Benghazi and the Champ de Mars Massacre

Shoes Shown as Saif Speaks

Only a deep crisis and shaky grasp of power would cause the Libyan leader's son, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, to make a broadcast (for full text see here) in which he stated that the Libyan army erred in its handling of anti-government protests. As reported in Bloomberg, "in the most serious challenge to Qaddafi’s 41 years of rule in the country, thousands of people demonstrated yesterday in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city. They were met by gunfire from forces loyal to Qaddafi, Human Rights Watch said, citing reports from witnesses." ("Libya Violence Deepens as Protestors Claim Control of Second-Largest City," by Mariam Fam and Ola Galal, Bloomberg, Feb 21, 2011)

One is reminded of the attempt to stop protesters in the French Revolution.  Turning state forces on the public, only reminds the public that there is little in the existing regime worth keeping.  To paraphrase from Wikipedia, when, in July 1791 a large crowd gathered at the Champ de Mars to sign a petition demanding the removal of King Louis XVI, "the marquis de Lafayette and the National Guard...tried to disperse the crowd. In retaliation, the crowd threw stones at the National Guard. After firing unsuccessful warning shots, the National Guard opened fire directly on the crowd. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown; estimates range from a dozen to fifty."