“As a leader of an Arab nation and chairman of the African Union, Libya’s president did not deserve the appalling treatment he received last week in New York.” That was Middle East observer Linda S. Heard, writing in the Gulf News in September 2009.
Heard also had harsh words for the Western media, which characterized Moammar Gadhafi’s first speech to the UN General Assembly as “rambling” and “incoherent.” And she chastised countries such as Canada, Britain and the U.S. for pulling their delegates during the unscripted 90-minute address.
Heard was furious that New York citizens mounted “childish campaigns” to ensure the Libyan dictator would not be allowed to sleep in his Bedouin tent.
“It seems to me that those people could learn a lot about hospitality from the Middle East, where overseas guests are invariably treated with respect,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, over the past week of unrest in Libya, President Gadhafi has sent state troops and mercenaries to gun down protesters in the streets, ordered unwilling fighter pilots to bomb their fellow citizens (they were subsequently executed for refusing the mission, or bailed out in flight and crashed their jets), and vows he will “die as a martyr” rather than step down.
A martyr for what, no one is sure. Libyan students in St. John’s, in solidarity with fellow Libyans around the world, organized a protest Thursday to condemn the violence in their homeland. They did so despite the very real risk that going public could pose a threat to their families back home.
Looking back, there were few clues in Gadhafi’s 2009 UN speech that would suggest he was anything other than a man of peace. “We are here to decide the future of the world in a democratic way that will maintain world peace and security,” he cooed. “All people, small and big, are equals.” He strongly condemned the civilian death toll in Iraq, and pressed the need to bring justice to bear on war crimes. “We are not animals in the livestock, or in that we slaughter. We have the right. We are ready to fight. … We have the right to live dignified under the sun, on the Earth …”
He blamed most of the world’s conflicts on the UN Security Council, which he said was no better than al-Qaida. “This is terrorism,” he thundered. “We cannot have the Security Council and the (member) countries which have the superpowers. … It should not be called the Security Council. It should be called the Terror Council.” Gadhafi was also not pleased with certain weapons treaties — particularly the Ottawa Treaty banning the use of land mines. “This is wrong. The mines are not offensive weapons. They are defensive. The mines do not move. They do not attack. It remains wherever it is planted. That means you went to it. Why did you go to it? I would like to plant mines on the borders of my country because you are aggressing my country. Let your hand or leg be amputated.”
Lost limbs aside, the thrust of Gadhafi’s message was best summed up in his closing remark. “Humanity has to struggle in order to live in peace. The struggle by the Third World and the smaller states … in order to live in dignity and in freedom is a continued struggle and it has to continue till the end,” he said. “Peace and blessings.”
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to meet today in order to, as CNN puts it, “consider a resolution to suspend Libya from the council.”
Tough call.
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