In what sounds like a reprise of the points he hit when he appeared on Libyan state TV two days ago, Moammar Gadhafi has apparently taken to the airwaves again to blame foreign influences — and in particular Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida — for the protests that have swept across much of his nation.
Al-Jazeera is broadcasting and streaming what state TV says is the Libyan leader's voice right now. He's not being shown — it appears he's called the state TV network. ( Update at 10:30 a.m. ET: We may be overly cautious, but do want to restate that Libyan state TV said it was Gadhafi on the phone. There's always the chance, of course, that it could have been someone else or an aide actually speaking.)
Gadhafi, according to Al-Jazeera's translation, has accused his opponents of having a "bin Laden mentality" and of supplying young people with drugs to get them to come out in the streets to protest.
Libyans "had no reason to complain whatsoever" about conditions in their country, Gadhafi just claimed. And he said he's offering "parental advice" to his people — to take back control from the protesters. "They are launching a campaign against your children," he said of the supposed foreign influences.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAxNDQ2NDAxMDEyNzU2NzM2ODA3ZGI1ZA001))
