money was not an admission of guilt,
but just the price Libya
had to pay for entry back into the
world community.
The Libyans said they'll buy their way out
of these three black lists.
We'll pay so much. To hell with $2 billion or more.
It's not compensation, it's a price.
The Americans said it was Libya who did it.
It is known that the president was madman Reagan,
who's got Alzheimer's and has lost his mind.
He now crawls on all fours.
But in his denial of responsibility for
Lockerbie, Gathafi has found an unlikely ally in Scotland.
Professor Robert Black has campaigned for years to
bring the Lockerbie perpetrators to justice.
He was instrumental in setting up the trial under
Scottish law in the Hague,
that in January 2001, convicted a Libyan
intelligence-agent.
'Yes, it is a betrayal I feel. I...'
But now, Professor Black think Abdel Baset al Megrahi
was wrongly convicted.
And it angers me that, although the arrangement itself,
the actual practicalities of the trial, worked perfectly.
It's just that in my view, the outcome was a wholly
and utterly perverse verdict.
Professor Black says the main evidence against
Megrahi was not only circumstantial but not credible.
It centres around the clothes in the suitcase that
contained the bomb.
It is alleged Megrahi bought them off a shopkeeper
in Malta, thus connecting him to the attack.
The shopkeeper at no point ever said 'that is the
man who bought the clothes'.
The most that he would say is that 'that man resembles
a lot, the person who bought the clothes in my shop'.
Many of the British victims' families agree with
Professor Black that the verdict was unreliable..
"I would like to see Libya allowed to come back into
the United Nations".
To uncover the truth,
the families are calling for a full public enquiry.
It's central to the success of the prosecution, and
and it's totally fraud from beginning to end.
"The international community is sending two clear signals, first...'
This time it were not bombs, but international sanctions
that were to hit Tripoli.
Libya was required to accept responsibility for the
bombings, and turn in the agents responsible.
Libya remember has been a punching bag for ten years,
it's easy.
Every time there's a domestic problem,
you go bomb Libya or you
attack Libya or something like that,
and that's easy, they're completely defenceless.
You know, Gathafi nobody likes anyhow,
no one's going to defend them.
So if you want to bomb them, bomb them.
That's kind of like automatic.
Maybe Libya was involved, I mean, maybe not.
Nobody still has any particular reason to
believe that they were involved in the
'Disco Bombing' in 1986, maybe they were but
there was certainly no evidence around at the time
that could convince a rational person.
The German investigators didn't believe it, you know,
they thought it was a complete fraud.
This was all suppressed in the US Press but
it was published.
I had an article about it back then based on an
interview with the top, the head of the
what amounts to the German FBI who was...
Actually an interview carried out a Stars and Stripes
reporter had them saying that there wasn't a particle
of evidence Libya had anything to do with it.
And this was a couple of weeks after the bombing.
This is mostly propaganda and you shouldn't be
deluded by it.
Western diplomats believed that a drastic embargo
would be enough to bring Gathafi down.
Professor Black wants a retrial.
And if that doesn't happen, he's prepared to
quit the profession.
If our legal and judicial system is not strong
enough to recognise that it has made a mistake and
to take the appropriate action to rectify that mistake,
then, I'm afraid, it is a system with which I do not
wish to be connected.
In 1993, Gathafi celebrated his 24th year in power.
The revolutionary was now 50.
Flanked by the few national leaders that were still
willing to be seen with him,
he pointed the finger at his old enemies: Britain,
America and France, to explain the position Libya found
itself in.
They've sold their souls to the devil.
They think the devil will always rule,
but the devil will be defeated
and will end up killing himself.
But for now, Gathafi was the one in danger.
He was a pariah. Leader of a country that was cut off
from the rest of the world.
By an embargo on air-traffic and weapon sales.
And above-all, by a boycott on its oil, Libya's only
source of revenue.
Gathafi has always denied that Libya was
responsible for Lockerbie.
But he's desperate to end Libya's isolation.
So desperate, that he's willing to pay $10bn.
Even though we paid money for something we did not commit,
we are paying this to buy a license.
Libya needs to be admitted onto the world stage,
to be recognised as a serious partner that people
can do business with.
The West wasn't looking for other trails in the obscure
world of terrorist networks and secret services.
It had the perfect fall guy in the blustering
Colonel Gathafi.
Like I said, if they aren't facing real domestic
problems and, you know,
the meddling outsiders are beginning to make a fuss,
and people start paying attention, deciding
'look we have to do something about this
catastrophe around us'. It will be necessary to divert
them and there aren't many ways.
The major ways are the ones I mentioned:
Foreign enemies, who are going to overwhelm us or at the
magnificence of our leaders who rise up at the last minute
and then they get time to save us and
that's standard, and they could resort to that.
Let our American friends answer this question:
Why Iraq? What is the reason?
Is Bin Laden an Iraqi?
No, he is not.
Were those who attacked New York Iraqis?
No, they weren't Iraqi.
Were those who attacked the Pentagon Iraqis?
No, they were not.
Were there's WMD in Iraq?
No, there were not.
Even if Iraq did have WMD,
Pakistan and India have nuclear bombs and so
do China, Russia, Britain, France and America.
Should all these countries be destroyed?
Fine. Let's destroy all the countries that have WMD.
Along comes a foreign power, occupies an Arab country,
and hangs its president and
we all sit on the side-lines, laughing.
Why didn't they investigate the hanging of Saddam Hussein?
How can a prisoner of war be hanged? A president of
an Arab country and a member of the Arab League no less!
I'm not talking about the policies of Saddam Hussein,
or the disagreements we had with him.
We all had political disagreements with him and
we have such disagreements among ourselves here.
