Word: libyans
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...tempting to dismiss Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi's call this week for a jihad against Switzerland as just another round in the feud between the two countries. But it would be a mistake to treat Gaddafi's rhetoric as mere theater. Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan leader's second-eldest son, who many suspect is Gaddafi's likely successor, tells TIME that Libya's row with Switzerland is evidence of a far more serious and urgent issue within Libya, which is grappling with how democratic and Westernized the country should become after decades of isolation...
...police arrested Gaddafi's youngest son Hannibal and his wife in July 2008, for allegedly assaulting two of their servants in a Geneva hotel. The couple denied the charges, which were quickly dropped, but the row continued. Offended by Swiss newspaper portrayals of his son, Gaddafi withdrew billions in Libyan funds from Swiss banks in July of last year, prompting the Swiss president to fly to Tripoli to apologize for the arrest. (See pictures of the rise of Gaddafi...
...Saif was also blunt in criticizing Libyan officials who send mixed messages to the West, proclaiming the country a new ally and business partner of Europe and the United States, yet then resisting Western values. "Part of the problem is with the Libyan side. It's not enough for us to blame others," he says. "We are not serious enough, we are sending confusing messages." Sighing deeply, he said: "I think we are not ready to deal in the right way with the Western world, because they have different rules of the game...
...Libyan officials say the visa ban could last some time, in part because many applaud Gaddafi for his stand against Switzerland. "How could the Swiss put 188 names on this list [of Libyans banned from the country] including the Leader of the Revolution?" asks Abdul Majeed el-Dursi, director of the government's press office for foreign journalists. "This is something which is done to criminals. I think it will continue until they [Switzerland] comes to their senses...
...short drive from the delegate's hotel, down a side street in a crowded neighborhood, al-Megrahi's sprawling house is now guarded around the clock by uniformed police. When I tried to pay a visit to the family over the weekend, three Libyan police officers outside the high, bolted gates blocked the way, ordering me to leave. U.S. companies hope they might have an easier time breaking down the barriers in Libya...