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Journalism of Courage
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who recently announced that he is giving up weapons of mass destruction, has called for universal nuclear disarmament including from countries like India.
Addressing the Libyan People’s National Congress and visiting members of the US Congress, Gaddafi ‘‘called on all countries to get rid of their weapons of mass destruction, naming the US, Russia, China, India and Pakistan’’, according to an agency dispatch in The Washington Times. The Libyan leader, who allowed Congress members to address the Assembly before his arrival at the venue, announced a ‘‘new era of cooperation’’ with the US.
‘‘Terrorism is the enemy of all of us, not the enemy of America. When we fight terrorism, we do that for ourselves,’’ he told American reporters. Asked whether the Iraq war had any impact on his decision to give up WMDs, Gaddafi said: ‘‘We made our own decision and our analysis on the current world situation, and we came to the conclusion that we can’t go ahead with these programmes.’’
On whether the Libyan government was responsible for the Pan Am 103 bombing at Lockerbie, Scotland, Gaddafi said: ‘‘Lockerbie is buried, and we don’t want to dig it up….. We are finished with Lockerbie. It is something of the past.’’ About Israel, he said Libyan policy is explained in the White Book, namely the establishment of ‘‘Isratine’’ or ‘‘Israeltine’’, a single state for Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel is not prepared for such a state because the birth rate of Palestinians is higher than that of Israelis, and in a single state, the Palestinians will be in a majority in what is supposed to be a Jewish state. —(PTI)
