Following are excerpts
from a speech by Libyan Leader Mu'ummar Al-Qadhafi, which aired on Al-Jamahiriya
TV on March 2, 2011:
Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi:
How did it all start? [It started with] tiny, dormant Al-Qaeda cells,
whose members gradually infiltrated from abroad. Some of them are Libyans
living abroad, in Afghanistan or Iraq, and others are not Libyans.
[...]
Some of these people
were in Guantanamo. The US intelligence knows them by name. They handed
over to us, to the Libyan intelligence. After some time, the Libyan
intelligence released them, because they said: "We have repented.
Thanks for getting us out of Guantanamo. We are decent people now."
Later, all of a sudden, they betrayed the oath they had taken.
It turned out that they
were dormant Al-Qaeda cells. There is a small group in Darnah, a group
in Tobruq, There is a group in Benghazi, and, possibly, a group in Al-Zawiyah.
In several areas, maybe Misurata… some these people infiltrated from
abroad, settled in these areas, and formed dormant cells.
[...]
All of a sudden, a dormant
cell in Al-Bayda attacked the brigade. They open fire [on the brigade]
and took weapons from the police stations.
[...]
Not a single demonstration
was held in Benghazi, Al-Bayda, or Darnah. Not a single demonstration.
There no demonstrations whatsoever. All of a sudden, these groups appeared
out of nowhere, attacked the police stations, took weapons, and began
killing people. Most of the people who died were killed by them.
[...]
The strange thing is
that the world has received news from reporters and media outlets that
are not in Libya. There are no reporters in Libya, as you know. Unfortunately,
the Libyans do not like foreign reporters, so there are no such reporters.
[The Libyans] do not care about this.
[...]
We demand that the world
and the UN send commissions of inquiry to check where people where killed:
Whether it was in the streets or in front of a police station or a military
base.
[...]
Would America, France,
Russia, or any country allow people to attack a military base or a police
station, grab weapons from there, and take to the streets, without fighting
them?! They would fight them! They killed civilians who holed themselves
up in the Branch Davidian Compound. They attacked the Russian parliament
with tanks, even though the people who holed themselves up there were
unarmed. We are facing militant groups. We have only besieged them.
It is like when the Algerian
army confronted the militant groups, or even like in Gaza, when the
Israeli tanks go in, or when they bomb from the air, and they say that
they are fighting militant groups, not the Palestinian people. You have
the right to fight militants. NATO attacks in Afghanistan and says:
"Today, we killed 100 militants, we did not kill the people."
In Swat Valley in Pakistan they kill militants, they say. Therefore,
the killing of militants is permissible.
[...]
This is an attempt to
bring colonialism to Libya. They will use any pretext for this. The
US might take Libyan oil again, and seize the vast territory of Libya.
Ultimately, they will lose.
The fact that we did
not fight [the insurgents], enabled them to gain control of the center
of towns like Al-Bayda, Darnah, and Benghazi. They use their weapons
to impose a curfew upon the people. They use their weapons to impose
a curfew upon the people. People held demonstration against them, in
support of [our] Revolution, and they say: "We will kill whoever
demonstrates."
[...]
All the demonstrations
in Libya are in support of [our] Revolution. [The media] sees them,
but deliberately refrains from publishing this, because there is a conspiracy
to control Libyan oil, to control Libyan land, and to impose colonialism
on Libya once again. This is impossible! Impossible, impossible! We
wil fight to the last man and to the last woman to defend Libya in its
entirety – from north to south.
[...]
With regard to my children
in Benghazi and Dar Al-Kheima – we advise them not to jump on the
bandwagon, not to do harm to themselves. Keep them on the right side
of the law, on the side of popular democracy, peace, and security, and
against opening our country to foreign forces. The last thing they need
is to allow the US or NATO to intervene, because they will turn you
into slaves, like we were slaves of Italy for decades.
Once again, we will become
America's slaves for decades. We will not allow this to happen. We will
enter a very bloody war, and thousands of Libyans will die, if the US
or NATO intervene. Thousands of Libyans will die.
