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AUDIO (Need adjusting. Soon.)
I have tried to find time to put forward some of my views on the occasion of the new millennium. Happy New Year to the entire world. This marks the 2000th year of the birth of Jesus Christ...
The world map has been shaped by World War I and World War II, as well as by the invasions of Alexander the Great and Napoleon before that. Now the world map is different. From the 18th and 19th century, there has been a new map which is not that of empires or kingdoms but it is the map of the nation state...
What is the fate of the states which are not part of today's blocs? I can identify them. Where is Iran going to be? There is a question mark about the future of Iran. There is a question mark about the future of Iraq, the Gulf states, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon etc...
It was for this reason that I visited Arab states which are outside Africa
• states which form a third of the Arabs because two-thirds are in Africa
• asking them and advising them to join the African bloc.
Conventional Armies Must Be abolished
From now on we must be careful about the Barcelona process. This is very serious because it is based on a scenario presented by a number of strategists. They say there are states with no future, so we must link them to Europe, to Israel and to the Mediterranean. Why do they want to link them to these blocs? for their own interests. So that they will exploit these states and make them markets for their products and [military] bases. Because these states have no value. A nation state will never be able to defend itself on its own...
The other means of defence is armed people and not [conventional] armies. Armies must be abolished because they have no future. Their case is like that of the nation state. They are burdens on societies which are facing economic crises. Today, these armies are a burden and they are among the things which would destroy the nation state.
Today, African states are being destroyed by their armies which have become a burden on them. Latin American states are being destroyed by their armies because their armies have become a burden on these societies.
The same thing applies to Asia.
Europe wants to do away with national armies and set up a Euro-Force [last word in English]. This European army, which will help all the European states inside the European union, was created with the minimum cost. Now they have set up a 60,000-strong army as a unified European force. Every European state has an army which exceeds this number. But together they set up an army of 60,000 soldiers which they say it is enough to face any crisis.
If somebody fires at you a missile, fire a missile back him. If somebody invades your soil he will be faced by armed people, not with a tank or mortar just a riffle, a bomb, a gun and small weapons are enough. But the whole people must be trained and able to fight. Conventional national armies must be abolished as they have no meaning and no role to play...
What is annoying is that prophecy is not good but apparently it will come inevitably. The prophecy is that the coming years will be horrible. The world might fall into total chaos which will be difficult to control. I hope this does not happen. Officials at the United Nations and all countries of the world must be aware of this. This is a grave danger. The Green Book says - do you have a copy of the Green Book? - that after the era of democracies and jamahiriyahs we will enter the era of chaos. The prophecy of the Green Book will become true, no doubt...
America Wants to Impose its Imperialism on the World
This is due to science and the fear of globalization. Science has created globalization which, in its turn, created this climate which forced peoples to rally in groupings because they could not survive [on their own].
America wants, up to this very moment, with its imperialist policy - We are speaking scientifically here. This is not politics, or propaganda or hatred. This is scientific and realistic talk. America wants to impose its imperialism on the world, because the world, in America's view, is made of national entities. America is capable of agreeing with the leaders to have their countries handed over to it. How many traitors, Arabs and non-Arabs in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America and elsewhere, have handed over their countries to imperialism. These are hireling governments, mercenary governments of cowed countries. They see their armies destroyed, their economies weakened, they come under the pressure of the WTO, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Resolutions can be imposed on them by the Security Council according Article 7 of the UN [Charter] to bring the national state to a state of submission for the American imperialist policy to spread in the world. This will not continue, because the era of anarchy which is in the offing will be beyond American domination. Neither the World Bank, nor the International Monetary Fund, [word indistinct], the Security Council, Article 7 or NATO will be able to deal with forthcoming anarchy.
There will be an international rebellion that no one can control.
Rebellion will start from within America. The dollar, American companies and American minorities will start rebellion. Who will America be able to face up to? It will not be able to do that.
Now there is a new development - peoples, who feel being deceived, who are angry and in the face of injustice, are against the West in general without any differentiation between Europe and America... This will lead to a series of explosions which will be difficult to control. There will not be countries like Libya to impose an air embargo on, or countries like Yugoslavia, Korea, Iraq or Sudan to impose a blockade on. All this is very easy. When a western power deals with one country, it is easy for it to have a Security Council resolution, based on Article 7, issued to impose sanctions against that country which will be forced to pay the price in a state of humiliation.
In future, confrontation will not be with national states, but with unconventional and unidentified forces. It will be with unidentified individuals who will be forging the dollar. This job will be done so well that machines will not detect the forgery, with the consequence of the collapse of America. If we start dealing with trillions of billions of forged dollars, what would be the state of the world? It will collapse.
