- Colonel Muammar Gadaffi is frequently referred to in
the media as a "mad dictator" and "bloody tyrant",
but do these allegations accord with the facts?
-
- Libya consists of over 15O tribes, with the two main
groups, the Meghabra living in Tripolitania in the west and the Wafallah
living in Cyrenaica in the east. Previous attempts to unite these tribes
by the Turkish (1855-1911) and ltalian {1911-43) colonial rulers failed
and the country was split in two for administrative purposes.
-
- Oil was discovered in Libya in 1959, but King ldris of
the Senussi tribe allowed most of the oil profits to be siphoned into the
coffers of the oil companies. The coup d'etat on 1 September 1969 led by
Colonel Gadaffi had countrywide support. He subsequently married a woman
from the royal Barqa tribe and adroitly unified the nation.
-
- By retaining Libya's oil wealth for the benefit of all
its people, Gadaffi had created a socialist paradise. There is no unemployment,
Libya has the highest GDP in .Africa, less than 5% of the population is
classified as poor and it has fewer people living below the poverty datum
line than for example in Holland. Life expectancy is 75 years and is the
highest in Africa and I0% above the world average.
-
- With the exception of the nomadic Bedouin and Tuareg
tribes, most Libyan families possess a house and a car. There is free health
care and education and not surprisingly Libya has a literacy rate of 82%.
Last year Gadaffi distributed $500 to each man, woman and child (population
6.5 million).
-
- Libya has a tolerable human rights record and stands
at 61 on the International Incarceration Index, comparable with countries
in central Europe (the lower the rating, the lower the standing - the USA
occupies the no.1 spot!). There is hardly any crime and only rebels and
traitors are dealt with harshly.
-
- Anyone who has read Gadaffi's little Green Book will
realize that he is a thoughtful and enlightened leader. Libya has been
accused of having committed numerous acts of terrorism in the past, but
many of these have been perpetrated by foreign intelligence agencies as
false flag operations - the Lockerbie bombing being a prime example.
-
- The CIA and MI6 and their frontmen have been stoking
up dissent in the east of the country for almost 30 years. Libya produces
exceptionally high quality light crude oil and its production cost of $1
a barrel, compared to the current price of $115, is the lowest in the world.
-
- Riba (usury) is not permitted. The Central bank of Libya
is a wholly-owned by the Libyan Government and is run as a state bank,
issuing all government loans free of interest. This is in contrast to the
exploitative fractional reserve banking system of the West. The no-fly
zone and the bombing of Libya have nothing to do with the protection of
civilians. It is an act of war a blatant and crude attempt by the
oil corporations and international bankers to steal the wealth of Libya.
|