[...]
We say to the outside
world that we don’t need supplies. We don't need medicine, or any
other aid. The [insurgents] should beware not to open this door, otherwise,
we will become like Iraq or Darfur.
Anyone who allows this
door to be opened is considered a traitor, who commits high treason
against Libya. Opening the door to foreign aid means opening the door
to the colonialism of Libya. The Libyan people in its entirety is ready
to close this door shut. We have supplies, medicine, money and everything.
We are in need of nothing.
[...]
If the West does not
want to be our friend, does not want to cooperate with us, threatens
us, and forces us to hate it, we accept this challenge. They will be
the ones to lose. This is not the first time that we and they find ourselves
in confrontation. They already lost many confrontations. There is the
great East. There is the giant China. There is Russia. There India.
There is South America. There the giant Brasil. We will replace the
West with all these powers. We will replace the West with all these
powers. The Western companies and banks can go on their way, and the
Western investments, and cooperation will come to an end, we will turn
to the great East.
[...]
If the unity of Libya
is harmed, or if someone gets near the oil, which is the livelihood
of Libya, the entire Libyan people will turn to arms to thwart this.
We will all turn to arms to foil any attempt to harm the unity of Libya,
or any threat to our children's food. The oil is the food of our children.
We will all die in defense of the oil. Whoever threatens our oil should
know this.
[...]
Our friends in Europe
and in the West should realize that when Libya is stable, with its current
– and future – popular regime, it serves as a safety valve in the
Mediterranean Sea. It is Libya that stops the millions of immigrants
from reaching Europe. It is Libya that prevents Bin Laden from moving
to North Africa. It is Libya that prevents Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
from growing stronger. By no means is it in their interest to undermine
Libya's regime or stability.
[...]
If Libya will come to
an end, like they want, they will face a catastrophe. They will be flooded
by Africans marching to Europe through Libya, without anybody stopping
them. Millions will be marching.
In the Mediterranean
Sea there will be piracy, like in Somalia. The sons of Barbarossa will
emerge again. You should remember Hayreddin Barbarossa. This activity
will be renewed in the Mediterranean Sea. They will say that the ships
of the Christians are infidel ships, and cannot sail in the Mediterranean
unless they pay. This is what will happen if Libya is not stable.
[...]
This situation cannot
continue. The world has not protested Algeria's fighting militant gangs
for several years. The world did not protest when Russia fought in Chechnya.
The world justified Russia. Now the Western world is fighting in Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Iraq, and dozens of innocent people die every day. Hundreds
of children die, and tens of thousands of people die, because they claim
to be fighting terror – militant groups, like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda…
Every day they announce
the killing of militants. The Israelis enter Gaza with their tanks,
open fire, and say: "We killed militants." They fire from
airplanes, destroying homes, mosques, workshops, and offices, and say
that Hamas militants were in them. The world does not protest. You have
the right to fight militants. Anyone has the right to fight militants
within his country.
[...]
Starting today, we will
deal with this problem in a serious way. What [the insurgents are doing]
is not something trivial that we can ignore, because the outcome will
be dangerous. They are in a desperate situation. They will never rule
Libya. They will not rule any place where they are present. They will
come to an end.
Eventually, they will
come to an end, one way or another. Nobody would agree to have militant
groups terrorizing the people. This is inconceivable – not in the
US, China, Russia, India, or anywhere.
[...]
We will allow the US
and NATO to enter Libya only when Libya drowns in blood. Fighting colonialism…
If the American of the West enter Libya, they should know that they
are entering hell and a sea of blood.
[...]
I have hopes that…
It is the US who is leading the Western world and the UN. I believe
that the policy of that young man, Obama, according to his past declarations,
is a reasonable policy. He is not a reckless, colonialist Yankee like
Bush, Clinton, or anyone else. I think that he can spare his country
and Europe another Iraq, another Afghanistan, or another Vietnam.
[...]
