Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign as Libyan leader “is over,” US President Barack Obama stated Monday during a press conference. The ‘ex’-Libyan leader’s whereabouts is still unknown.
Muammar Gaddafi is reportedly “prepared to leave,” according to France, whose contacts with envoys from the Libya. For 42 long years, from the moment he came to power in a bloodless coup, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi did all he could to become omnipresent. He made his Green Book of political philosophy required reading and ensured his grinning portrait was hung in homes, plastered to buildings and engraved on the gold watches he gave as gifts.
Gaddafi Captured ?
Libyan rebels arrest three of Gaddafi sons but the dictator has ‘no means of leaving Tripoli’, thinks former prime minister and friend of Muammar Gaddafi. On Monday, however, the “brother leader and guide of the revolution” was nowhere to be seen. Nor was he heard, unlike on Sunday when he issued a series of audio messages calling on supporters to fight back against rebels. Others suggested that Muammar Gaddafi might have retreated to one of the two places closest to his heart: Sirte, the coastal town where he was born, or the desert town of Sabha, which has been one of his strongholds.
Gaddafi & Gaddafi Sons Inc. goes down
Pentagon officials state they firmly believed he remained in Libya. “We do not have any information that Muammar Gaddafi has left the country,” a spokesman said.
This idea is supported by Muammar Gaddafi’s previous statements. He declared last month in an audio broadcast: “I will never leave the land of my ancestors or the people who have sacrificed themselves for me.” On Sunday, as the rebels swept into Tripoli, he insisted: “I am in Tripoli … I am with you until the end.”
Obama : Gaddafi era over, time for some democracy in Libya, too
Us President Barack Obama interrupted his vacation to appeal to Muammar Gadhafi to give himself up and urged the rebels “to build a democratic Libyan government through ‘peaceful, inclusive and just’ measures.”
“For over four decades, the Libyan people had lived under the rule of a tyrant who denied them their most basic human rights,” continued Barack Obama. “Now the celebrations that we’ve seen in the streets of Libya shows that the pursuit of human dignity is far stronger than any dictator.”
President Obama added that justice will come “from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny.” reports that Obama stressed that the United States would “be a friend and partner” to the new Libyan government.
One of the most startling turn of events in Libya was the arrest of Saif al-Islam, the second son and the man widely seen, until several months ago, as his likely successor. Rebels said they had detained Saif al-Islam on Sunday as they moved into Tripoli. This was later confirmed by the international criminal court, but in a suprising turnaround he appeared at the Rixos hotel last night and told western journalists the rebellion’s back had been broken.
Since rebels opposing Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi entered the capital on Sunday, the long-time dictator has eluded capture. Libyan rebel forces captured two of Gadhafi’s sons, only for Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi to emerge at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli early Tuesday. Seif al-Islam said that the Gadhafi government is still “in control.”
The appearance of Seif al-Islam and the hunt for Gadhafi has given way to “confusion and wariness” on Monday. The Pentagon stated that American military will be not on the ground in Libya. “If there is going to be some kind of transitional mission that involves any kind of foreign troops, there wouldn’t be US ground troops,” said a Pentagon spokesman, despite the uncertainty of Gadhafi’s whereabouts.
What is certain is that the Muammar Gaddafi family’s power is at last on the wane.
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