TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi railed against the United States Saturday in a speech to mark the 32nd anniversary of his rise to power - saying it was controlled by 400 powerful families and mocking it for being afraid of a skinny man called Osama bin Laden.(Read photo caption below)
The speech culminated two days of celebrations marking Gadhafi's coup that ousted King Idris Sept. 1, 1969, while the aging monarch was out of the country. Gadhafi, who was 27 at the time of the revolution, is now 59.
Most of the festivities took place Friday. African groups danced in Tripoli's streets. Gadhafi threw an open-air banquet for his guests - including several African presidents - and he presided over the graduation of police and army officers.
Dressed in a khaki safari suit, Gadhafi appeared relaxed Saturday as he addressed members of the country's General People's Congress, a legislative body whose members are elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees.
In Libya, there is no president, no parliament and no Cabinet. Gadhafi holds no formal office and, in theory, Libya is a jamahiriya, a state of the masses, governed by the populace through local councils.
In his speech, Gadhafi said the system of government in the United States, which he has long been at odds with, is ``antiquated and should be thrown in the garbage. It belongs in the museum.'' He said parties in Britain are just ``clubs for noblemen and lords.''
``America is not a democracy. ... It is governed by 400 families that control power and arms,'' Gadhafi said.
Gadhafi's relations with the United States have long been strained. In 1986, U.S. aircraft bombed Tripoli, and the U.S. government imposed the sanctions it still maintains. The U.S. State Department considers Libya one of seven countries that sponsor terrorism
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi addresses his country's General People's Congress, late Saturday night, Sept. 1, 2001, in a speech to mark the 32 anniversary of his rise to power. Gadhafi railed against the United States, saying it was controlled by 400 powerful families and mocking it for being afraid of a skinny man called Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)