Gaddafi goes back to school

The conflict in Libya has approached a stalemate. The opposing armies continue to move back and forth along the coastal road, capturing and relinquishing the same territory in an increasingly futile military ebb and flow.

NATO’s intervention has been unable to resolve the issue, and the African Union’s (AU) attempt to broker a deal was similarly inconclusive. 

AU leaders arrived in Benghazi on Monday to be greeted by a hostile crowd unwilling to even hear the peace plan on offer.  

The proposal failed to indicate whether Gaddafi himself would be required to step down, nor was it binding but AU leaders hoped it would make a difference.

So the people of Libya are left to endure a continuing war of attrition – one that will only be resolved when one side or the other has a change of heart and mind.

Inside Story, takes a step away from its usual format of discussion and analysis, taking you to the heart of this conflict, offering a small glimpse into mind of Muammar Gadaffi.  

This episode shows a film of Libya’s leader making a trip to a school in Tripoli. His visit took place on Saturday and was his first televised public appearance in five days.

Trying to look as relaxed as he could, even while surrounded by bodyguards, Gaddafi toured the school at a leisurely pace, listening to the children shouting anti-Western slogans and watching appreciativley as they chanted: “Only God, Muammar and Libya.”

This episode of Inside Story aired on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.