ROME—Western leaders welcomed the death of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi as the end of despotism, tyranny, dictatorship and ultimately war in the north African country.
“It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Gadhafi has met his fate,” said a spokesman for the National Transitional Council (NTC), Libya’s new rulers, in announcing the news.
As Libyans on the streets of Tripoli and Sirte fired automatic weapons into the air and danced for joy, world leaders began to weigh in on the death of the man who had ruled the oil-rich north African nation for more than 40 years.
In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said after the death of his onetime ally: “Now the war is over.”
“Sic transit gloria mundi (Thus passes the glory of the world),” Berlusconi said about the ousted ruler of Italy’s former colony, quoting a Latin tag.
In Brussels, the European Union said that Gadhafi’s death “marks the end of an era of despotism.”
The news means an end also to the “repression from which the Libyan people have suffered for too long,” EU president Herman Van Rompuy Van Rompuy said in a joint statement with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.
European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek will visit Libya from Saturday.
“I am happy I will be visiting a country fully liberated from a dictator who has imposed his iron fist for more than 40 years. Now Libya can truly turn the page,” he said.
In Washington, senior US Senator John McCain said the death marked the end of the first phase of the Libyan revolution.
“While some final fighting continues, the Libyan people have liberated their country,” the Republican lawmaker said in a statement.
“Now the Libyan people can focus all of their immense talents on strengthening their national unity, rebuilding their country and economy, proceeding with their democratic transition, and safeguarding the dignity and human rights of all Libyans,” said McCain.
“The United States, along with our European allies and Arab partners, must now deepen our support for the Libyan people, as they work to make the next phase of their democratic revolution as successful as the fight to free their country,” he said.
Gadhafi was fatally wounded when new regime forces launched a final assault on the last pocket of resistance in his hometown Sirte, a National Transitional Council spokesman said.
“We announce to the world that Kadhafi has died in the custody of the revolution,” Abdel Hafez Ghoga said.
“It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Kadhafi has met his fate,” he added.