We share nothing beyond this hall.
Why won't there be an investigation
into the killing of Saddam Hussein?
An entire Arab leadership was executed by hanging, yet we
all sit on the side-lines, why?
Any one of you could be next.
Yes.
America fought alongside Saddam Hussein against Khomeini.
He was their friend.
Cheney was a friend of Saddam Hussein.
Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary at the time Iraq
was destroyed, was a close friend of Saddam Hussein.
Ultimately, they sold him out and hanged him.
You are friends of America -
let's say that 'we' are, not 'you',
but one of these days America may hang us.
In September 2009, Muammar al Gathafi visited the
United States for the first time.
Libya was, at the time, presiding over the UN General Assembly
and he was to give a speech at the UN HQ in New York.
Only supposed to speak for 20 minutes,
he gave a prolonged and controversial speech.
In which he questioned the power structure of the UN
and superpower supremacy.
As well as making other controversial claims.
We are 192 nations and countries and we are like
Speakers Corner in London's Hyde Park.
We just speak and nobody implements our decisions.
We're a mere decoration without any real substance.
We are Speakers Corner, no more, no less.
We just make speeches and then disappear.
This is who you are right now.
What solution can there be? The solution is for the
General Assembly to adopt a binding resolution
under the leadership of Mr. Treki based on the majority
will of the Assembly members and taking into account the
consideration of no other body.
We should focus on the achievement of democracy based on
the equality of member-states.
There should be equality among member-states and the powers
and mandates of the Security Council should be transferred
to the General Assembly.
It is said that the General Assembly should do whatever the
Security Council recommends.
On the contrary, the Security Council should do whatever the
General Assembly decides.
This is the United Nations, the assembly that includes
192 countries.
It is not the Security Council which includes only 15
of the member-states.
How can we be happy about global peace and security if
the whole world is controlled by only 5 countries.
We should not live in the shadow of this
injustice and terror.
Superpowers have complicated global interests and
they use the veto to protect those interests.
In our political life, if they need to use the Security
Council against us they turn to the Security Council.
If they have no need to use it against us, they ignore
the Security Council.
If they have an interest to promote an axe to grind they
respect and glorify the Charter of the United Nations.
If however, they wish to violate the Charter,
they would ignore it as if it did not exist at all.
We should not accept this, nor should we accept any
resolution adopted by the Security Council
in its current composition.
We are under trusteeship, we were colonized.
And now we are independent.
We are here today to decide the future of
the world in a democratic way.
That will maintain the peace and security
of all nations large and small.
As equals.
Otherwise it is terrorism.
For terrorism is not just Al Qaeda but it can also take
other forms.
The issue is a vitally important one.
From the beginning when it was established in 1945,
the Security Council has failed to provide security.
On the contrary, it has provided terror and sanctions.
It is only used against us.
We should be guided by the majority of the votes
of the General Assembly alone.
If the General Assembly takes the decision by voting,
then its wishes should be obeyed and its decisions
should be enforced.
No one is above the General Assembly.
Anyone who says he is above the Assembly should leave
the United Nations and be on his own.
This way we will have justice and democracy, and we will
no longer have a Security Council consisting of countries
which have been chosen because they have nuclear weapons,
large economies or advanced technology.
That is terrorism.
At present, the Security Council is security feudalism.
Political feudalism.
For those with permanent seats, protected by them
and used against us.
It should not be called the 'Security' Council
but the 'Terror' Council.
According to news sources, protests broke out in Benghazi
on Tuesday the 15th of February, 2011,
which apparently led to clashes with security forces that
apparently began firing on protestors.
It seemed there were no calls however, for Muammar
to step down from his honorary position.
According to many international sources, peaceful
pro-democracy protests broke out in Libya,
and were quickly and violently repressed
by Libyan government forces, leading to
hundreds of deaths.
They stole weapons and started killing policemen
and soldiers.
They said that the Libyan government was attacking
its own people from the air, and Russian Intelligence
satellites have since shown us that this was impossible.
We never thought that Al-Qaeda will come to
Libya one day.
Over the past few days, they took advantage of what had
happened in Egypt and Tunisia and they made their
presence felt here.
We live in a safe country, our camps and centres are
open to the public, but, Al-Qaeda members took advantage
of this relaxed atmosphere and safety.
And a group of youngsters launched attacks against
police stations and military barracks.
And this has been an incredible media war.
A warning on the streets of Tripoli.
I want to say to Al Jazeera, wake up, because you
are dreaming. No one can kill Muammar Gathafi,
all of Libya is with Muammar Gathafi.
At the heart of the criticism, reports that Gathafi's
warplanes bombed and killed dozens of protesters
in the capital city.
The future of Libya appears to be on a knife-edge,
fighter-jets have been bombarding the capital Tripoli
reportedly on the orders of leader Muammar Gathafi.
Later on, they told us that Tripoli is bombed by the
air force and heavy guns or something like that.
And it's completely not true.
The truth seems to be a city going about its
everyday business.
These are hardly the pictures of a city on the brink of war.
Meanwhile, Libya's capital Tripoli is bracing for what
could be another night of gunfire,
explosions and fighting.
Eyewitnesses say warplanes had been firing at
opposition supporters from the air.
When we invited foreign media to come to Tripoli and
to Libya and to see and to watch and to send their
reports to their channels.
We noticed that the administration or management of
their channels selected what they want from
these reports and eliminate or delay that
what does not serve their purposes.
Which is why people here are angry. Mohamed's taken
a few days off from his work as an engineer to
join the throngs of Gathafi supporters in
downtown Green Square.
They are hiding this. They are hiding this, about
what's going now, okay?
All the people are here now, of course yes, just to be
supportive for our leader Muammar Gathafi, okay?
