Gadhafi in Minsk?

[William Kelly]

Revolutionary Program: Gadhafi in Minsk?

It was reported from Belarus, meanwhile, that a military plane from Libya landed in Minsk on Monday with 15 people on board. It was immediately moved into a hangar. The Belorusski Partizan said it was met by diplomats and intelligence officials, fuelling rumours that Gaddafi and his family were on the aircraft.

Belarus Denies Rumors on Gaddafi's Arrival in Minsk

2011-09-28 22:17:45 Xinhua Web Editor: Yihang

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denied rumors that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has arrived in Minsk.

http://english.cri.c...2724s660511.htm

"It's perhaps impossible to comment on this nonsense," a Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters.

"One of the planes carried Gaddafi himself and his family members, and the other two planes have delivered Libya's gold reserve, which the ex-head of the Libyan state intends to invest in the development of Belarusian agricultural farms. Gaddafi's famous marquee has already been pitched near the National Library in Minsk, and you can come and see it," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a sarcastic commentary on reports by a number of Internet services that Gaddafi arrived in Minsk on Monday.

Muammar Monitor: Colonelarrives in Minsk, sets up shop…err, tent

Published: 29 September, 2011, 10:49

http://rt.com/news/m...elter-gold-611/

Do many of you knowwhere Minsk Belarus is? Libya's hide-and-seek champion Muammar Gaddafi does. He knows it so well, infact, that he's just relocated there, wife and national gold in tow.

It's an understandable choice of location. First of all, friend and ideological ally Aleksandr Lukashenko (more often referred to as Europe's Last Dictator) is guaranteed to give Gaddafi a warm welcome. In fact,he's already set aside a chunk of prime real estate right by the country's huge National Library, where Gaddafi has pitched his tent up. He's there right now, polishing his bullion, while the wife makes some tea (it does get cold at nightin Belarus).

According to an unnamed diplomat in Minsk, despite the no-fly zone (and the bomb-a-lot-shoot-at-unsanctioned-planes zone) over Libya, Gaddafi managed to sneak three aircraft out of his shot-up country. The first carried him and the missus, and the other two brought all the gold Gaddafi's been hiding intunnels, under rocks and buried in desert sands. The same unnamed Belarusian source said negotiations are already underway (in the tent by the library) toinvest the gold in village towns in the country. It's as yet unclear whether "invest in" is being seen by Gaddafi as "hide in – until the dust over Libya settles."

This is, of course, ahoax – an appropriately jokey reaction by a diplomat in Minsk to yet another Gaddafi sighting (of which there have been hundreds). In the months since he was last seen in public, Libya's former leader has been sighted any where and everywhere, including Algeria, Chad, Venezuela, Tunisia, South Africa and Niger. Libya's National Transitional Council and various NATO officials on the ground constantly claim to be "very close" to Gaddafi or having finally uncovered his actual whereabouts. But despite those reports, the Colonel remains at large, sporadically communicating with local TV and radio channels, denying the fact he has – or ever will – left the country.

Recent reports have unearthed another potential blunder. It seems that Gaddafi's ability to evade capture may be due to none other than President Sarkozy. Back in 2008, Sarkozy (who was prime minister at the time) apparently sold an armoured Mercedes 4x4to the Libyan leader. The car reportedly has an in-built command system which allows Gaddafi to communicate with his troops and serious anti-tracking equipment which prevents NATO from locating the man.

There are thousands of articles claiming that yet another "source" has said Gaddafi is being helped by a Tuareg tribe somewhere on the Libya-Algeria border. Google has also joined in the "where in the world is Muammar Gaddafi?" game and in response to a "Gaddafilocation" search states that the "best guess for Muammar Gaddafi location is Libya". But until the man is captured, all those rumors remain just that – and considering the Colonel's evasive techniques, a Google best guess is all the world is going toget.

Katerina Azarova, RT

Edited September 29, 2011 by William Kelly