Following are excerpts from a program featuring former French foreign minister Roland Dumas and journalist Jacques Verges, which aired on Libyan state television, Al-Jamahiriya TV, on May 29, 2011.
Libyan officials said that the state television headquarters were damaged in a NATO airstrike today that hit the compound of Libyan ruler Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi.[1]
Jacques Verges: "The NATO countries, which, unfortunately, are headed by the French leaders, are perpetrating crimes against humanity. The man whose legs were severed, the man who could not breathe, and the baby who was killed and whose blood-stained toys I saw, were killed only because they were Libyans. This is a crime against humanity, and that is why, as a French citizen, and as someone who volunteered in the ranks of General De Gaulle from age 17 to 20, I cannot accept such a disgrace for France. I cannot accept the fact that the hooligans in power in France today are tarnishing the image of France.
"Regardless of the risks we are taking – because this is the first time we are seeing lawyers in any country suing the president for his crimes against humanity – Ronald Dumas and I are doing just that, based on the requests of the families of victims killed (by NATO) merely because they are Libyans. This is why we are leading this campaign, and we are doing this in full confidence, because the French people can not possibly accept this. The French people is a victim of lies."
Roland Dumas: "You ask me about the conduct of the French leaders, but the only thing I know is that they have gone crazy. President Sarkozy hosted Qadhafi a few months ago at the Élysée Palace, with a red carpet and all the grandiose honors. Two months later, Sarkozy is leading a crusader war, at the head of NATO, which has become a pawn serving international politics. This has been going on for a long time.
"I regret to see my country, to which I belong with spirit, blood, and life, leading an instrument such as NATO to come and destroy an entire people and attack its leaders. This is precisely how crimes against humanity were defined, following the war of 1939-1945. However, we are not at war. It is a crime against humanity to attack a sovereign country, a UN member, without specifying what we are accusing it of."
Jacques Verges: "Let me tell you that the terrorism of today is state-sponsored terrorism. The terrorists are the French, British, and American governments. The International Criminal Court is racist. Note that all the people accused by this court are black. They are all Africans."