And they want to hide this.
But, say analysts, it's not just what's being hidden,
but what's being said.
Do you feel perhaps that your people are not with you?
That actually, they might not want you?
Down eluded strongly, to the criminalization of the
Libyan Government and Gathafi.
Colonel Gathafi's rule over Libya may be
close to an end.
The four-decade old reign of the Libyan leader has
been shaken by days of violent protest.
Amid further demonstrations across the North
African state, the 68-year-old is understood
to be seeking exile.
Credible Western Intelligence reports are suggesting
the Libyan leader is on his way to Venezuela.
At a Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels William Hague
added fuel to the speculation.
You asked me earlier whether Colonel Gathafi was in
Venezuela, I've no information that says he is although
I've seen some information that suggests he is on
his way there at the moment.
Venezuelan officials have so far denied the claims
as has a Libyan minister, but British diplomats have
stood by their sources.
I am satisfied because I was speaking in front of
the youth in the Green Square tonight,
I was to sleep together with protestors but the rain
came praise to God it bears well,
I want to clarify for them that I am in Tripoli
not in Venezuela.
Do not believe these channels, they are dogs.
Bye.
They said that 6000 people had been killed by
the government, human rights organisations have
confirmed that approximately 250 have died,
from both sides.
Here Al Jazeera, they say I'm not in Tripoli,
maybe I'm in Afghanistan, maybe I'm in Iraq.
The war is clearly not in Tripoli.
And just as clearly, Western media has been a
little too quick to write off Gathafi.
The American people extend our deepest condolences
to the family and loved-ones of all who've been
killed and injured.
The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous
and it is unacceptable.
So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters.
And further punish, the people of Libya.
Like all governments, the Libyan Government has a
responsibility to refrain from violence.
To allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need.
And respect the rights of its people.
It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those
responsibilities.
And face the cost of continued violations of human rights.
This is not simply a concern of the United States.
The entire world is watching.
And we will coordinate our assistance and accountability
measures with the international community.
To that end, Secretary Clinton and I have asked
Bill Berns our Under-Secretary of State for
Political Affairs to make several stops in Europe
and across the region to intensify our consultations
with allies and partners about the situation in Libya.
But how do they show their authority then because some
who have gone out on the streets to protest say that your
people have shot at them.
No demonstration at all in the streets.
Have you seen any demonstrations? Any protests?
Yes, I have yes.
Where?
I saw some today in. I saw some in Zawir yesterday
I saw demonstrations.
Are they supporting us?
No they are not supporting you.
They are not against us.
Some were against you and some were for you.
No, no one against us. Against me for what?
Because I am not President.
They love me, all my people are with me.
They love me, all.
They would die to protect me, my people, no no.
The media said that thousands of people were about to be
killed in Benghazi, but they never showed us any evidence.
Let me be clear: The change that is taking place across
the region, is being driven by the people of the region.
This change does not represent the work of the United States
or any foreign power it represents the aspirations of people
who are seeking a better life.
As one Libyan said:
'We want to be able to live like human beings,
we just want to be able to live like human beings'.
It is the most basic of aspirations that is driving
this change.
And throughout this change in transition the
United States will continue to stand up for freedom,
stand up for justice and stand up for the
dignity of all people.
The next town over has another crucial oil facility,
which has changed hands several times over the past
few days, after that comes the town of Sirte.
Which is Gathafi's stronghold and could be the rebels
biggest challenge so far.
Muammar continued to maintain for decades that the
power in Libya lay with the peoples' committees.
This confused many foreign observers whose reflex
reaction is to associate leadership with something
that should rest with an individual,
whether elected or not.
When Western media would interview Muammar,
they would usually try to pin responsibility
for all decision-making to one central person.
Namely him.
Do you have day-to-day control of the armed forces, do you
give the orders in this country?
First of all, there is no army in Libya we have
an armed people.
The men in uniform who carry guns in this country
do you give them orders?
The security issue is administered by the Peoples' Committee.
The armed people is administered by the defence sector.
The Peoples' Committee for National Security oversees the
security issue and oversees the armed people.
What I'm trying to say is have you been giving them orders
in terms of how they deal with the situation in Benghazi
or deal with the situation in and around Tripoli?
The only order that has been issued in Libya
is not to use force, at all.
And this is why we have warned them against using arms.
Because they handed out orders not to use arms and force.
In recent years, you've had a rapprochement with
Western countries.
You've had important Western leaders like
Tony Blair coming here.
But now, there are Western leaders who are queuing
up to say you should go.
Do you feel a sense of betrayal about that?
"Of course it's betrayal" he said.
"They have no morals. Besides, if they want me to
step down, what do I step down from?
I'm not a monarch or a king."
But you make speeches at the UN and you identify
very much with Libya even if you don't have a
formal title.
"It's honorary" he said "it's nothing to do with
exercising power or authority. In Britain who has the
power, is the Queen Elizabeth or David Cameron?"
Mr. Gathafi said we didn't understand the Libyan system.
Well, we have a Head of State who's the Queen and we
have a Prime-Minister who is elected, who is
Mr. Cameron. Are you thinking then of having an
election here for Prime-minister?
Actually you don't understand the system here in Libya,
at all. You don't understand the system.
What is termed as a Prime-minister in Libya
is decided by the General Peoples' Congress
which is formed by peoples' congresses and committees.
No I understand the system that you have here, but
internationally you're regarded as the leader..
You don't understand the system here, no, no, no,
Don't say 'I understand'. You don't understand.
And the World doesn't understand the system here, the
peoples system here. The authority of the people,
you don't understand it.
The president, actually, did not make his
final decision on what to do until Thursday night.