The euro may be forged. By who? By rebel scientists, by anarchists, bypeople who are angry against Europe and the United States of America... You cannot scorn Arabs and say they breed camels and come from the desert and just release the Israelis on them and they would discipline them - and Israel is enough as it sorts them out and terrorizes them - and we get their oil. You cannot scorn Arabs as one Arab can destroy Israel with avirus or an electron. These predictions are not imaginary, they are real facts and scientific data which exist now. Before a destruction takes place I say that the world must mark a pause and convene an aware session so as to lift injustice quickly.
How come oil is not sold at its fair price and the price of a pair of jeans must increase and must not have a ceiling?...
How come there is a veto on oil and there is none on all the manufactured goods which we buy from oil revenues? This is an injustice and oil producers will learn tomorrow and will destroy expensive goods.
The New Reality
Yesterday 120 US companies were shut down; they were declared bankrupt. These companies were Internet companies. Do not be over delighted with the great progress you have made; it is coming to an end. What will happen after that? We will restore our [trade] balance and be self sufficient once more. We will no longer need each other - every one of us will be able to produce his own cars, aircraft, transistors, clothes, building material and electricity. There will no longer be a need for markets - markets and free trade will come to an end. The World Trade Organization will lose its role...
Let us now deal with the UN: It is inevitable that the powers of the UN Security Council will be transferred to the UN General Assembly one day. Failure to do this, unfairness in the world will grow. Its growth will create problems leading to revolutions in which sophisticated and out of control weapons will be used. The Security Council itself will be destroyed by transmitted viruses and electrons sent by those who have been unfairly treated.
American aircraft, cruise missiles and even nuclear bombs will not be enough. There will be something else that is very, very small and can only be seen by the microscope: the biological virus, also known as the electronic virus, money counterfeiting or cloning. American aircraft carriers and missile will not be able to fight off these new things. These things are more dangerous. viruses today are much more stronger than cruise [missiles].
What I want to say here is that imperialist forces believe that they have the upper hand over us, that they can get away with their contempt for us, that they can tell us what to do like ordering us to reduce our oil, cacao, cola and cotton prices, and that they can tell us that we must, whether we like or not, accept their will otherwise they would torture us, look down at us, put up prices of their products, order the IMF to refrain from furnishing us with its facilities. We would like to tell them here: You policies will backfire; your very weapons will backfire. You must show us respect; you must see us as equal peers and that we need each other. A balance between us must be created. Justice must be restored.
The veto is a sham measure which must come to an end otherwise there will a rebellion. The rebellion has already started. The siege against Libya ended thanks to a rebellion by African nations; by peoples everywhere; by the rebellion of Arab peoples. When America was planning to strike against Al-Rabitah pharmaceutical plant, like the plant which it hit in Khartoum, Arab peoples revolted - Arab pharmacists and doctors came from everywhere and staged a sitting-in inside the plant. That was enough. They said if American was to hit this plant let it do so without hitting Arab pharmacists and doctors.
Palestine
All the current talk about a solution for the Palestinian problem, about a meeting in Sharm al-Shaykh and a meeting in Camp David, is nothing but inane prattle. There is only one solution to this problem: the same solution that was implemented in South Africa - seven million Palestinians to be allowed to return to Palestine, elections to be held under the UN aegis, the creation of Palestinian state and no more talks about Israel and [a Palestinian state] in the West Bank. The will only be a democratic Palestinian state following free elections. Nuclear, biological and nuclear weapons must be eliminated like what happened in South African when the whites were deprived of their weapons.
The situation of South African whites is similar of that of the Israelis in Palestine. The situation of South African blacks is similar to the situation of the Palestinians inside Palestine. The South African whites used to have nuclear bombs; the Israelis in Palestine have now nuclear bombs. Nuclear bombs in Palestine must be eliminated; a peaceful state, like today's the [Republic] of South Africa, must be set up instead. Both [South African] whites and black have their own [political] parties. The whites are no longer the masters, however; both, whites and blacks, have become just ordinary citizens. [Passage omitted: More in the same vein.] In hearing me, the Israelis might rubbish what I have just said. If they are going to say that we will never give up the Jewish state, we will never give up the notion that we are God's chosen people; we are going to annihilate all the Palestinians; raspberries to everyone, they will be committing a folly. Reality is rather different. One day they will regret it; they will say: we wish we had accepted a solution like the South African one. Palestine of tomorrow will be different from today's.
