The disgraced Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, believes he still runs his country and announced Tuesday on state television that he will not relinquish power.
“I will not leave the country,” said Gaddafi (numerous spellings). “I will stay until the last drop of blood is spilled. Those who defy me will be executed. I will not leave. I will die as a martyr. Damn those who try to stir unrest.”
Gaddafi’s next eldest son, Saif El-Islam Gaddafi, appeared on Libyan television Monday to deliver a chilling speech that threatened civil war if protests continued.
“We are not Egypt. We are not Tunisia. We have guns and we will use them. Instead of 84 deaths (as in Egypt), there will be thousands of deaths,” vowed Saif El-Islam. “Rivers of blood will run through all the cities of Libya. We will keep our country. We will not leave.”
Monday, two Libyan pilots landed their jets on the island of Malta, north of Libya to avoid an order from Gaddafi, to use “aviation assets” to kill the protestors on the ground.
According to the New York based Human Rights Watch, almost 300 people have been killed, but getting exact figures have proven difficult, because the Internet has been shut down and no foreign journalists have been allowed into the country.
Gaddafi has been called a delusional dictator--particularly after a United Nations meeting in 2009, when Gaddafi famously gave a rambling hour and a half speech that chastised the UN; defended the Taliban and Somali Pirates; accused a foreign military of causing the H1N1 flu outbreak and Israel of assassinating President John F. Kennedy.
Libya has no constitution, no judicial service, no governmental checks and balances. It has been run by Gaddafi and his sons, which has been compared to corruption Soprano-style, which has resulted in a family den of thieves and killers.
According to CNN, in the last 36 hours, numerous high-ranking Libyan officials have either resigned or distanced themselves from Gaddafi’s regime.
"Now is the time to stop this unacceptable bloodshed," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a tough and unambiguous statement. "It is the responsibility of the Libyan government to respect the rights of their people. There is no place for violence against peaceful protestors."
Richard Roth, Senior United Nations Correspondent told of statements made by the UN Ambassador of Libya, Ali Aujali, said Gaddafi should be investigated for crimes against humanity and the declaration of war on his people. The ambassador openly accused his boss of genocide.
“I am calling for him to go,” Aujali said. But Gaddafi’s pro-government thugs and mercenaries regained control of Tripoli. They killed many protestors and police that tried to defect and drove out the rest.
However, Tuesday, Libyan protestors were still out in force and showing no signs of abandoning their efforts to oust the brutal dictator.
A police station in the Eastern part of the country was trashed and police cars burned. The place where protestors said police would use electric shock and beatings to force confessions for Gaddafi’s purposes.
They called Gaddafi a monster and chanted over and over for him to leave and not come back.
Gaddafi showed a total disconnect from his people and blamed the unrest on foreign influences and called them a “sick group of outsiders.”
Comments
He's going to go out the same way as Mussolini if he's not careful.
Be hanging around town. Upside down.
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It is deplorable what is going on in Libya. Gaddafi is a mad man. I wonder how many people will have to die before he is taken down. The military should do the same thing as they did in Egypt and turn the tables to drive him out.
Everyone is afraid of his brutality, but it doesn't look like they are backing down. Prayers be with them.
He says he will die a martyr, so the sooner the better.
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