Less than 48 hours before the first 200
tomahawk missiles were fired.
We don't understand what he's doing, still and
I don't think he has the support of this congress.
When was the briefing of the Armed Services Committee?
There wasn't one.
What is clear: The cost.
$550,000,000 in the first ten days alone.
And an estimated $40,000,000 per month.
But not how it will be paid.
..but along this coast road, there is oil,
and it is oil that is going to fund the peace in Libya.
We had the prospect of Gathafi's forces
carrying out his orders to show no mercy.
That could have resulted in catastrophe in that town.
Gathafi's forces have pulled back
because of this timely intervention.
President Obama noted that while the United States
may have taken the lead initially in Libya
European allies and Arab states will soon start
bearing most of the burden.
I said at the outset that this was going to be
a matter of days and not weeks
and there's nothing, based on how we've been able
to execute over the last several days that
changes that assessment.
But Pentagon officials have conceded there's no
telling how long Gathafi could cling to power,
leading critics in congress, in both parties,
to ask: What's in it for the United States?
It is in America's national interest to participate
in that because nobody has a bigger stake in making
sure that the basic rules of the road that are observed
that there is some assemblance of order and justice
particularly in a volatile region that is going through
great changes like the Middle-East.
..discuss our plans, if any, regarding arming the rebels
they seem to be getting their butts whipped.
These men are getting a crash-course on armed rebellion.
How much money is being spent to arm the
so-called rebels? They're dissatisfied. Well what is
their dissatisfaction about?
Do they have jobs? Yes. Do they have food? Yes.
Has Gathafi used the oil-money to build Libya? Yes.
Did Gathafi use oil-money and discover water under the
Sahara Desert and brought that water to the surface
and brought water from Benghazi all the way to the
border almost of Tunisia?
Did he impose farming in the desert, so that they could
feed their own people? Yes.
Are there billions of dollars that he's spending,
building homes, building appartments, for his people?
Yes.
So something is under this.
They don't really care about the future of our country,
whether Benghazi dies or lives,
they are attempting to destroy you and
then bring foreign colonizing powers.
And so when America, England, France
three imperialist powers, want to destabilise
that country, is it that you're so concerned?
Now listen to this hypocrisy, American people.
Is it that you're so concerned over the blood
that is being shed in Libya?
We are a very rich nation.
We are a wealthy nation.
They stopped the flow of oil so that we can start begging.
They stopped the artificial Great River,
so that people die out of thirst.
And tomorrow there will be no electricity.
Those who would surrender their weapons
and will join our side,
we are the people of Libya.
Those who would surrender their weapons and
come in without their arms, we will forgive them
and we will have amnesty for those who would
put down their weapons.
Leave your weapons outside and go indoors
to your homes and shut your doors.
Coinciding with Obama's secret order to
support rebel groups in Libya,
the protests escalated into a rebellion
that then spread across the country
in order to oust out Muammar.
Even though Muammar denied any order
to shoot civilians made by him
or any of the local forces, it seemed
the international focus had been poised to
take out Muammar and his family one way or another.
In early March, the forces of Libya were able
to push East and win back many of the coastal
cities before reaching Benghazi.
Another United Nations Resolution then authorized
other member states to use ìall necessary measuresî
to ìprevent attacks on civiliansî.
If you say they do love you, then why are they capturing
Benghazi and they say they're against you...
It is Al-Qaeda, it is Al-Qaeda, not my people,
Al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda, yes,
they came from outside.
So they're the people pulling down the posters
and putting up the flag of the king?
"It's Al-Qaeda.." he said "..they went into
military bases and seized arms, and they're
terrorizing the people.
The people who had the weapons were youngsters,
they're starting to lay down their weapons now
as the drugs Al-Qaeda gave the wear off".
I get calls from families, thousands of calls
from families in Benghazi asking for help,
asking for someone to rescue them.
People are asking for help and the calls
for assistance has to come from us.
They cut off communications, electricity, water.
They would like us to lose our honour and dignity.
Those criminals who have been released out of prison.
Those drug-addicts and murderers, they got them
out and they handed them weapons and
let them out on the streets to fight with them.
Any advancements made against rebels were
thwarted by NATO intervention, with
strategic bombings that took out communications,
defense and even the main water facilities,
leaving 90% of Libya without water,
leading to a forewarned humanitarian crisis.
On March the 17th, 2011,
forces loyal to Muammar and the Jamahiriya
tried to take Benghazi back from the armed rebels.
In response, and based on loose reports in
international media from reports from anonymous
witnesses and rebels who waved the flag of the
old oppressive king, the United Nations used an
initial response to freeze the assets of Muammar
and his 'inner-circle' and prevent them from travelling.
What began was somewhat of a media-battle,
both in terms of the way things were presented and
the information that was not released at the time.
On March the 17th, the United Nations Security Council
passed Resolution 1973, which imposed a no-fly zone over
Libya and authorizing the use of ìall necessary measuresî
to protect civilians.
Even at this early and ambiguous stage,
and apparently with little known about the
rebels on the ground, several wealthy nations
around the world not only acknowledged the rebels
as legitimate liberators, but provided
them with intelligence, weapons and training
to assist in the so-called regime change.
Qatar in fact later admitted it had deployed
hundreds of its own forces on the ground.
It was not widely reported however,
how violent and oppressive the rebels actually were.
Not only were many of them from outside the country,
they were restricting media, causing civilian-
and security casualties and creating a sense of chaos.
It would have been near impossible to distinguish between
the armed population defending themselves and the
armed rebels trying to take over.
Al-Qaeda is the one who started the killing
and confiscation of arms and it is now terrorizing
people in Benghazi.
These people have no demands.
They don't take part in protests, at all.
