Gaddafi ends Euro trip with attack on Iraq war
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi ended his first trip to Europe 15 years by criticising British democracy as false for going to war in Iraq against public opinion.
Gaddafi came to Brussels offering lucrative business deals and an olive branch – along with a veiled threat to return to the “days of explosive belts” if provoked by “evil” from the West.
In a 45 minute discourse on democracy and the Middle East in Brussels today, Gaddafi was long on analyses of the problems but short on specific suggestions.
“It’s important that Europe raises its voice about the tragedy in Iraq,” he said without any details.
He spent more time on the decision by the US-led coalition to invade Iraq despite massive street protests in many countries, which he called evidence of the failings of Western-style democracy.
“The American people and the English people were against the aggression in Iraq,” he said through an interpreter. ”So in that case, the representation was false.”
Then, uttering his first and only phrase in English, he added: “Representation is falsification.”
He argued against a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said Europe should ”should not be on the sidelines” in the peace process.
Gaddafi has held absolute power in Libya since a bloodless coup in 1969.
Amnesty International yesterday accused his regime of continuing human rights abuses and fostering a “climate of fear” in which most Libyans are afraid to speak out.
