Libyan TV/AFP/Getty Images
Muammar Gaddafi delivers the nationwide address at his former Bab al-Aziziya residence, which was bombed in 1986 by U.S. aircraft. The Libyan leader deliberately left the damaged building standing, without repair, as a sign of defiance.
February 22, 2011 – 9:42 pm
By Adam McDowell and Adrian Humphreys
At a rambling 75 minutes long, with threats of violent reprisals against “greasy rats” and vague promises of reform to a Libyan constitution he ignores anyway, Muammar Gaddafi’s attempt to save himself through his dubious speaking abilities on Tuesday looked like “vintage Gaddafi” to some observers.
“Who in their right mind wouldn’t be glued to that charade? That’s Gaddafi’s style, you expect that kind of rhetoric,” said Arezki Daoud, publisher of the Massachusetts-based North Africa Journal.
“The non sequiturs, the paranoid conspiracy theories, the anger — if it weren’t so tragic, we could laugh at it,” said David Schenker, director of the program on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
But Nasser Wedaddy, civil rights outreach director for the American Islamic Congress, warned: “People think of Gaddafi as this buffoon who is acting on impulses and whims. There’s some truth to that.
“But through the years,” continued the former resident of Libya, “Gaddafi has been a master of manipulating media. He uses his buffoonery … to get media attention, which he craves. And a lot of his talking points, which he has recycled through the years, are designed to appeal to his support base, [to portray him as] the guy who’s confronting the big powers in the world.”
Below, how a few elements made the speech equal parts absurd and menacing, especially to Libyan ears:
Choice of Location
The former presidential residence was bombed by the U.S. Air Force in 1986. Col. Gaddafi escaped, which became a point of pride and he deliberately left the damaged building standing, without repair, as a visual sign of defiance ever since. As a backdrop, it reminds Libyans of the dangers of foreign intervention and his strength, said Jeffrey Byrne, assistant professor of North African history at the University of British Columbia. “But it is also inside a military base, so it might be one of the few places he feels safe.”
Body language
Col. Gaddafi’s body language suggested he feels stressed, angry and rattled by events, said Mark Bowden, a Toronto-based communications coach and body-language specialist who has trained with world leaders. Col. Gaddafi’s taut, stiff upper lip seen during his speech is associated with anger. His hand motions, such as his repeated drumming of his fist up and down at chest level, suggests passion — not an ecstatic passion or a truthful passion, but an angry passion. “He is showing the signs of stress and anxiety. He is seen rearranging his clothes and coming up off his toes, slightly unbalanced, suggesting he is very unsettled,” Mr. Bowden said. Col. Gaddafi’s fumbling gestures also suggest he was ill-prepared and the speech was largely unscripted.
“Muammar Gaddafi is the leader of the revolution, I am not a president to step down … I have nowhere to resign from.”
Col. Gaddafi indeed holds no official title except Leader and Guide of the Revolution, perpetuating a fiction that the country is governed by the masses through community councils. “That country is akin to a mining town in the Wild West, where the town is run by a mining company with a militia,” Mr. Daoud said.
“I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired … when I do, everything will burn.”
Observers agree it is well within Col. Gaddafi’s ability and psychological makeup to conduct a reign of terror against his own citizens. Given that he controls much of the security apparatus through his sons and close cousins, this line would serve as a chilling threat to Libyans. “What he says, he means,” Mr. Daoud said.
“Come out of your homes, those who love Muammar Gaddafi. Women, men, girls, boys, those who side with Muammar Gaddafi and the revolution.… As from tomorrow, no, as from tonight, actually, people in Libyan cities and towns … chase [the protesters], arrest them, hand them over to the security [forces].”
This line draws comparison to Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China, in that Col. Gaddafi is trying to harness the power of the mob for his own purpose. But only a small and dwindling number love him still. “I think he was talking to himself,” said Mr. Daoud of The North Africa Journal. “The few followers are very dangerous and very powerful. They’re essentially a trained security elite,” plus some well-bribed tribal leaders — and fewer of them than when he took power in 1969 with some tribal support. “Essentially all of the tribes are siding against him. It’s unclear whether his own tribe is revolting. The fact that Tripoli is revolting, which is the base of his tribe, then it says that even his tribe is against him,” Mr. Daoud said.
“No sound person has taken part in these actions, they are all children.… Take your children back. They are drugging your children. They are making your children drunk and they’re sending them to hell. Your children will die.”
“He recognizes that young people are playing an important role in this and are less likely to listen to his appeals, so he is appealing to parents in a menacing tone,” said UBC’s Prof. Byrne.
“I will not leave the country and will die as a martyr.”
“I believe him,” said Prof. Byrne. “It is hard to imagine him going into retirement someplace. I suspect he sincerely plans to go down fighting.” To Mr. Schenker, the speech was reminiscent of past doomed autocrats. “This is the fantasy of a dictator, a very isolated man in a bunker. It reminds me very much of Saddam [Hussein]’s last days.”
National Post, with files from Reuters