People might equip themselves with science, viruses and chemistry. People are growing in numbers. Globalization is going to have an affect. Globalization is going to force the Israelis not to be Israelis anymore; it will force them to be Chinese, Arabs or something else. An Israeli businessmen, entrepreneurs, photographers and models would not want to remain forever in hell. An Israeli model would want to go with his modelling profession somewhere else; he would want to make more money. He would want to sell his pictures in Australia or anywhere else in the world and make money. He would not want to be confined to his role as a solider in the so-called Israel Defence Force...
Globalization is going to destroy the so-called Israel. Israel is nothing but a mirage; something that does not exist. Defending today's Israel is like someone trying to hold on to a fistful of sand in the sea. If American believes that It can protect Israel as it is today - a state that is based upon race, culture and religion - it is only deluding itself. America believes so out of its ignorance of the [forces] of globalization and science.
There is no solution but a peaceful one. Without a peaceful solution, the will be more strife; the strongest will prevail. And here I did not mean the strongest with weapons but the strongest his knowledge of sciences - the one who has virus. The Israelis might say: We can also produce viruses and destroy Arabs. Yes, they are expected to do so. But the end will only be chaos and destruction. They might say if we are going to die we might as well take Arabs with us. Well let it be. At least the world will rid itself of us all; the American citizens will be free from paying more taxes to support a Jewish state which has nothing to do with them. What is the value of Israel to an American taxpayer? Why should American citizens be enemies of the great Arab nation...
Chaos in the world
As for the chaos at the world level on which I have spoken, against the West, the USA, the UN Security Council, NATO, the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, the pressure to lower the prices of raw material and increase the prices of the goods and services which come from industrialized states, lead to reactions by all means and create confrontation and chaos at the world level. This is the problem which we will not be able to face up to. The USA and Europe will be losers. We can all be losers.
The solution is that before this happens we must find a consensus. The consensus of those who have cotton, cacao and oil. The UN Security Council ought to execute resolutions of the UN General Assembly. The IMF must be an international ownership. An international bank which ought to be the ownership of all states, and not the ownership of the USA alone. The USA would say because it has contributed the most! It has no right in this situation. Who told the USA to contribute with that much. We want every state to have 10 shares. All states big and small.
Who told the USA to contribute with more than other states to the IMF in order to dominate it? This domination has become evil. It [IMF] has imposed on us a culture other than ours, a way life which is not ours, prices which are not ours, policies which are not ours because the USA has dominated the IMF and the World Bank. All this because the USA has contributed with more than the rest.
The IMF increases bread price by 300 per cent! This is not right. As there is still half-an-hour left, it is better for you, corespondents, to ask if you have any brief questions?
New US administration
[Question] "Welcome brother leader! In a few days the present US administration will leave the White House. How do you expect relations of the new administration with the Great Jamahiriyah in particular and with the rest of the world in general?"
[Answer] In general USA is USA, which is an imperialist state. Imperialist circles do not change by elections and they still exist. It is possible for presidents to change. The worst, aggressive and most stupid president who ended up mad was [Ronald] Reagan. After him came [George W.] Bush, who was a moderate man. Clinton was a good man, and he was busy with his private life. I believe George W. Bush will be nice. As a person he is not malicious or imperialist. I believe he attaches importance to the USA and he does not have world ambitions.
Imperialist circles, however, still exist and will put pressure on him [George W. Bush]. This is particularly true with Zionism. I expect the situation to be better particularly if he learnt his lessons and benefited from these wars, interventions and losses from Vietnam to Libya, Iraq and Yugoslavia.
Africa
[Question] "Brother leader: How do you see the future of cooperation between Africa and Europe and will the European Union allow African operations on its borders?"
The second question is: "What is the fate of the regional groupings such as the Community of the Sahel and Saharan States [Comessa] and ECOWAS within the context of African union which will be declared at the second [OAU] summit?"
[Answer] I believe we have laid the foundation stone for the Euro-African cooperation at the Cairo Euro-African summit. I am against any bilateral or partial cooperation. Only if the cooperation concerns 5+5 around the Mediterranean which could be a circle to strengthen the Euro-African cooperation. The five from the African side must include Egypt. There are no five without Egypt. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco are the five we talk about, and they are the candidates to represent the southern shore [of the Mediterranean].
Any other cooperation is not beneficial and must be abolished. Cooperation between Europe and Africa or 5+5 as a link in order to strengthen this cooperation. Comessa, ECOWAS, IGAD etc. in Africa can strengthen African unity. It is possible that in the future we will set up African union and within it we find these gatherings and possibly other gatherings. Other states could unite. It is possible that Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya will become one state. It is possible that Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti form one state. It is possible that Libya, Egypt and Sudan will become one state or Libya, Tunisia and Algeria will become one state. It is possible that Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania will form one state within the African union. It is possible for this to happen.
