Libyan leader defies revolt, insists he will not step down
Libyan leader defies revolt, insists he will not step down
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Gaddafi spoke on state TV from behind a podium at the entrance of his bombed-out Tripoli residence hit by US airstrikes in the 1980s and left unrepaired as a monument of defiance
It was the second time Gaddafi has appeared during the week of upheaval across his country. Swathed in brown robes and a turban, he spoke on state TV from behind a podium in the entrance of his bombed-out
Tripoli residence hit by US airstrikes in the 1980s and left unrepaired as a monument of defiance.
At times the camera panned back to show a towering monument of a gold-coloured fist crushing an American fighter jet, outside the building.
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But at the same time, the view gave a surreal image of the Libyan leader, shouting and waving his arms wildly all alone in a broken-down lobby with no audience, surrounded by broken tiles dangling from the ceiling, shattered conrete pillars and bare plumbing pipes.
"Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle, at the pinnacle of the world," he proclaimed, pounding his fist on the podium. "I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said, vowing to fight "to my last drop of blood."
Gaddafi depicted the protesters as misguided youths, who had been given drugs and money by a "small, sick group" to attack police and government buildings. He called on supporters to take to the streets to reimpose control and to attack the protest's leaders.
"You men and women who love Gaddafi ... get out of your homes and fill the streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs. They are taking your children and getting them drunk and sending them to death. For what? To destroy Libya, burn Libya."
Calls for ouster
However, realities on the ground and defections from more Libyan officials around the world showed Gaddafi's grip on power appeared to be weakening.
The Libyan ambassador to the United States, Ali Aujali, called for Gaddafi to resign, joining a growing chorus of Libyan officials, including the deputy ambassador to the United Nations, who say they are working for the Libyan people and not for the leader.
The UN Security Council met yesterday morning behind closed doors the group's first meeting since the wave of protests rippling through Arab countries began weeks ago.
Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN, called for the UN to take key steps, including shutting airspace over Tripoli to prevent Gaddafi's regime from restocking its military.
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