Following are excerpts
from an address by Seif Al-Islam Al-Qadhafi, Libyan Leader Mu'ammar
Al-Qadhafi's son, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on February 20, 2011.
The problems in the video are in the original Libyan footage.
Seif Al-Islam Al-Qadhafi:
I thought that it was my duty to talk to you. Many Libyans urged me
to talk and to clarify many facts, and to set the record straight regarding
the events taking place in Libya.
[...]
We are all aware that
the region is undergoing an earthquake, or a storm – the storm of
change, of democracy, and of liberation. Call it what you will. This
region is undergoing tremendous changes, as we have expected for a long
time. We anticipated that this part of the world would have to undergo
tremendous changes, and that if these changes did not come from the
governments and regimes, they would come from the peoples. Indeed, this
is what we have seen in many Arab countries.
We all know – and I
am not going to beat about the bush, because these are difficult times,
requiring candor and truthfulness... Today, I will tell you nothing
but the truth. We know that there are opposition elements living abroad,
who have many friends, helpers, and people connected to them within
Libya. This is no secret. Libya has oppositionists. They began to imitate
what happened in Egypt, using the so-called "Facebook Revolution."
[...]
Events led to a great
fitna and a movement for secession, which threatens not only our
national cohesion, but Libya's unity as a nation and a state as well.
Of course, there were
casualties. This fomented further unrest among the Benghazi masses,
but we must be honest and ask ourselves why there were casualties. There
was another reason. A mistake was made by the army, because the citizens
tried to confront the army by attacking the army and police bases. These
forces found themselves in a difficult psychological situation, especially
since the army is not trained in dispersal of demonstrations, so they
opened fire, and therefore, there were casualties.
[...]
Unfortunately, the bottom
line is that Libyan citizens died. This is a tragedy. regardless of
the different narratives of the police and army, and the citizens.
[...]
Libya is not Tunisia
or Egypt. Libya is composed of clans and tribes. There are alliances.
Libya does not have a civil society with political parties. No, Libya
is composed of clans and tribes.
[...]
There will be civil war
in Libya. We will return to the civil war of 1936. We will kill one
another in the streets. Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt. Libya has oil,
and that is what united the country. An American oil company played
a pivotal role in the unification of Libya.
We have a single source
of income – oil. It is found in central Libya – not in the east
or the west. It is in central and south Libya. That is what all five
million Libyans live off. If secession takes place – who will give
us food and water? Who will control the oil wells? Who is capable of
managing the oil sector in Libya?
[...]
We will be forced to
emigrate from Libya, because we will not be able to divide the oil between
us. There will be war, and all of Libya will be destroyed. We will need
40 years to reach an agreement on how to run the country, because today,
everyone will want to be president, or Emir, and everybody will want
to run the country.
Libya is not Tunisia
or Egypt. Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt.
[...]
Today, we are at a crossroads.
As Libyans, we all face an historic decision. Either we reach an agreement
today, and we say: We are Libyans, this is our country, and we want
reforms, more freedom, more democracy, true reforms, and so on...
These are things on which
there is agreement, and were to have been raised in the upcoming General
People's Committee. Today, we demand, as a final solution – before
it is too late and we all resort to arms... All five million Libyans
will resort to arms. Libya is not Tunisia or Egypt. Brothers, we are
composed of clans and tribes, and we will all resort to arms. We all
have weapons now.
Instead of crying over
84 casualties, we will be crying over hundreds of thousands of dead.
Rivers of blood will flow through all the cities of Libya. You will
emigrate from Libya, because the oil will cease to flow, and the foreign
companies will leave Libya tomorrow. The oil companies will leave Libya.
The oil ministry will cease to function, and tomorrow, there will be
no oil and no money.
There will be no bread.
Today, bread is sold in Beida for one and a half dinars. In a week's
time, it will go for 100 dinars. In a year, bread will be sold for its
weight in gold in Libya.
Therefore, I say to you,
for the last time, before all we Libyans resort to arms: If things get
out of hand, and we find ourselves in civil war, secession, and anarchy,
like what they wish for Libya...
Before it comes to this,
and every Libyan has to bear arms in order to protect himself, and there
is bloodshed, I say: Tomorrow, we will embark upon an historic national
initiative. Within 48 hours... three days... one day... six hours...
we will call for the convening of the General People's Committee, with
a clear agenda: the ratification of a group of laws which were already
agreed upon – the press law, a law for civil society, and a new penal
code. These will be modern laws, in keeping with what is happening in
the world. These laws will open up new horizons for liberty, abolishing
many of the existing restrictions and idiotic punishments, and beginning
a national dialogue with regard to the constitution of Libya.
[...]
The Italian foreign minister
called me and asked about the situation. Let me say to you: Prepare
yourselves for colonialism, on top of everything else. Colonialism is
coming back. It will return. The Europeans and Americans will return
and will enter Libya by force.
Do you imagine that Europe,
NATO, and the US will allow the establishment of emirates... Within
two days, two Islamic emirates were established. Within a month, there
will be 15 emirates. Will they accept an Islamic emirate in the Mediterranean
Basin? They did not accept such an emirate in Somalia or Afghanistan,
and they went to the end of the world to fight them, so do you really
think they will accept them in Libya – half an hour from the American
base in Crete and one hour from Italy?!
[...]
I would like to address
my Libyan brothers. Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi is not Zine Al-Abidine or President
Mubarak. He is not a traditional or classic president. He is a popular
leader.
[...]
Then there is the army.
The army is still in good condition and it has capabilities. From now
on, the army will play a pivotal role in imposing security, and in setting
things straight, whatever the price may be, because we are talking about
the unity and future of Libya, as well as its people and its citizens.
There is no alternative
other than to adopt a firm stand. I tell you that the army will play
a central role in this, and the Libyan army is not like the army of
Tunisia or of Egypt.
Our army will support
Libya and Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi to the last moment, and it will be victorious,
Allah willing. Matters will be set straight. We will destroy all the
dens of strife.
[...]
In any event, our morale
is high. The leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi is here in Tripoli, leading
the campaign. We stand by him, and the armed forces stand by him. Tens
of thousands of people are on their way to Tripoli. We will not sell
Libya short. We will fight to our very last man, woman, and bullet.
Under no circumstances will we leave our country.
Let Al-Jazeera TV, Al-Arabiya
TV, and the BBC laugh at us. Let those bullies and those traitors, who
live abroad, laugh at us, and say that we are destroying our country,
but we will not leave it.
[...]
