Libya dismisses rumors of Qadhafi poor health

Libya Monday ridiculed rumors about Moamer Kadhafi's state of health after press reports claimed he was in a coma, and aired pictures of the veteran leader on state television.

The state news agency JANA said the rumors about Qadhafi, the Arab world's longest serving leader, were the subject of joking during a telephone conversation with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi Monday morning.

"The phone call was an opportunity for the Italian prime minister to joke about a lie created by a traitor media outlet about the brother leader's health," JANA said.

A healthy-looking Qadhafi was shown greeting the wife of Minni Minawi, former Sudanese rebel leader and now senior aide to President Omar al-Beshir.

The report on Qadhafi’s poor health was carried by Palestinian news agency Maan, quoting "informed sources". It claimed that Qadhafi had suffered a blood clot on the brain and was in a coma after being rushed to hospital Sunday.

Maan later removed the report from its website.

Prodi, on a visit to Prague, mentioned his telephone calls with Qadhafi, saying these lasted for an hour and a half late Sunday and again Monday.

"He told me that he was well and these things were said from time to time about political leaders," Prodi told a news conference.

"I told him that at home in Italy we say that you will enjoy a long life in such circumstances."

The Italian premier said the veteran Libyan leader told him that he was in the desert and "that it was beautiful there."

Oil-rich Libya, accused of waging international attacks including the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, has gradually returned to the international fold after Qadhafi's December 2003 announcement he was abandoning weapons of mass destruction programs.

Longest serving leader

The rumors about Qadhafi's health emerged almost exactly a year to the day after Washington announced in May 2006 it was restoring diplomatic ties with Tripoli and removing it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

According to JANA, Qadhafi also spoke by telephone with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of neighboring Tunisia.

Qadhafi is also due to address England's prestigious Oxford University Union by satellite link Wednesday, in a mark of his newfound acceptability in the West after years of pariah status.

Qadhafi was the youngest child of a nomadic family and was born in 1942. He grew up in the desert region of Sirte and received a traditional religious primary education. He then attended the Sebha preparatory school in Fezzan from 1956 to 1961.
Qadhafi and a small group of friends that he met in this school went on to form the core leadership of a militant revolutionary group that would eventually seize control of the country.
His inspiration was Gamal Abdul Nasser, the Egyptian officer who led a military coup that overthrew the monarchy and completed Egypt’s liberation from British coloialism. Nasser was the champion of Arab unity.
In 1961, Khadafi was expelled from Sebha for his political activism. He then went on to study law at the University of Libya, where he graduated with high grades. In 1963, he joined the Military Academy in Benghazi where he and a few of his fellow militants organized a secretive group dedicated to overthrowing the pro-Western Libyan monarchy.
After graduating in 1965, he was sent to Britain for further training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, returning in 1966 as a commissioned officer in the Signal Corps.
On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by Khadafi staged a military coup against King Idris I, while he was in Turkey for medical treatment.
Before the end of September 1, the monarchy was abolished and the Libyan Arab Republic was proclaimed and since then, Qadhafi has been in charge of the country.
Khadafi is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution."
Unlike other military dictators, Gaddafi did not promote himself to the rank of general upon seizing power, but rather accepted a ceremonial promotion from captain to colonel and has remained at this rank.