Be it in Afghanistan, Libya or Algeria,
they don't take part in demonstrations.
The armed groups in Benghazi have terrorized Benghazi
and people have been phoning Libyan television and
radio and explaining the situation there.
In Dirna, and the cities of Dirna and Bayda,
there are small groups that are terrorizing
the residents over there,
As for the rest of Libya, please, go along,
have a look for yourself. Go outside Tripoli,
go outside Benghazi or Al-Bayda.
Go to the Green Mount.
Go and have a look at the oasis in the South.
Anywhere around Tripoli, in this town or city around Tripoli.
I am prepared to go anywhere in Libya and travel there.
Survivors arrived at a chaotic emergency room.
They are mercenaries from Africa attacking us with
rockets and missiles, this man said.
As the US transfers leadership to NATO, and the coalition
is into its second weeks of attacks, intelligence-experts
are trying hard to sort out the facts on the ground.
Since the uprising in Libya, questions have
persisted about just who the rebels are.
On Tuesday NATO's Supreme Allied Commander gave an
ominous warning that Al-Qaeda terrorists could be
among them.
We don't have much visibility into those who have risen
against Gathafi - each element has its own agenda.
What if it was Al-Qaeda decided to press
on in there and arm these guys?
Well, we would clearly have a problem with that.
We have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential
Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, we've seen different things.
And, at an international conference on Libya,
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton admitted that they're
still getting to know the players on the ground.
We do not have any specific information about specific
individuals from any organisation who are part of this,
but ofcourse, we're still getting to know those
who are leading the Transitional National Council.
The thing that struck me the most as we got closer
to the front-line was just how incredibly young
some of these rebels were.
It was pretty surreal to watch these kids,
barely out of puberty fighting and dying for this
abstract concept of freedom.
Abstract because real freedom was something
they'd never known. As Gathafi had been in power
since before they were born.
Al-Qaeda is one thing
and children who have been drugged and have been duped
to do things, and the Libyan people, is another thing.
The youth who now have arms
they don't even know what Al-Qaeda means.
However the leaders of Al-Qaeda,
who are inside the mosques and who have
appointed themselves as emirs -
I would like you to go and see them.
Some of them used to be Guantanemo inmates.
As Western forces pounded Libya's air defences
and patrolled its skies on Sunday, their day-old
intervention hit a serious diplomatic setback.
Speaking in Cairo, Arab League Chief Amr Moussa
condemned what he called the bombardment of civilians
and called for an emergency meeting to discuss
the situation in Libya.
Sovereignty is not invading or occupying a country
or affecting its sovereignty,
but working on protecting its civilians.
They were just telling me they get their coordinates
through Google. Arab Spring. Facebook, Twitter,
for their demonstrations and Google if you
want to bomb them. Technology at work.
So you push the button?
Yes, boom.
Shoot rocket.
Shoot rocket.
This one is fully charged, it looks like they're
using it a lot more.
Yes, he wants to come to America.
That's the dream.
Playing in the Miami Heat and with the Los Angeles
Galaxy and Dallas Mavericks. Oh yes.
Obama and Clinton, I want weapons..
New.
New weapons.
You want the newest.
The oldest. Gathafi, new, Gathafi.
Gathafi has new weapons.
Yes!
I want help from USA.
He asking Clinton and Obama to send more weapons so
they can take Tripoli, so he can live his dream
which is to play for the Miami Heat basketball.
Yes.
Yes, he wants to come to America.
That's the dream.
Gathafi wasn't sitting in any tent, twiddling his thumbs,
over these last ten years.
This man has been investing in African development.
This man has been moving throughout Africa,
this man has friends all over the world.
He may not be your friend, but
if you take him out and kill him like he's
some rotten fellow, that wants to kill his own people.
The US formerly handed over control to NATO today, ending
operation Odessey Dawn and beginning Operation Unified
Protector but newspapers quoting Vatican sources said
that 40 civilians were killed in coalition airstrikes.
According to some it's about protecting civilians...
'...and a resolve is clear,
the people of Libya must be protected...'
...others say its about oil.
'The only reason they're interested about Libya is
about the oil. Do you think we'd be in Iraq if the
major export there was broccoli?..'
But some are convinced intervention in Libya is all
about currency, specifically Gathafi's plan to introduce
the Gold Dinar.
A single African currency made from gold.
A true sharing of the wealth.
It's one of these things that you have to
plan almost in secret
because as soon as you say you're going to change
over from the dollar to something else,
you're going to be targeted.
There were two conferences on this. One in 1996 and
another one in the year 2000, called
the World Mathaba Conference organized by Gathafi.
And everybody was interested, I think most countries
in Africa were keen.
Gathafi didn't give up, in the months leading up to
the military intervention he called on African
and Muslim nations to join together to create
this new currency that would rival the Dollar and Euro.
They would sell oil and other resources around the
world only for gold dinars.
It's an idea that would shift the
economic balance of the world.
Countries' wealth would depend on how much
gold they have, not how many dollars they trade.
And Libya has 144 tons of gold.
The UK has double that but 10 times the population.
If Gathafi had an intent to try to reprice his oil
or whatever else the country was selling on the
global markets and accept something else as a
currency or maybe launch a gold dinar currency.
Any move such as that will certainly not be welcomed
by the power-elite today who are responsible for
controlling the world's central banks.
So yes, that would certainly be something that
would cause his immediate dismissal and the
need for other reasons to be brought forth to
removing him from power.
Well today, our dear brother
you know, has to be very, very careful in this decision
that he and his Secretary of State,
and Sarkozy and Prime-Minister Cameron
and others are planning.
They would love to go into Libya
and kill brother Gathafi and kill his children
as they did with Saddam Hussein
and his sons Qusay and Uday.
