No. 1/12 LIBYA - Gaddafi last state run television broadcasts Sunday August 21, 2011

40 years libya.avi

HISTORICAL FACT: Regardless of Gaddafi's murderous reputation, the historical facts are that under King Idris, 94% of Libyans were illiterate, infant mortality rate was 40%, and out of each 2 newborns one died within the first year. In the 1950s the total population of Libya was a little over 1 million, with Fezzan almost uninhabited. When Libyans open a water tap, the water is from his Great Artificial River project, bringing underground water to the Sahara desert. See video No. 9, at 1:43 minutes for a documentation of this.

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The series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa has become known as the "Arab Spring". It was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 following Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment. With the success of the protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and Yemen, then spread to other countries, with the largest, most organised demonstrations often occurring on a "day of rage", usually Friday after noon prayers. The protests have also triggered similar unrest outside the region.

As of August 2011, demonstrations have resulted in the overthrow of two heads of state: Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following the Tunisian revolution protests, and in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011, after 18 days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency. During this period of regional unrest, several leaders announced their intentions to step down at the end of their current terms. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced that he would not seek re-election in 2015, as did Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose term ends in 2014, although there have been increasingly violent demonstrations demanding his immediate resignation. Protests in Jordan have also caused the resignation of the government resulting in former Prime Minister and Ambassador to Israel Marouf al-Bakhit being appointed prime minister by King Abdullah and tasked with forming a new government. Another leader, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, announced on 23 April that he would step down within 30 days in exchange for immunity, a deal the Yemeni opposition informally accepted on 26 April; Saleh then reneged on the deal, prolonging the Yemeni uprising.

Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has refused to step down, causing a civil war between his loyalists and rebels based in Benghazi.

On Sunday August 21, 2011, Libyan state television stations went off the air, as rebel forces entered the capital city Tripoli.