Gadhafi: Crackdown on Libya revolt is like Israel's war
on Hamas in Gaza
Speaking to France 24, long-time Libyan
Leader
says estimated figures of rebel, civilian casualties are exaggerated,
adding that at most '150 to 200 people were killed.'
Long-time Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said
Monday in an interview with TV network France 24 that his violent
crackdown on opposition protesters is akin to Israel's efforts to defend
itself from extremism during its 2009 Gaza war against Hamas.
Libya
has come under international scrutiny in recent weeks, in response to
violent clashes between the Libyan military and anti-Gadhafi rebels,
confrontations which caused what are estimated to be hundreds of deaths.
Muammar Gadhafi, seen in Rome, 2009.
Photo by: Reuters
On Monday, UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon dispatched a team to Tripoli to assess the
humanitarian situation in the wake of the Libyan crisis, criticizing
the Libya military's "disproportionate use of force."
Speaking
with France 24 later Monday, however, Gadhafi defended his military's
right to oppress rebel activity, comparing his crackdown to Israel's war
against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2009, saying that "even the Israelis
in Gaza, when they moved into the Gaza strip, they moved in with tanks
to fight such extremists."
"It’s
the same thing here! We have small armed groups who are fighting us. We
did not use force from the outset… Armed units of the Libyan army have
had to fight small armed al Qaida bands. That is what’s happened,”
Gadhafi said.
Referring
to the purported number of casualties in wake of fighting in Libya, the
long-time leader claimed "there have been at most 150 to 200 people
killed."
View Libya in a larger map
"People
should come here and see how many people have been killed. They can
come and check among the population, and among the police and the army,"
Gadhafi said.
Gadhafi
also dismissed the assessment that recent events injured the Libya's
links with the West, saying that the country had "very good relations
with the United States, with the European Union and with African
countries," adding that "Libya plays a crucial role in regional and
world peace.”
The
interview came as earlier Sunday, a top official in Gadhafi ruling
establishment made an unprecedented appeal to dialogue between the
warring factions, in attempt to end the conflict.
Jadallah
Azous Al-Talhi, a Libyan prime minister in the 1980s who is originally
from eastern Libya, appeared on state television reading an address to
elders in Benghazi, the main base of the anti-Gadhafi rebels.
He
asked them to "give a chance to national dialogue to resolve this
crisis, to help stop the bloodshed, and not give a chance to foreigners
to come and capture our country again."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/gadhafi-crackdown-on-libya-revolt-is-like-israel-s-war-on-hamas-in-gaza-1.347662?localLinksEnabled=false&utm_source=Mondoweiss+List&utm_campaign=7b63478758-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
NOTE: Well now, I wasn't going to say that, but if you say so... it sure looks
like it is. Funny how Hamas was a DEMOCRATICALLY-ELECTED government.
Hajja Romi
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digest: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
