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| Africa North |
| Evil eye cast on Libya, says Qaddafi |
| 2011-02-26 |
| [Arab News] Abandoned by some of his staunchest supporters and losing his grip on much of the country, Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy on Thursday blamed the unprecedented revolt against his 42-year rule on an "evil eye." In a telephone interview with state TV, he said: "The village is the victim of an evil eye." In a rambling appeal for calm, he also said Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was behind the unrest and and that protesters were fueled by milk and Nescafe spiked with hallucinogenic drugs. Saudis reacted with anger and disbelief. "Qadaffy does not know what he's talking about. He's blaming Bin Laden when he should look at himself instead and ask why widespread Libyan protests are tearing the country apart," Ali Al-Enagy, a professor at the King Saud University (KSU), said. Hezab Sadoun, a professor of mass communications at a university in Riyadh, said that Qadaffy was way off the mark with his claims. "There's no foreigner or foreign force involved in the turmoil that has engulfed Libya. What stokes the anger of the Libyan people who have risen in arms against him is top-level corruption," he said. Qadaffy, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech. This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory. "Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe," Qadaffy said. A Tripoli resident said: "It seems like he realized that his speech yesterday with the strong language had no effect on the people. He's realizing it's going to be a matter of time before the final chapter: the battle of Tripoli." Qadaffy's forces launched a fierce counterattack on Thursday, fighting gunbattles with protesters who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital. The opposition forces were already in control of major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Qadaffy's power base. Gunbattles in Zawiyah, an oil terminal 50 km from the capital, left 10 people dead, a Libyan newspaper said. |
| Posted by:Fred |