It's happened before, in 2000 Saddam Hussein announced
Iraqi oil would be traded in euros not dollars,
sanctions and an invasion followed.
Some say because the Americans were desperate to
prevent OPEC from transferring oil trading from all
its member-countries to the euro.
A gold dinar would have had serious consequences for
the world financial system but may also have empowered
the people of Africa.
Something black activists say the US wants to
avoid at all costs.
The United States should welcome the self-determination
of Africans. They certainly have denied self-determination
to Africans inside the United States, so we're
not surprised by anything that the United States would do
to hinder self-determination of Africans on the continent.
The UK's gold is kept here in a secure vault somewhere in
the depths of the Bank of England.
As in most developed-countries there's not enough to go
around but that's not the case in Libya and many of the
Gulf-states. A gold dinar would have given oil-rich African
and Middle-Eastern countries to turn around to their energy
hungry customers and say 'Sorry, the price has gone up and
we want gold'. Some say the US and its NATO allies literally
couldn't afford to let that happen.
I am amazed how the United States and the whole world, who
have been in alliance with us against Al-Qaeda, and when we
start fighting Al-Qaeda they impose such sanctions
against us.
So in every nation, brothers and sisters, there is dissatisfaction,
and what the CIA does is go into a country
and move amongst the people in a country that are
dissatisfied to stimulate a revolt against a leader that
they don't like because they want regime-change.
These are combat operations, they were intended to be combat
operations from the beginning. I don't know why this
administration has not been honest with the American people
that this is about regime-change.
About ten days after 9/11 I went through the Pentagon
and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz
I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people
on the joint-staff who used to work for me and one of the
Generals called me in and said
"Sir, you got to come in here and talk to me a sec."
I said "Well, you're too busy". He said "No.."
He said "We've made the decision to go to war with Iraq."
And this was only about the 20th of September.
I said "We're going to war with Iraq. Why?"
He said "I don't know."
He said "I guess they don't know what else to do."
So I said "Did they find any information connecting
Saddam to Al-Qaeda?"
He said "No, no, nothing new that way, they just made
the decision to go to war with Iraq" He said "I guess
but we've it's like we don't know what to do about terrorists
got a good military and we can take down governments."
And he said "I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer
Then every problem has to look like a nail."
So I came back to see him a few weeks later and by that
time we were bombing in Afghanistan and I asked
are we still going to war with Iraq and he said
"Oh it's than worse than that". He reached over and
picked up a piece of paper, he said "I just got this down
from upstairs from the Secretary of Defense
office today" and he said "This is a memo that describes
how we're gonna take out seven countries in five years."
Starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya,
Somalia, Sudan and finishing off, Iran.
The truth is about the MIddle-East is
had there been no oil there, it would be like Africa.
Nobody is threatening to intervene in Africa.
The problem is the opposite, we keep asking for people
to intervene and stop it.
And there's no question that the presence of petroleum
throughout the region has sparked great power involvement.
Whether that was the specific motivation for the coup or not
I can't tell you, but there's always been this attitude that
somehow we could intervene and use force in the region.
So when they had this election and the people in Iran rose
up, they had legitimate grievances alright.
But stimulated from the outside. So President Obama didn't
want to put his foot into that cage lest somebody say
America inspired it but it was
America's policy to destablise that government.
Well what about Libya?
I think a policy success, would be
the removal of the Gathafi-regime.
Secretary of State, Clinton, says it will take more
than military might to isolate the Gathafi-regime.
The bottom line is: No-one can predict for you
how long it will take for that to happen.
Are you a Libyan citizen?
Yes I am Libyan.
A Libyan citizen without housing allowance.
How is this possible?
I swear I am a Libyan citizen.
Let's see here.
We have to make sure you are a Libyan citizen.
I am a Libyan citizen. Here are my papers.
Well, don't you have living allowance?
Yes, I have.
Then why are you begging?
I am begging for treatment.
But treatment is provided at the hospital free of charge.
I swear, I wish it wasn't so..
So you are not Libyan.
Yes I am a Libyan.
I swear I am a Libyan but these medicines are not
available in pharmacies.
Are you a Libyan citizen? Show me your ID.
Yes I am a Libyan citizen.
I don't have any ID with me now but I have my
social security number.
Go bring the ID.
That means you are not a Libyan.
Yes, I am.
Where do you come from then?
The industrial estate.
Do you receive living allowance?
Yes, but...
Then why are you begging?
Listen my son, I suffer from a kidney disease,
and I'm a very sick person.
Then you should go to hospital for free treatment.
No. No treatment there, my son.
I swear.
Have you even been to the hospital?
Yes, I have a file there, they said they
couldn't treat me, I swear.
Here are the papers.
Show me your ID so we can determine if you are a Libyan.
I am a Libyan.
You shame yourselves and bring disgrace to us
in front of the World.
Sorry about that.
You get a free salary and free treatment.
We love you Muammar.
Give her papers back to her.
Whenever government wants you to think and act in
a certain way that would bring justification to an
action they are already planning to make, they must
make the person that they hate a boogeyman.
People are also concerned that you will somehow
sabotage or attack the oil-installations, would you do that?
It's them who are trying to do such things,
the terrorists are trying this.
They go by cars at night,
4x4, and they open fire on oil-fields, against companies,
they go to the desert.
The international community is concerned about stockpiles
of mustard-gas or other kinds of chemical weapons.
Would you ever use those?
First of all, I mean, this issue we finished with it
a long time ago, with Britain and the United States.
It's all behind us.
Is it logical that someone would use chemical weapons
even against his enemy.
Even against those people noone can use these
chemical weapons.
