World greets Gaddafi death as end of despotism,war

As Libyans on the streets of Tripoli and Sirte fired automatic weapons into the air and danced for joy,world leaders began to weigh in on the death of the man who had ruled the oil-rich north African nation for more than 40 years.

In Rome,Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said after the death of his onetime ally: “Now the war is over.”

“Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus passes the glory of the world),” Berlusconi said about the ousted ruler of Italy’s former colony,quoting a Latin tag.

In Brussels,the European Union said that Gaddafi’s death “marks the end of an era of despotism.”

The news means an end also to the “repression from which the Libyan people have suffered for too long,” EU President Herman Van Rompuy Van Rompuy said in a joint statement with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek will visit Libya from Saturday.

“I am happy I will be visiting a country fully liberated from a dictator who has imposed his iron fist for more than 40 years. Now Libya can truly turn the page,” he said.

In Washington,senior US Senator John McCain said the death marked the end of the first phase of the Libyan revolution.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi held out the promise of a better future for the people he ruled for four decades.

People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future,he said in a statement in Downing Street.

France today said the death of Muammar Gaddafi marked the end of 40 years of tyranny in Libya and pledged its support to the people of the country for readying a political roadmap.

“The death of Gaddafi and fall of Sirte marks the end of a very difficult period and 40 years of tyranny in Libya. It is the beginning of new period for the people of Libya,” France Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters here.

He said it was up to the people of Libya to decide their future.

“We are ready to support the political roadmap in Libya. New period is starting and it is a new beginning for the people of Libya,” Juppe said.

Ousted Libyan dictator Gaddafi,a maverick who had ruled the country with an iron hand for over four decades,was shot and killed by the rebels today in his hometown of Sirte after weeks of heavy fighting.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday he hoped the end of the hunt for Muammar Gaddafi would lead to peace and democratic government in Libya.

We hope that there will be peace in Libya,and that all those who are governing the (Libyan) state,different representatives of Libyan tribes,will reach a final agreement on the configuration of power and Libya will be a modern democratic state,Medvedev said.

He spoke at news conference with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after reports that Gaddafi had been captured.

Rutte called Gaddafi\’s capture great news and said he hoped the deposed leader would soon face the International Criminal Court in the Hague. He spoke before a senior Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) military said Gaddafi had died of wounds suffered during his capture.

Russia,which had billions of dollars of oil,arms and construction contracts with Gaddafi\’s Libya,recognised the NTC as Libya\’s legitimate government on Sept 1.

Moscow allowed Western military intervention in Libya to go ahead by abstaining from a vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution in March.

It then repeatedly accused NATO forces that have been carrying out air strikes of overstepping their mandate to protect civilians and of siding with anti-Gaddafi forces in the civil war.

Medvedev had said previously Gaddafi would not be welcome if he sought refuge in Russia.