Muammar Gaddafi refuses to stand down amid widespread anti-government protests

PanARMENIAN.Net - Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has refused to stand down amid widespread anti-government protests which he said had tarnished the image of the country.

In his first major speech since unrest began last week, Col Gaddafi said the whole world looked up to Libya and that protests were "serving the devil," BBC reported.

Reading from the country's constitution, he said enemies of Libya would be executed.

Rights groups say nearly 300 have been killed in the violence so far.

A defiant and angry Col Gaddafi said that he had brought glory to Libya. As he had no official position in Libya from which to resign, he would remain the head of the revolution, he said.

He blamed the unrest on "cowards and traitors" who were seeking to portray Libya as a place of chaos and to "humiliate" Libyans. At other points he referred to them as cockroaches or "rats and mercenaries".

State TV had said Col Gaddafi was going to announce "major reforms" in his speech, but the only such reference was to some devolution of power to local authorities.

He called on "those who love Muammar Gaddafi" to come on to the streets in support of him, telling them not to be afraid of the "gangs".

He urged young people to form committees "for the defense of the revolution and the defense of Gaddafi". He said they would "cleanse Libya house by house".

"If matters require, we will use force, according to international law and the Libyan constitution," he said, and warned that the country could descend into civil war or be occupied by the US if protests continued.

Anyone who played games with the country's unity would be executed, he said, referring to the Chinese authorities' crushing of the student protests in Tiananmen Square among other historical events.

He also railed against western countries, in particular the United States and Britain, which he accused of trying to destabilize Libya.