[Even against foreign attack]
[People are also concerned that..]
We're just going to show you these pictures that are
being shown on Libyan television.
We have no way of knowing when they were filmed,
Whether they were today or some other time,
but they seem to show Colonel Gathafi
kind of poking out the top of that four-wheel-drive.
There you can see him there in that landcruiser and
you wouldn't exactly say the pavements are
thronged with supporters but there are a few
well-wishers there and these pictures are being
shown now on Libyan TV showing Colonel Gathafi
punching the air and wearing... well, I don't
know what sort of hat you would call it.
A khaki hat.
A khaki hat. I think that's a rather polite way
of putting it but, yeah, fist-pumping and not
many people there responding to it although his
entourage obviously, kind of, waving their guns,
poking out of the vehicles.
As that one camera records these pictures of
Colonel Gathafi waving his way through
the streets of Tripoli and there's an awful lot
of people just getting on with their business it
would seem. But we don't know when this was filmed
and so we can't verify that these are today's pictures
but they are being shown on Libyan television now.
...about the fact that you actually know Mr. Gathafi,
indeed, you went to meet him in December didn't you?
Do you remember?
In fact, there's a jolly nice photograph of
you and Mr. Gathafi holding hands.
In fact, I have to say, I never seen you
smiling more or looking happier.
I mean, perhaps he's an old drinking mate,
I don't know.
NATO have been in full command of operations to
enforce that historic resolution for almost three weeks
and we are fulfilling our UN mandate.
NATO's kept up a high operational tempo,
allied airforce have flown well over 2800 missions
an average of just over 1000 a week.
Almost half of them strikes.
We've struck a broad range of targets: Tanks and
rocket-launchers, armoured vehicles and ammunition sites.
We're keeping up the pressure on the Gathafi-regime
forces to stop their brutal enslaught against civilians.
It's a challenging task but we're making
significant progress in weakening Gathafi's ability
to use his military machine against his own people.
So Gathafi, mass murderer,
hated by his people so much that they would beg NATO
to bomb their own country.
Hated so much that the capital city
fell without resistance.
Or NATO, mass-murderer, klling the Libyan masses because
they would die for their leader, just like in Tripoli.
I know which one we have mountains of evidence for.
Will you leave Libya?
How can one leaves one's country?
Why should I leave my country?
NATO is maintaining a high rate of operations in order
to enforce the United Nations resolution on Libya
and protect civilians from attack.
Who gave coalition forces in Libya the right
to eliminate Gathafi?
Well that's the question Vladimir Putin's been
asking on his official visit to Denmark.
The Russian Premier also said NATO has effectively
joined one of the warring sides in the conflict
and more responsible action should be taken instead.
Now, we've also heard that the experts here in Brussels
have confirmed that there is bombing going on
by the coalition forces which is not being covered
by the media here in the European Union.
They didn't tell us how the brave people of Abu Salim,
the poorest area in Tripoli and the staunchest area of
support for Gathafi, resisted for five days
until on August 24th NATO attacked anything that moved
and piles of bodies lined the streets.
Muammar is their father...
Why are they cursing him and bombing him?
Allah and Libya and Muammar only.
Those dogs, those rats, what did we do to them?
What did we do to them to make them
bomb us, those dogs?
They air strike us all day and night, people are all
asleep at dawn and they bomb us with their planes.
That is cruel. What did we do to them?
They say they are protecting civilians, but no,
they are bombing them
When did they protect them?
So, the Russian Prime-Minister has effectively
lashed out on the operation there in Libya.
Yes, he's made a speech in Denmark and he was very angry.
He says that Gathafi is not the best person in the world,
sure, he's made many mistakes done many bad things.
But that does not give the coalition the right to
bomb indiscriminantly. His words were that they are
bombing Gathafi's palaces in Tripoli every night.
They said they were targeting Gathafi's military forces,
they ignored the 33 children, 32 women and 20 men
who I saw buried in the small and traditional port-town
of Majin in Zliten in early August.
Mr. Putin's question was 'Why are the coalition
forces obviously making this effort to go
after Colonel Gathafi himself?'.
Mr. Putin added that oil was a key interest for the
Western powers, for the European powers,
who have gone into Libya.
That they want to get rid of Gathafi and install people
who are more favourable to the European Union, so that
European companies can control the oil-reserves.
Hello Lizzy, welcome. Thanks for joining us.
Can you confirm at this point the reports that
there is heavy gunfire on the ground right now.
Yes well, you might be able to hear in the background,
I'm not sure if you can, the gunfire and fireworks that
are happening and this gunfire and fireworks are
celebratory gunfire and fireworks as a result of the
earlier emergence of rebels in the city,
or armed gangs as the Libyan government are calling them,
that have now been cleared out of the city and they've now
been captured and arrested and eventually dealt with.
So the only gunfire that we're hearing is celebratory
gunfire and the only explosions that we're hearing are
NATO airstrikes or NATO soundbombs which are
clearly designed to create a sense of panic in the
capital city of Tripoli.
Now what we're hearing happened earlier today is that the
rebels in Libya, via the media, via their own channels,
they've created (and via Al-Jazeera of course which has
been at the centre of the media conspiracy against Libya)
they created some fake footage of themselves inside Zawiya,
claiming that they were inside Zawiya and Tripoli...
They said on August 21st that Tripoli fell without
resistance. But they didn't tell us that within
12 hours alone, 1300 people were massacred in that city
and 900 were injured.
Since the rebellion in Libya in 2011,
black Libyans and African migrant workers in Libya have been
persecuted, tortured and killed by splintered rebel-groups.
Womens groups have also been politically oppressed.
There has been little or no international intervention
for the atrocities that have happened in Libya since 2011.
teleSUR Diego Marin is in Libya where there is concern for
the increasing clashes.
