Gaddafi speech calls coalition ‘fascists’

Libyan leader calls coalition ‘fascists’ during speech at Tripoli compound as Hillary Clinton claims aides are considering exile Muammar Gaddafi has made his first public appearance since air strikes on his forces began, pledging that he will not surrender and calling the international coalition against him a “bunch of fascists”. The speech came after Barack Obama warned the Libyan leader may try to hang on to power despite the military intervention. But the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said she understood people close to Gaddafi were in touch with other countries asking for advice on exile options. Clashes continued on Tuesday morning along the front line between rebels and Gaddafi forces north of Ajdabiya. Those forces, which appeared to be well dug-in, fired barrages of mortar and tank shells at the opposition fighters, whose advance on the city appears to have stalled. Gaddafi appeared outside his Tripoli compound early on Wednesday morning to speak to supporters who have formed a human shield to protect him. “We will not surrender,” he said. “We will defeat them by any means … We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one … We will be victorious in the end,” he said in comments carried live by state television. “This assault … is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,” he added, to the approving roar of the crowd. The early morning address was his first public appearance in a week, and there was nothing in it to suggest any lessening of his determination to sit out what he calls the “colonialist-crusader” attacks on Libya. Gaddafi seemed aware of growing rumours about his whereabouts after two strikes on his Bab al-Aziziya compound – with one opposition source reporting him at a hideout deep in the Sahara. “I am here, in my modest tent,” Gaddafi told them. “I am here.” Clinton told ABC News she understood people close to the Libyan leader were in touch with other states about the situation. “We’ve heard about other people close to him reaching out to people that they know around the world, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America, beyond, saying what do we do?” she said. “How do we get out of this? What happens next? “I’m not aware that he personally has reached out, but I do know that people allegedly on his behalf have been reaching out.” Speaking to CNN during his trip to South America Obama said he hoped the military intervention would help the Libyan opposition start organising for change. He said it might not be “military might” but a belief among the Libyan people that it is time for a change that ends with “ultimately sweeping Gaddafi out of power”. “I think – our hope is – that the first thing that can happen once we’ve cleared the space is that the rebels are able to start discussing how they organise themselves, how they articulate their aspirations for the Libyan people and create a legitimate government,” Obama said. He added that the immediate goal of the mission that began Saturday was to prevent Gaddafi’s military from conducting an onslaught on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. “Because the international community rallied, his troops have now pulled back from Benghazi,” Obama said. While Washington and its coalition partners, including Nato allies and Arab states, are establishing a no-fly zone over Libya and attacking the Libyan leader’s forces, the US president warned that Gaddafi was unlikely to back down soon. “Gaddafi may try to hunker down and wait it out even in the face of the no-fly zone, even though his forces have been degraded,” Obama said. Yesterday, Britain, France and the US agreed that Nato should play an important role in enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya . Muammar Gaddafi United States France Europe Nato Hillary Clinton Ian Black Chris McGreal Adam Gabbatt Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on March 23, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.