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| North Africa |
| Muammar empties Libya's jugs, except for al-Qaeda... |
| 2002-09-01 |
| Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has said his country's prisons are free of political detainees except for members of the al-Qaeda network, in his most explicit acknowledgement of their presence here. "As from the date of this anniversary, Libyan prisons will be empty, with the exception of a group of heretics believed to have links with what is known as al-Qaeda and the Taliban," Kadhafi said in a televised address Saturday marking the 33rd anniversary of the revolution that brought him to power. "So with the exception of the heretics, the prison will be emptied," he said, but clarifying he was not referring to "ordinary" crimes. Good idea. Keep the murderers and rapists and burglars locked up. You can always toss the political prisoners in jug again later, if they haven't learned their lesson... The al-Qaeda suspects "were in Afghanistan and returned here and carried out killings in the streets. Some were arrested; some blew themselves up before being caught and others were arrested," he said in his address in the southern town of Sebha where he prepared the overthrow of the Libyan monarchy in 1969 while a young officer. He did not say how many had been arrested or where they were being held. Hmmm... Important safety tip here: If you're gonna subvert somebody's country and establish a blood-handed autocracy, don't pick a country that's already a bloody-handed autocracy... On Thursday, the Kadhafi Foundation, headed by the Libyan leader's son Seif al-Islam Kadhafi said it had won freedom for 65 members of the secular opposition detained since the 1980s. He claimed the amnesty meant there were no more political activists in prison, except for "groups whose liberation menaces society," referring to Islamists who had refused to "repent." Crown Prince Seif al-Islam has been presenting the kinder, gentler face of Libya to the world lately... In his speech, Kadhafi said Libya was treating its al-Qaeda in much the same way as Washington was treating ones it captured during the Afghan campaign and has detained without trial at a US military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "We will treat them just like America is treating the others. We watch America, which is now the world leader and gives the signals to the world. Look how it is treating those held in Guantanamo," he said. I'm not sure I understood him. It's hard to speak clearly with your tongue in your cheek... "We treat the heretics, who belong to the same group, in the same way. America said: These people do not have the right to defend themselves, nor are we going to give them lawyers. And their human rights will not be respected. It (the United States) is treating them like dogs. In that case, America cannot complain if you give them a similar treatment because it is treating this kind of people exactly that way," he said. I won't complain, I promise. Sounds about right to me... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |