Muammar Gaddafi shot dead!

October 20, 2011 will be a date to be cause for celebration by Libyans and many others in the region and around the world, of that there is no doubt. For it is the day that Muammar Gaddafi’s reign of terror and monarchy came to an end at the hands of his own countrymen. He was shot and subsequently died while in Sirte which is where he grew up and had apparently been in hiding for some time. He was reportedly shot and died while riding in an ambulance although the driver stated he was already deceased when picked up in Sirte. Now there is speculation as to exactly how he was killed with some saying he might have been hanged and others thinking he was roughed up after first being shot.

Treat his body with the dignity bestowed on any other Muslim

Although Gaddafi was considered to be a martyr and a mad man, ruling Libya for the past 42 years with an iron fist, many are saying that now that he is dead his body should be treated like any other Muslim and be properly washed, treated in a dignified manner, then buried quickly. Gaddafi’s clan is now demanding the right to bury him but it may already be too late. Dozens of people reportedly filed by the body, which was on display in a meat locker, so they could take photos with their cell phones and cameras, wanting to see proof that the despotic ruler was finally dead. People brought their children out to celebrate, the carnival like atmosphere and fireworks displays showing the contempt and also the relief that his rein was finally over.

For 42 years Libyans lived in fear and suffering

If things did not go his way Gaddafi simply imposed restructuring measures for Libyan society and forced the people to comply. He ruled with an iron fist and an abundance of trigger happy soldiers for 42 years. When he was shot to death on October 20, 2011 he was on the run and hiding from his own countrymen who had been hunting him down since mid February of this year. Muammar Gaddafi seized power in Libya back in 1969, making him one of the longest ruling dictators in history. His actions abolished the 1951 Libyan Constitution and took away all civil liberty the Libyan people had formerly known. Then imposing his own political ideology, he and his family took over a large portion of the Libyan economical base. While rising oil prices made the country wealthy, most of that wealth went to Gaddafi and his followers.

A fitting end to one of the world’s most brutal leaders

February of 2011 saw the beginning of the end for Muammar Gaddafi and his bloody reign of the previous forty plus years. Rebels began an uprising that ultimately ended with his death, reportedly hiding in a drainage ditch and pleading for mercy and for his rights to be respected. He was 69 years of age and hated by millions when he was gunned down and put on display for the world to see that his long tyrannical dictatorship was finally over.