'Gaddafi Ouster Insult to Libyans'

Aisha Gaddafi, the daughter of Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, says that asking her father to leave office and the North African state is an insult to all citizens of the country., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

'Gaddafi ouster insult to Libyans'

Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:37AM

Aisha Gaddafi, daughter of Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi, greeted her father's supporters at the heavily fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound in Tripoli April 14.

The daughter of Libya's embattled ruler Muammar Gaddafi has stated that calling on her father to renounce power amounts to an insult to Libyans.

"Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans," Reuters quoted Aisha Gaddafi as saying on Friday.

Aisha's comment comes a day after many world leaders, including some Arab politicians, called on her father to give up power.

She also accused NATO of trying to kill her father by airstrikes under the pretext of defending civilians.

"Who are the civilians you are protecting? Are they the people who have automatic weapons and hand grenades? Are they the innocent civilians you are trying to protect?” she asked. She was apparently referring to Libyan rebels that have taken up arms against the Libyan leader following a popular uprising in the country that began in February.

In a joint statement on Thursday, British, French and the US heads of state vowed that NATO airstrikes on Libya would continue until Gaddafi steps down, saying Gaddafi's grip on power would be an "unconscionable betrayal" of the Libyan people.

"So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain protected and the pressure on the regime builds," the Western leaders asserted.

However, leaders of the BRICS group, the world's five major emerging powers, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, have criticized the West for waging a war on Libya, expressing concerns that the NATO-led campaign on crisis-hit Libya has caused civilian casualties.