TRIPOLI – Colonel Gadaffi on Wednesday made a major address to the Libyan people.
He began: ‘Dear great Libyan, resisting, steadfast and brave people. I am meeting you this historical evening, the evening of Al-Qurdabiyah, the battle of all the Libyans. I beseech God to shower the souls of the martyrs of Al-Qurdabiyah from all Libya’s parts with mercy. I beseech God to have mercy in particular on the soul of my grandfather Khamis Abu-Minyar, who was martyred at the early stage of the Al-Qurdabiyah battle, together with 400 martyrs from all parts of Libya…
Today marks the 96th anniversary of this immortal, famous battle… However, it grieves me so much that instead of celebrating the closing of this tragic centenary page on the Italian invasion, we find Italian colonialism and the Italian invasion is being repeating a hundred years on this specific day. Where is the friendship treaty? Where is the agreement which prevents any aggression being launched from Italy against Libya? Where is the Italian parliament? Where is the Italian government?…
The Italian people do not approve of this. The Italian people are a friendly people who want peace… I was touched when I heard the sons of the Libyan people delivering speeches today on the occasion of Al-Qurdabiyah battle in Sirte where the battle took place. They threatened Italy to carry the war into Italy where they said that it had become an open war between us and Italy because it killed sons in 1911 and is doing the same in 2011. Therefore, the Libyans had the right in what they said today on Al-Qurdabiyah’s anniversary and I cannot veto the Libyans, because they are free to defend themselves and to transfer the battle to the enemy’s land, if they decided to do that… They are enthusiastic young men who see Italian aircraft today shelling the town of Sirte as they did in 1911…
Oh my friends: Russian President Medvedev, (prime minister) Putin, president of China, prime minister of India, president of Brazil, brothers and South African President Jacob Zuma… and the other (UN) Security Council member countries: Was it you my friends who decided Resolution 1973 – the aerial bombardment of the Libyan people – at the Security Council? If you did not decide that, then who, on the basis of this resolution, gave the right to NATO to destroy Libya by missiles and aircraft? They have been destroying the infrastructure in Libya for 40 days so far!…
I am talking to my friends at the Security Council and the world, if it has a conscience: Have you decided to starve the Libyans and stop the supplies and commodities coming from abroad, such as the fuel or any other commodities? Have you decided this? Have you decided to starve the Libyan people?… Re-examine the Security Council resolution and review what is taking place now and assume your historical responsibility towards international law, the UN and the peoples of the world…
I heard my friend Putin saying: Who gave those the right to hit Al-Gadaffi’s headquarters? We had not decided this. My friends Zuma and Putin said that UN Resolution 1973 neither allowed aerial bombardment, the use of force, nor the killing of Libyan civilians or military, or the assassination of Al-Gadaffi, for example. They said that what was taking place now contradicted Resolution 1973 and they, NATO, based themselves on this resolution in the savage operation they were currently embarked on. Since you admitted that you had not decided this and you never imagined that the implementation would be in this barbaric form, then it is necessary for you – members of the Security Council – to hold a session to review this resolution and reconsider the barbaric operation to which a small people, that is the Libyan people, and a small developing country, which is the Libyan state, are being subjected.
The other point is that they talk about a ceasefire. We are the first to welcome a ceasefire and we – the Libyans – were the first to agree to a ceasefire, but has the Crusader, NATO’s aerial attack stopped? It has not stopped. Who will stop it?
Libya welcomes the ceasefire and has announced its agreement to the ceasefire several times. For its part, Libya is ready up to this moment to accept a ceasefire, but a ceasefire cannot be achieved unilaterally…
I want to ask you, the Crusaders who are launching an unjust Crusading war, where are you heading to? Why are you launching the war on the Libyan people and destroying Libya? What is the reason? What do you covet?…
There are four things that you have to despair of achieving any definitive success in. What are they? First, the Libyan political system: this Libyan political system was not made by Al-Gadaffi, but by the Libyan people when the revolution was staged in 1969. We, in the Revolutionary Command Council, were surprised by the people’s congresses which were formed by the masses when they heard that the monarchy, the parliament and the government had fallen and that the Libyan people became free. They set up an authority which replaced the collapsed official government authority… All adult Libyan males and females, who number now three millions or more, can exercise authority. They are the authority. They are who exercise authority. They are currently exercising the Libyan political system which is embodied in these millions. The political system is embodied in each Libyan individual. You cannot change this system unless you change the Libyan people and transformed them into a different people who accept elections, parliamentary system, or anything else. The Libyan people have gone beyond the parliamentary and elections phase and arrived now at exercising authority directly by themselves. They cannot turn back… The Libyan people are our only rulers…
Even if you continued your shelling for 40 years, and not 40 days, and even if you hit us with atomic bombs, you will not be able to change the Libyan political system unless the Libyan people change it freely and not under bombardment.
The second thing is whether Al-Gadaffi should leave or stay, abdicate or not. You have to give up on this one as you have given up on the first one, because Al-Gadaffi neither has authority nor post to leave… I am not going to leave my country and nobody can force me to leave it and I do not think that anyone can tell me do not defend your country. My rifle is here and I shall use it to defend my country…
The people’s congresses can change the executive power in Libya, i.e. the people’s committees, which are the same like your governments, one hundred times a day…
The third thing which you should despair of and not covet is oil. We are prepared to defend oil to the death…
The fourth point: Do you aspire to occupy Libya? This is impossible. Libya is two million square meters. You will not even feel comfortable in it even if you land all your armies. You will die in the desert, mountains and valleys. The whole of the Libyan people will fight you. I am currently distributing the weapons on the largest scale on the Libyan people. Thousands, thousands, thousands, thousands, thousands, and thousands of people are currently carrying machine-guns, weapons and launchers. If you invade us by land, millions will be armed. Those are managed by Libyans themselves through people’s congresses and committees…
NATO leaders are an execution squad, a death squad. They are an official international terror group…
Let’s negotiate together – you are the countries who attacked us – we’ll negotiate with you. The Libyans’ problem you can leave to the African Union, and internally, the Libyans can solve their own problems.
I told you, Libyans are capable of solving their problems, they do not need you, they did not ask you to come to them. But, France, Italy, Britain and America, I ask you to come and negotiate with us…’