Libyan leader regrets Ben Ali's fall

Moamar Gathafi says 'none better than' former president Ben Ali to govern Tunisia.

Middle East Online

'He did good things for Tunisia' TRIPOLI - Libyan leader Moamar Gathafi on Saturday said he regretted the fall of Tunisia's authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali which had left the country in "chaos with no end in sight." "You have suffered a great loss... There is none better than Zine (Ben Ali) to govern Tunisia," he said in a speech broadcast on state radio and television. "I do not only hope that he stays until 2014, but for life," he said, stressing that he considered Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday, still to be the "legal president of Tunisia under the constitution." "He did good things for Tunisia," he said, hailing his handling of the country's economy. "Tunisia, a developed country that is a tourist destination, is becoming prey to hooded gangs, to thefts and fire," he said, adding that Tunisia was "in chaos with no end in sight." And he said the Tunisian people were the "victims of lies" broadcast on the Internet which had played a large part in Ben Ali's ouster.