Gadhafi's lesson

In March 2006 Muammar al-Gadhafi for the first time after several
years visited some western countries where he became an immediate
celebrity or almost.
Given verbatem is a report published in The Times of India, Lucknow edition.

Gadhafi's lesson for West Asia on TV

New York: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, in a rare moment of
self-criticism, lashed out at what he described as "backward" socities
in the Middle East, arguing that government heavy-handedness in
dealing with political opposition stemmed from the violent nature of
that dissent. "You ask us, `Why do you oppress oposition in the Middle
East?'" Gadhafi told attendees at a Columbia University panel
discussion on democracy, on Thursday, speaking in Arabic during a live
video appearance.
"Opposition in the Middle East is quite different from opposition in
advanced countries. In our countries, the opposition takes the form of
explosions, assassinations, killing." "Because opposition in our
country is different from opposition in your country. Our opposition
resorts to bombs, assassinations, explosions, subversive acts -- in
some cases before 9/11 events, said Gadhafi. AP