Gaddafi: The last will and testament

http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=3&id=27056

Gaddafi: The last will and testament

23/10/2011 
By Sawsan Abu-Husain and Khaled Mahmoud

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – The images and video clips of Gaddafi's final moments has reportedly shocked his family and supporters. Al-Gaddafiya tribal elders have formally called on the Libyan National Transitional Council [NTC] to surrender Muammar Gaddafi's body to them and allow the former Libyan leader to be buried in Sirte. This statement was issued as a will attributed to Gaddafi has been unearthed. 

The last will and testament of Muammar Gaddafi, which was reportedly handed to three of his relatives; one of whom was killed, the second arrest, whilst the third managed to escape the fighting with the will intact, was published by the pro-Gaddafi Seven Days website. In this will, which was reportedly written in Sirte on 17 October 2011, Gaddafi said that he wanted to be buried in Sirte, asked that his family be treated respectfully, and called on his supporters to continue their resistance. This comes as the pro-Gaddafi Revolutionary Committee swore to avenge the former Libyan leader's death, swearing to "transform Libya into hell."

At the time of writing, Gaddafi's body is on display in a cold storage facility in Misrata, alongside the body of his son Mutassim, and feared Libyan army chief Abu Bakr Younis.

Al-Gaddafiya tribal elders have issued a statement calling on the NTC to surrender Gaddafi's corpse and allow the former Libyan leader to be buried in Sirte. The statement read "we, the elders and chiefs of the al-Gaddafiya tribe in Libya and abroad claim the right to receive the body of our son Muammar Gaddafi, and his sons, to bury them in their hometown of Sirte according to the principles and values of Islam. We call on the NTC to respond to this legitimate demand. Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return" [Surat al-Baqara; Verse 156]. This statement was signed by the "elders and chiefs of the al-Gaddafiya tribe.

As for Gaddafi's last will and testament; the former Libyan leader asked to be buried in Sirte, in the Gaddafi family plot. He also called on his family to be treated well, particularly the women and the children, whilst he also called for his supporters to continue their resistance against NATO and the Libyan rebels. 

The Gaddafi-affiliated Seven Days website published a copy of Gaddafi's will. It read:

This is my will. I, Muammar bin Mohammad bin Abdussalam bin Humayd bin Abu Manyar bin Humayd bin Nayil al Fuhsi Gaddafi, do swear that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammad is his Messenger, peace be upon him. I pledge that I will die as a Muslim.

Should I be killed, I would like to be buried, according to Muslim rituals, in the clothes I was wearing at the time of my death but with my body unwashed, in the cemetery of Sirte, next to my family and relatives.

I would like that my family, especially the women and children, to be treated well after my death. The Libyan people should protect its identity, achievements, history and the honourable image of its ancestors and heroes. The Libyan people should not relinquish the sacrifices of the free and best people.

I call on my supporters to continue the resistance, and fight any foreign aggressor against Libya, today, tomorrow and always.

Let the free people of the world know that I could have sold out our cause in return for a secure and stable personal life. I received many offers to this effect but chose to be at the vanguard of the confrontation as a badge of duty and honour.

Even if we do not win immediately, we will provide a lesson to future generations that choosing to protect the nation is an honour and selling it out is the greatest betrayal that history will forever remember, however they try to portray this."

Sources within the pro-Gaddafi ranks have claimed that Gaddafi family members and supporters were shocked by the images and video clips showing capture at the hands of a group of Libyan rebels. 

A statement attributed to the Gaddafi loyalist Libyan Revolutionary Committee said that NATO had carried out "the worst crime of assassination in the history of the world by targeting Gaddafi and those around him, in addition to its crimes of targeting innocent civilians in Libya over the past months which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of men, women, and children."

The statement added "the mujahid [fighter] Muammar Gaddafi, the mujahid [fighter] Abu Bakr Younis, and the mujahid [fighter] Mutassim Billah Muammar Gaddafi were injured [in the NATO attack], and the agents [of foreign powers] finished them off in cold-blood and the same kind of abuse that they have practiced against the innocent Libyan people who have fallen into their hands."

The Libyan Revolutionary Committee also pledged to avenge Gaddafi's death, saying "our members will not rest until we have gained holy revenge."