Date:   2/28/2011 5:22:56 PM ( 13 y ago)
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/01/3151386.htm


Gaddafi in denial amid Libyan rebellion

By Jane Cowan, Craig McMurtrie and staff

Updated 1 hour 17 minutes ago



Libyan dictator Moamar Gaddafi insisted "all my people love me" as unrest continued across the country and the US said it was "repositioning" its forces in the region amid fears of a humanitarian crisis.

"They love me. All my people with me. They love me all. They would die to protect me," the veteran Libyan leader said speaking in halting English in an interview with Western media shown on the BBC's world news website.

The UN says more than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 100,000 people have fled the strife into Egypt and Tunisia over the past week as Mr Gaddafi attempts to put down an uprising.

A growing number of political leaders are urging Mr Gaddafi to step down and the US has warned "nothing is off the table" as it repositions some of its forces close to Libya to provide "options and flexibility".

"Nothing is off the table as long as the Libyan government continues to threaten and kill its own people," US secretary of state Hillary Clinton warned this morning.

She said the ships could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, and told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that Mr Gaddafi was using "mercenaries and thugs" to suppress a popular uprising.

The UN refugee agency has said a "humanitarian emergency" is underway as the situation at Libya's western border worsens and foreign workers continue to flee fighting within the country.

In other key developments:

* Foreign ministers at UN Human Rights Council in Geneva call for Mr Gaddafi to go
* US in talks with allies on whether to create a no-fly zone in Libya
* European Union agrees to a raft of sanctions against Libya
* US freezes $30 billion in Libyan assets
* Reports attack by pro-government forces on Misrata thwarted and helicopter hit by anti-aircraft fire
* International Committee of the Red Cross calls for immediate access to western Libya

The "repositioning" comments came from US Defence Department spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan, but he did not elaborate on how exactly the forces might be used.

The United States has a regular military presence in the Mediterranean Sea and two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf area.

Ms Clinton told the UN Human Rights Council, of which Libya is a member, that the US was not currently planning any naval operations targeting the North African nation.

"We have seen Colonel Gaddafi's security forces open fire on peaceful protesters. They have used heavy weapons on unarmed civilians. Mercenaries and thugs have been turned loose to attack demonstrators," Ms Clinton said.

"Through their actions, they have lost the legitimacy to govern. And the people of Libya have made themselves clear: It is time for Gaddafi to go - now, without further violence or delay."

Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd told the council the UN should impose a no-fly zone on the Libyan air force. He said such measures had been taken in the past.

"The actual core mission is clear - to prevent the Libyan air force from strafing or bombing the civilian population of Libya," he said.

Gaddafi speaks

Speaking in Tripoli, Mr Gaddafi insisted his people would die to protect him.

He laughed at the suggestion he would leave Libya and said he felt betrayed by world leaders who have urged him to quit.

"I'm surprised that we have an alliance with the West to fight Al Qaeda, and now that we are fighting terrorists they have abandoned us," Mr Gaddafi said.

"Perhaps they want to occupy Libya."

He called US president Barack Obama a "good man" but said he appeared to be misinformed about the situation in Libya.

"The statements I have heard from him must have come from someone else," he said. "America is not the international police of the world."

When asked whether he would resign, he said he could not step down as he did not have an official position and insisted that the power was with the people.

Mr Gaddafi has consistently rejected calls to leave the country.

- ABC/wires
 

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