Libyans march with protest note for U.S.

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 6

Libyans march with protest note for U.S.

NZPA-AP Tripoli Several hundred Libyans staged an anti-American demonstration while local political groups yesterday debated ways to counter what they described as a United States “policy of terror” against Libya. The protesters marched on the Belgian Embassy, which represents United States interests in Libya.

The sources said the group delivered a protest note to the Belgian Ambassador, Mr Roland Burny. The official Libyan news agency, Jana, reported the statement said - that, “the United States Administration describes the freedomfighters as terrorists, but the real terrorists are those who oppress the peoples that fight for their freedom like the Palestinian and South African people.” The demonstration ended peacefully after about an hour. Meetings of Libya’s estimated 1500 Basic People’s Congresses continued yesterday. The groups, designed to put policy-making into the hands of the people directly, have been meeting in emergency sessions to deal with the United States economic sanctions. The Arab People’s Congress, which Libyan officials describe as a group of Arab revolutionaries or .various nationalities from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and other Arab nations, has also discussed the sanctions. At the meeting, one speaker exhorted the group in Arabic to unleash suicide squads against the United

States, saying, “we should take the initiative instead of taking the first blow.” A child called on all Arabs to remove their money from American banks and establish inter-Arab financial solidarity. Libyan television has been running scenes of America, ranging from violent clips from the film “The Godfather” to a scene from “Roots” that shows black slaves in.chains. At the week-end Libyan television viewers watched Lee Marvin shoot down Ronald Reagan in the 1964 film "The Killers” and say, “I told you you couldn’t run.” V-/ The film clip was followed by an image of a blackened map of the United States fading into film . footage of the assassination attempt against Mr Reagan in 1981. That scerie was followed by a picture of the American Statue of Liberty shattered into pieces. The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, yesterday warned that an attack by the United States could trigger a third world war. “The Mediterranean would be the area of war ... and at ~ least we can destroy the (United States) Sixth Fleet,” he said.. .. “In our home, our children, our families in Libya expect every day to oe challenged and attacked by the American strategic force, Sixth Fleet or the bombers like the B-52,” he said. “We are expecting this attack every day.”