One of Moammar Khadafy’s sons said that his father is ready to surrender and hand power to the Libyan rebels, another son then vowed he and their father would never be taken alive. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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The bizarre statements came in rapid fire succession as the rebels laid siege to Khadafy’s hometown of Sirte – where the deposed despot may be hiding – and demanded a white flag.
Saadi Khadafy, a professional soccer player, phoned al Arabiya TV from hiding to make a conciliatory statement, saying they were willing to talk to prevent more bloodshed.
“We are prepared to share power,” he said, calling for a truce. “The rebels are our brothers.”
A rebel commander, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, told the Associated Press that Saadi had called him earlier to ask if his safety could be guaranteed.
“We told him ‘Don’t fear for your life. We will guarantee your rights as a human being, and will deal with you humanely,'” Belhaj said.
But as Saadi was speaking on one news network, Saif al-Islam Khadafy, the despot’s more militant son, called Italian TV to vow a fight to the death.
“Victory is near,” Saif told RAI TV.
He said his dad is “fine.”
“We are drinking tea and drinking coffee and sitting with our families and fighting,” he said.
He said Sirte had 20,000 men ready to repel the rebels.
Saif Khadafy’s capture was announced by the rebels last week – causing general celebration – but then he showed up at a hotel frequented by reporters to taunt the rebels with his obvious freedom.
He has not been seen since.
His sister, mother and two brothers fled to Algeria Monday.
Meanwhile, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said he thinks Washington should withhold help for Libya’s rebels until they hand over the Lockerbie bomber.
Schumer called on the State Department to cut off the new Libyan Transitional National Council – including continuing to keep Libyan assets frozen – until the convicted bomber is extradited.
“If the new Libyan government continues to shield this convicted terrorist from justice, then they should not get one more cent of support from the United States,” Schumer said in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Abdelbasset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people, is dying of prostate cancer.
He was released from a Scottish prison two years ago because doctors swore he had less than three months to live.
CNN found him in Tripoli last weekend, hooked up to an IV and an oxygen tank and seemingly in a coma. He was attended only by his son and aged mother after doctors hired by the regime had fled.
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez wants the TNC to allow Americans immediate access to question al-Megrahi.
He said al-Megrahi remains an “important source” of information on the still-murky circumstances of the bombing.
The Obama administration has asked the TNC to review the al-Megrahi case.
“The U.S. indictment of al-Megrahi … remains pending in U.S. District Court,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. “The investigation of the bombing continues.”
A rebel leader vowed earlier this week that the new government would never extradite a Libyan citizen.
Scotland, which says it alone has the legal right to demand extradition, said it won’t.