Arab World
[Question] "... Our question is why does not Libya resume the leadership of the Arab world, because you are the only one capable of leading the Arabs given the fact that the leadership of the Arab world does not clash with your leadership of Africa."
The second question is: "What is your view about the Arab efforts and the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, particularly the role of Crown Prince Abdallah, in their efforts to lift the embargo on Libya?"
[Answer] It is not a question of leadership. We live in an era of the masses and, therefore, it is a question of efficiency. For 30 years Libya has been struggling to realize Arab unity. It had tried with every state. It tried unity between two, three and four countries as well as all inclusive unity. Now, however, we are in the era of globalization. The era of nationalism, religion, one language and the culture which was unifying people is over. Now people are united by satellite, internet, single market, negotiating power, consumption, import-export etc. Other factors are annulled. It is possible that we revert to them in another era. Now it is the era of economy, consumption, market and investment. This is what unites people irrespective of languages, religions or nationalities.
Blocs have been set up at the expense of Arabs. As I have already mentioned, now Arabs are outside blocs, with the exception of the Arabs who are in Africa. They are within the African bloc. As for the Arabs who are outside the African bloc, they do not belong to the European bloc, or ASEAN - which is in eastern Asia - or the new commonwealth which is in Siberia. They are not even in the bloc of the Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately, the role I am playing now is what I have already done by trying to convince a third of the Arabs who are outside the African bloc to join the African bloc in order that the latter will become Arab-African bloc. There is no other solution.
With regard to Saudi Arabia, the role played by King Fahd, Prince Abdallah and by Prince Bandar Bin Sultan's shuttle diplomacy - with [Nelson] Mandela - was clear in offering guarantees and arrangements to move the British court to The Netherlands, a third country according to Libya's request, the move of the [two] Libyans to this court, the setting up of a court without a jury according to Libya's request and in the presence of international observers according to Libya's request.
But it was Africa which before that had decided that either the USA and Britain would accept a third solution or there would be rebellion against the UN Security Council's resolutions, which were imposed by the USA. This was what happened.
When the USA realized that it was facing problems it sought a way out. Saudi Arabia and Mandela were able to help to solve the problem between Libya and these states. Therefore, the UN Security Council issued a decision cancelling the previous resolutions and accepting the third way...
Violence against Africans in Libya
[Question] "Did the events concerning African nationals affect relations with Africa and particularly with the Community of the Sahel and Saharan States [Comessa]?"
[Answer] Do you mean the Africans living in Libya? Of course this was an extremely terrible event. This was perpetrated by dirty hands. People plotted against Libyan leadership of Africa; against African unity, African bloc and Libya's reputation.
In fact it was a dirty plot as if there was behind it hostile hands which oppose African unity, Libya's image, Libya's leadership and everything Libya did for Africa. This is what I can say about this event. The last word, however, will be that of justice. There will be an open trial. You can all attend it, and anybody can attend it.
Everyone will be tried in a fair way. There are things which we can see as provocation. But there are other means in Libya. There are people's congresses and communes. It was possible for any commune to reject the presence of Africans within its confines and no one could force it [to accept the presence of Africans].
Future of Jerusalem
[Question] "An Arab summit had been held reportedly to support Al-Aqsa intifidah [uprising]. An Islamic summit had also been held. Your stance towards these summits was clear, and this has now been shown by the fact that Palestinians are alone. Last night there were reports that President [Yasir] Arafat had accepted Clinton's proposals to reach a solution. Until now this solution seems to be rejected by the Palestinian people and streets. What is your view and comment on what is happening on the field?"
[Answer] First of all I do not believe that Arafat will accept the US plan. If he does it will be a catastrophe. I would not say they should reject Clinton's proposals. But this must be the subject of negotiations.
The important thing is that - if the talks are about a Palestinian state which would satisfy the Palestinians and they see the solution in establishing a Palestinian state - the state in international law means a territory and a people. Where is the territory of the Palestinian state and where is the people of the Palestinian state? This is the language of the Palestinian opposition and the 10 factions which rejected these bargaining, and in this they are right. Where is the territory? This is the international law and not Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi or the 10 Palestinian factions. The international law itself says that a state is a territory, a people and an authority which represent them. The authority is there, but whom does it represent? Where is the territory? The territory is occupied by the Israeli army and settlements. The West Bank and Gaza are occupied not only by the army but also by settlements. What can we do with the Israeli villages, the Zionist villages? They cannot be part of a Palestinian state. Where is the Palestinian people? The Palestinian people is scattered.
