20110304
Xinhua
TRIPOLI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The anti-government protest in Libya has become an armed rebellion supported by foreign parties, instead of a peaceful movement, spokesman of the Libya government Mousar Ibrahim told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Thursday in the capital of Libya.

"We are in crisis, no doubt, but not as the reports of some media. There are 144 foreign journalists here now, who have found no evidence for massacres or killings. All they have found are individual cases here and there, which are armed rebellions against the government," Mousar said.

The anti-government protests firstly broke out in the eastern city of Benghazi of the north African country on Feb. 16, demanding leader Muammar Gaddafi to end his 42-year rule.

The protests have escalated into bloody clashes between pro- Gaddafi troops and anti-government protestors in several cities, killing hundreds of people of both sides, according to Mousar.

"These are not peaceful protestors but armed individuals, many of whom are affiliated to fundamental Islamic groups," Mousar said.

"They attacked military bases and police stations," he said, adding "the point is that it is not a peaceful movement towards political change, but an armed rebellion. No country in the world, of whatever political system, would allow this."

Meanwhile, Mousar referred the UN resolution 1970, which imposes a weapon cargo ban on Libya, as "one of the biggest jokes in the history of UN," saying that the UN should send a fact- finding mission, instead of making decisions "completely based on media reports."

"You can not just accuse an alleged 'crime' based on media reports, and then take it to court without giving the party a chance to defend itself. It is absurd," the spokesman said.

The Libyan government has asked the UN and other NGO groups to come and see the country with their own eyes, said the official.

In the meantime, the spokesman accused the West of looking beyond the mass and fixing their eyes "on our oil," saying "We are one of the biggest oil production countries in the world. Think about the case of Iraq to understand what is happening in Libya now. They (the West) do not care about Libyan people, they only want chaos in Libya, so they could get oil and save their trembling economy," said Mousar.

Moreover, he said the Gaddafi regime is saving the national unity and moving the country towards peaceful political changes.

He vowed that the country will be more open with more media freedom, saying "We will have better civil services and better education. There is a national dialogue, which has already started. We will have a peaceful solution to the situation in a few weeks, but we want the West to keep out of our country."

At the end of the interview, Mousar denied that leader Muammar Gaddafi has lost support of the major tribes in the country, as was reported by some media previously.

He warned that Libya is a tribal country, without a central government, the tribes with arms will fight for wealth and political power against each other.

Although the east of Libya has been under the control of anti- government opposition, the capital of Tripoli and west of the country is still heavily guarded by military forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.