Gaddafi says protesters are on hallucinogenic drugs

Gaddafi says protesters are on hallucinogenic drugs | Reuters: "Gaddafi, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech.

This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory, with much of his country out of government control.

'Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe,' said Gaddafi.

'They are criminals ... is it logical that you let this phenomenon continue in any city? ... We do not see what is happening in Egypt and Tunisia happening in Libya, ever!'

'Those (in Egypt and Tunisia) are people needing their governments and they have demands; our power is in the hands of the people,' he said, a typical reference to his idiosyncratic rule, which he says is based on giving power direct to the people."