In fact I personally despise all these demagogic claims on East Jerusalem. What is East Jerusalem? Are we looking for a mosque to pray? We can perform our prayers anywhere. We are looking for a people who has been dispersed for 50 years. We are looking for occupied territories. He who loses a friend will forget about him within a year. He who loses gold in, I do not know, a gold market will find it. What about he who loses his country? Where is he going to find it? We have lost a homeland, where are we going to find it? They have carved up half of East Jerusalem! They can take East and West Jerusalem and give us Palestine! I wish they could give them a choice and tell them that all the Jews go to Jerusalem, take it and make it a state. They take all of it, East and West Jerusalem. But they will give us Palestine from the river to the sea. I shall recognize their state in Jerusalem if the establish a state in the whole Jerusalem. So let Jerusalem be the promised land, the village promised to them by God. This is Jerusalem and God did not speak about Palestine. He was speaking about Jerusalem, so they can take Jerusalem and give us Palestine. Palestine is the land of the Palestinian people. Israel is this Prophet Jacob who was called Israel. The land is called Palestine. When we say Palestine, Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority this came from Palestine. Palestine which stretches from the river to the sea.
What is this demagoguery? Jerusalem, East Jerusalem? Tomorrow I shall tell you to take East Jerusalem. Then you have no other claims. You said East Jerusalem is the whole issue! The issue is that of East Jerusalem, so we have given you East Jerusalem. What can you do with East Jerusalem when we give it to you tomorrow? What did we do in 1967 when we had East Jerusalem? Was not our people scattered? Did not we have a cause? Were not we occupied? Jerusalem was ours until 1967. From 1948 to 1967 Jerusalem was hours and what did we do with Jerusalem?
The issue is that of land and people. What is this issue of Jerusalem. They can take Jerusalem as long as they give us Palestine. Tomorrow, any Jew can offer you East Jerusalem and you will no longer have a cause? What will we do with East Jerusalem? We pray there! Do we have to pray in East Jerusalem?
Relations with France
[Question] "... What is your assessment of the French-Libyan relations given the current situation?"
[Answer] ... As for the French-Libyan relations there is always intention by the two sides to improve them. However, France is always unlucky. Whenever relations improve a disaster turns up from within France: whether it sides with Chad and supports Hissene Habre and when he goes it gambles on a losing horse, then the French judge [ruling that charges can be brought against Al-Qadhafi] turns up, then it is Zionism in France, then it is a lawsuit against Al-Qadhafi.
Sudanese Reconciliation
[Question] "Where are the efforts of the brother now with regard to the national reconciliation in Sudan, particularly after such efforts resulted in the return of Sadiq al-Mahdi to Sudan and his involvement in the Sudanese national action?"
[Answer] We have made efforts to bring about reconciliation between the authorities and opposition in Sudan. Opposition in the north means Sadiq al-Mahdi. It means the Ummah Party. Without Sadiq al-Mahdi there will be no opposition in the north. As soon as Sadiq al-Mahdi is back in Sudan, opposition in the north is over.
The fighting you hear about which they say is [led by] the opposition and the [National] Democratic Alliance [NDA], is not true. These are the forces of [John] Garang. We go back to the basic problem in Sudan which is the north-south problem. This means the issue of southern Sudan. This problem is old, ethnic and religious. It must be solved within the context of African unity. Otherwise we would accuse the northerners and southerners of being warmongers, who trade with people's blood and who have invested interests behind this war.
Garang is my friend and he is a revolutionary. He must not be accused of being a warmonger. Those who are suffering from this war are children and innocent people. If they seek an independent state in the south it should be done by consensus. If there is no secession we should not declare war. If someone from the south came to challenge Khartoum by telling them I want to become Muslim - or all the southerners would like to become Muslims - Khartoum will be unable to teach them Islam. If in the morning all the southerners want to learn Arabic, Khartoum will be unable to provide them with teachers, schools and means to teach Arabic.
Meanwhile Islam has spread. There are five million Muslims behind Garang, in Uganda. I am against provocation in Sudan. Do they have to say God is Great there is no god but Allah. Even they [southerners] believe in God. There is no need for provocation. There must be negotiations and containment instead of confrontation. I am going to upheld the slogan of containment instead of confrontation in Africa. In Sierra Leone, in Congo, in Angola and Sudan. Containment as were the cases in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and in South Africa. Containment instead of confrontation.
Source: Libyan TV, Tripoli, in Arabic, 4 January 2001. Unofficial English Translation.
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