Libya’s Gaddafi: Death to All for Everything · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.
Libya's dictator Muammar Al Gaddafi just gave a furious speech on Libyan State TV today, Tuesday, warning and threatening anti-government protesters and their supporters, that the Libya would end up like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Somalia. He encouraged Libyans to come out of their homes tomorrow and chase down “the terrorists” and hand them in to security forces so they could be “punished with death”. He said he would keep fighting for Libya till “his last drop of blood” and went on to list in great detail every single thing that would be punished with death, including working for a foreign organization, using force against government forces, or threatening the unity of the country. The rambling, apparently unscripted speech was followed by Libyans, Arabs, and citizens everywhere on Twitter, and evoked both sarcasm and ridicule, even amidst the tragic circumstances of death and instability in the country.
Gaddafi justified Libya's brutal crackdown on protests in recent days, listing other moments in history when governments have killed protesters, saying things like, “The unity of China, was more important that those on Tianamen Square.” Tomorrow, he said, youth (those not “on drugs”) should form committees to defend his revolution. “You are more than them,” he said.
In the wait leading up to his speech, tweeple humorously guessed  why he was late in giving his anticipated speech.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: raise your heads for revolution, for battles of liberation.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: youths were taken from families and given hallucinagenics. Punishment is for the people who gave them.
@rania_hafez: Gaddafi: Those who oppose the Libyan authorities, raise weapons against other libyans will be punished by death according to Libya's law
@draddee: Gaddafi calling for social committees to protect society values, morality and manners #Libya
@habibh: #Gaddafi threatening his own people on TV with death sentences…
@kimo79: The biggest service that #gaddafi is doing with his rubbish speech is that he is unifying the revolution of #libya more and more.
@blakehounshell: what's he reading from?
@themoornextdoor: Reading from the book: the pages are blank, he's making it up as he goes
@EDSETIADI:And this lunatic's starting to read from his green book. Oh crap this is going to be long. http://twitpic.com/42m3bt
@timrylands: Gadaffi now playing the part of my old mad art teacher marking my sketchbook #libya http://yfrog.com/h6vdwp
@acarvin: Gaddafi: they don't want me or libya. This is a criminal act. Anyone who lifts arm shall be punished with death.
@Ssirgany: He switched eyeglasses to read from the green book.
@iandstone: Gaddafi ranting. “Where are the rats and rodents?” “Attacking the police station like mice?” This guy needs Rentokill
@tololy: NOW Gaddafi: “If things reach the level of using force, we WILL use it in accordance with int'l law & the Libyan constitution”
@Raafatology: #Gaddafi says ” Gaddafi is the Glory” I am not kidding. he just said that #Libya
@rania_hafez: Gaddafi calls out to those who love him, to go out and protect the country from those drugged gangs in the street now!! (civil war) #libya
@acarvin: Gaddafi:we didn't use force against the people but will use force if needed, according to intl and Libyan law.
@avinunu: Gaddafi: “All towns and cities that love Muammar Gaddafi must come out into the streets”
@acarvin: Gaddafi: With oil ownership turned back to the people, get out of your homes, secure the streets, take out the greasy rats.
@acarvin: Gaddafi, raising arms in air: Those who carried the arms, young people given armored vehicles.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: you are responsible for the people's committees. I call on the Libyan people to form new municipalities as mentioned by my son.
@nour_odeh: #Gaddafi: world is laughing at u [rebels]. People must form new muncipalities, pplr comtts like Saif told you #Libya
@ChangeInLibya: He's swearing at the people, who are “supporting him”, “in the green square”… Also images 20 days old from green sqr bng shown :)
@acarvin: Gaddafi: the struggle for power has been resolved.
@acarvin: Gaddafi: it is the Libyan people's consent along. In hospitals, offices, farms, everywhere.
@nour_odeh: #Gaddafi: We left power to the people in 1977. We don't have any position or authority, only fighting for Libya & defending it #Libya
@Dima_Khatib: Gaddafi: some youth sometimes try and imitate what happened in Tunisia & Egypt #libya #feb17
@avinunu: Gaddafi denies that he holds any power at all, that he handed it all over to the Libyan people back in 1977.
@draddee: Gaddafi: We are the ones who fought the US and UK on our soil and said we would die unless they cleared out. Where were you? #Libya
@acarvin: Gaddafi: At the hospital, no one dared to change the name. Where were you, you mercenaries? Who dared to do such things?
@avinunu: Gaddafi also claimed that all who had been killed were police.
@TravellerW: Don't dictators ever get tired of the “blaming the foreigners” theme? #libya #gaddafi
@JNovak_Yemen: #Libyan lunatic calls people to streets to fight protesters, taking a page from #AliSaleh rent-a-mobs #Yemen
@Ssirgany: He's directly calling for a civil war, telling his supporters to take to the streets, ARMED. #gaddafi #libya
@evanchill: Libyan state TV finally finds some “pro-Gaddafi” crowds, but they have to go to a dateless, placeless splitscreen to find them.
@sate3: http://twitpic.com/42lt4u – Clearly this is a delusional defiant & angry speech by a frustrated, helpless & gradiose dictator. #Feb17 #Libya
@Arabista: He's actually off his rocker!!!
@artate: in the reflection in Ghadaffi's glasses, you can't see any people in front, right?… http://tinyurl.com/6632g87 #libya #crazytalk
@ChangeInLibya: I don't get it? If he's swearing at our grandparents for not fighting americans.. aren't we meant to be egyptians and tunisians? #feb17
@blakehounshell: Amazing how hollow the anti-American rhetoric rings now #Qaddafi
@sate3: The view outside the building from where #Gaddafi is giving his speech #Feb17 http://twitpic.com/42lwil
@alexlobov: Can someone drone him now & put us all out of our misery?
@ceoDanya: #Gadafi is a psyco.
@Cyrenaican: We're not afraid of you, we were never your people.
@ceoDanya: DO YOU SEE PEOPLE WHAT I am TALKING ABOUT what the LIBYAN PPL are talking aBOUT! We need help! Men hal psyco!!
@lisang: I think these dictators are sharing a script. Evil foreign media, bad foreign influences, I spilt my blood for this country, time for reform
@tomgara: Look, Americans, this building has already been softened up by Reagan. Shouldn't be too hard to finish the job. Best live TV ending EVER.
@algergawi: Gaddafi Arabic speech should be transcribed in Arabic too.
@Mustafa_Qadri: “It's not true, Michael Jackson stole the colonel outfit from me” says Gaddafi “The one white glove was my idea!”
@bongkersz: I wonder if Hitler is going to be mad again on Youtube because #Gaddafi just sounded madder than him..
@TravellerW: A frequent theme in dictators’ speeches is how demonstrators are “children/youth/misguided/etc”, in order to discredit opponents. #libya
@AfriNomad: Does this count as Speech #2 or #3? And what's with #Gaddafi's fascination with rats & hallucinogens? #Libya #Feb17
@lioncub4justice: Breaking News: #Gaddafi is crazy #Libya
@warrenellis: Gadaffi's speech seems to boil down to “Everyone is on drugs except me. Also I am Batman.”
@thelieisacake: #Gaddafi will be a true test of the will and moral compass of the UN Security Council and countries/businesses that do business in #libya
This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.