Summary

Libya

Source Archive Films by Getty Images
Title: Libya
File Number: MTR-1BO Beta SP (PAL)
Color: Color
Type: News
Year: 1987
Description: Color 1987 Libya Gadhafi McCann interview Mu'ammar Gadhafi, Moammar Gadhafi, Muammar Gadhafi. 06:00:31:06 Interview with Gadhafi (interviewer and translator are off screen) he is asked what he is unhappy with in the progress or events in Libya, Gadhafi replies (via translator) that the revolutionary program is developing succesfully and that the peoples authority has been firmly established, and the people are grabing and holding their arms and practicing authority, as a matter of fact we are still suffering from the problems of the past because of the european domination over our people and their attempt to cause the Libyan people to loose confidence in themselves, we are trying to phase that out, to put an end to that, we are trying to change that through instigation, through instigation of the masses to put an end to this, against the real reasons which made our people feel this way, the result will be a revolution against those who have caused this psychological frustration. 06:03:52:14 Interviewer starts saying that few people in the western world ever hear the truth about Libya, that they are told that Libya is a terrorist nation that Colonel Gadhafi is a terrorist, and so many of them believe it. Because there is a lot of racism in the way these people (western world) think, if many thousands of Libyans die in the struggle against colonialism, or if sixty, seventy, or eighty Libyans die on April 15th, they really don't care very much because they are colored people and far away, and they are told to hate them, but when one British person dies there is an enormous political fuss, and everybody remembers, I know that is very unjust and unfair to the libyan people, never the less, after the April 15th bombing there were many people in Britain who opposed what Margaret Thatcher had done and felt she had shamed Britain by allowing the American bombers to take off, however many of them still were effected by the memory of the death of the woman British Police constible in 1984. Gadhafi answers (through translator) that somebody might get killed in Britain on purpose, or planted by the British police, those terrorists that were gathered by British intelligence, because we have arrested one now and we have interogated them and found out their identity and found out that those who staged demonstrations against the Libyan people were unemployed people from some asian countries, recruited by the British police to stage the demonstrations against Libya. we have found out that there is actually only one or two Libyan people demonstrating one of them has been arrested. So their reason to believe the British woman who was killed might also have been staged, as opposed to the ten thousand innocent Libyans, likewise she was a police woman in security, death was a risk she took, not like the innocent Libyan people who died in Tripoli. We believe Margaret Thatcher is dirty and mean, is trying to make a point politically, and could have easily conspired to create the incident of this woman's death, and have the end justify the means. Gadhafi chimes in at this point and speaks to the translator, the translator then adds she did not restrain herself, she did not think twice about sending american bombers over, so why should she think twice about killing this woman for her own cause. 06:13:01:09 Interviewer says: you believe in the Unity of the Arab nation, and that all the other people should be of rule of the masses, and yet in other parts of the Arab world, and some of the very important parts there are reactionary governments which are pro-american, and since camp David that has been a stable David, that has been particularly through Egypt, how significant was camp David in reinforcing the reactionaries within the Arab world, and can I add to that,do you believe that we know that there is a reactionary government in Sudan, until recently a pro-american government which has been overthrown there has been advances and retreats in various countries but broadly speaking since camp David, do you believe that the Arab people as a whole have advanced towards liberation or have they gone back under preasure from the west? Gadhafi speaks, (off screen) the cameraman says they are running out of tape and the interviewer asks if the translator can translate the answers later so they can get three more questions in before the tape runs out, the translator says yes. 06:17:31:20 Interviewer asks: in the context of the diplomatic and commercial reaction to the April 15th bombing how do you now view the relations between the United States and Europe. Gadhafi responds but answer is not translated by translator 06:19:23:00 Interviewer asks:Do you personally ever get tired, being at the center of things, and so many people depending on you for energy and inspiration, have you ever wish you had never entered politics and that you were perhaps a writer or a doctor. Gadhafi answers but again no translation from translator. 06:20:32:22 end of interview, camera zooms out to reveal interviewer (back of head), he thanks Gadhafi, asks him for autographs in the green book and possibly shooting footage of him outdoors.
}