Diego tell us what is happening, we have reports of
pro-Gathafi demonstrations, is this true?
Hello Marayira,
As you said today there are pro-Gathafi demonstrations
and intense combat.
This is happening because yesterday Muammar al Gathafi
sent a message urging the people
to fight against the invasion.
Tens of thousands of pro-Gathafi supporters filled the
streets of al-Ajaylat Thursday.
Holding green banners the demonstrators claimed their
continued support for the beleaguered leader.
We love Muammar Gathafi and say to a lot of people,
come here, because they want to say that Muammar Gathafi
our family. He is our father. And we love him so much.
Further West in the rebel-held town of Misrata
separatist-fighters receive treatment before vowing
to return to battle.
I got injured in the front-line,
and now I'm having treatment and I will be back to the
front-line as soon as possible. I will not leave it.
I swear to God we will not leave this regime alone.
Gathafi spoke to throngs of supporters in an audio
address Thursday, promising to fight quote:
"Until my last drop of blood".
Julie Noche, Reuters.
During Friday mornings prayers the people took to the
streets of the main neighbourhood in Tripoli.
Those neighbourhoods that increased resistance
to the insurgency such as Abu Salim, Souq al Jum'aa and two
more neighbourhoods reported street protests.
People took to the streets with the green flag and
pictures of Gathafi
were quickly repressed by the
National Transitional Council forces.
In response Gathafi's loyalists began a
major attack in all of those neighbourhoods
and consequently several people were captured.
We were informed that the arrests are very violent,
some were beaten and stabbed.
This resulted when there are calls for attention about how
detainees are treated by rebel soldiers.
They are violating every international law about human rights.
They didn't show how all the gatherings of the people to defend
their capital from those who wished to send them back to
the times of colonial puppet King Idris were attacked with
missiles and Apache gunships.
...And at that point we're going to leave my colleagues
Chris Morris in Paris and Ben Brown in Tripoli
because we're going to listen to this address now from,
we understand, Colonel Gathafi..
And I would like to tell you, that colonialism will end,
and the traitors will come to an end.
No traitor has survived, no agents have survived,
you are armed,
you should subjigate them to submission before your eyes.
Obviously, colonialism uses technology.
They destroyed our radios.
They deprived us of radio of television
and communication means.
This means colonialism is very weak, had it not been
the case it would have allowed us to communicate with our
supporters. The colonialism is afraid of our voice.
Of our communication. Otherwise why is it trying to
stop our voice reaching our people.
These are the last few hours of this tragedy.
Wow.
Ha.
[Unconfirmed]
Unconfirmed. Yeah.
Unconfirmed reports about Gathafi being captured.
[Oh really?]
Unconfirmed.
Yeah. We've had a bunch of those before,
we've had... you know... have had him
'captured' a couple of times.
It began hours earlier around 8am Thursday in Sirte,
Gathafi's home-town.
When rebels started what they hoped would be the last
offensive against the last Gathafi holdout.
October 19th, at 8 o'clock, between 60 and 70 cars
left Sirte.
They were reports of white-flags all around Sirte,
also white-flags on these vehicles.
8 o'clock, the sun's up, the white-flag is internationally
recognised as a flag of truce or a flag of surrender or
a flag to negotiate surrender terms.
You're not supposed to fire any weapons if you're behind
a white-flag and the convoy did not.
This was the convoy carrying Gathafi.
Then an American drone operated from Las Vegas
alerts NATO, it spots a convoy of 80
cars fleeing South from Sirte.
French fighter-jets respond with an airstrike taking out
two of the vehicles.
When it was two miles West of Sirte, after a predator CIA
drone had spotted the convoy some French planes came in
and started firing at the convoy.
Other NATO planes came in in successive waves.
Many of the people were incinerated, drivers,
passengers, others, were cut in half by machine-gun fire.
It's still unclear if they hit Gathafi's car but when
rebels pour in, they tell the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse,
he was hiding in this drainage pipe.
He struggles, stumbles and shouts as he fights
against the enraged rebels.
'Haram alaikum' he says, over and over,
an Arabic expression that literallly means
'this is a sin for you' according to ABC's translators
it's generally used as a plea of vulnerability.
Muammar Gathafi who showed no mercy in his own life,
begs for mercy as his is coming to an end.
They say they discovered him here just before
12 o'clock this afternoon,
they pulled him out of the hole and one fighter told me
that Muammar Gathafi said to him
'What did I do to you?'
So, you came to power in a coup, have you ever thought that
this might one day happen to you yourself,
that someone else might...
[So, I mean, that is the land of unconfirmed..]
Yes, we came, we saw, he died.
Did it have anything to do with your visit?
No... Oh, I'm sure it did.
They said that Gathafi was hated by his people,
but they never showed us the 1.7 million people in a
country of 6 million in Green Square on July the 1st,
or the masses in Tabunia, in Sabha, in Beni Walid, in Sirte
and across the country who demonstrated to pledge their
allegiance to their leader and to the Jamahiriya.
A resident of Sirte, Susan Farjan, said:
We lived in democracy under Muammar Gathafi,
he was not a dictator,
I lived in freedom, Libyan women had full human rights.
It isn't that we need Muammar Gathafi again,
but we want to live just as we did before.
Everyone does good or bad, Muammar too,
is it possible that in forty years
he did not do any good?
What they brought upon us makes you hate
everything about them.
What we hate the most is NATO.
Do you really think they came because they love Libyans?
Overnight the body of the dictator was placed on the
ground for all the city of Misrata to see for themselves.
It's expected that he will be buried today in accordance
with Muslim tradition but that funeral may be delayed.