The Other Side of Col. Moammar Gadhafi: Was He Really the Tyrant He Was Made Out to be?

The four-decade rule of Libyan leader, Col. Moammar Gadhafi finally came to an end last week, after he was dragged from his hiding place - a drainpipe - in the town of Sirte and killed.

The former ruler, who was taken out of a sewage pipe alive, offered no resistance. TV footage shows rebel fighters dragging Gadhafi with a gun pointed at his head. It also shows the Libyan ex-leader later being struck, kicked and shot, as Libya's new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule. His body was displayed at a house in Misrata since then.
While much has been written about his supposed high-handedness and dictatorship, there is very less written about how he transformed Libya to one of the most sophisticated nations in Africa.
True, he might have spent millions on his personal ventures, but is an average Libyan poor?

Just eight years into Gadhafi's rule as the leader of Libya, by 1977, the per capita income in the country rose to more than U.S. $11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa.
Libya is one of the very few African debt-free nations. In addition, the country's literacy rate rose from 10 percent to 90 percent during Gadhafi's rule. He established equal rights for men and women.
Women in Libya can go to school and join the army. He was a walking advertisement for women to join the army as he only had female bodyguards. In a country where women wore veils in public, his contingent sporting lipstick and high heels certainly turned heads.
While the global media has always portrayed the Libyan leader as a dictator and a fugitive, it failed to show his kind side.

He had done a lot for the betterment of his citizens.
-There is no electricity bill in Libya, electricity is free for all its citizens.

-There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans are given to all its citizens at 0 percent interest by law.

- Home was considered a human right in Libya – Gadhafi vowed that his parents would not get a house until everyone in Libya had a home.

- All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 Dinar (U.S. $50,000 ) by the government to buy their first apartment to help start up the family.

While it is indeed true that Gadhafi led a flamboyant life, he did'nt do so by depriving Libyan people of anything.
The 69-year-old was tortured and even sodomized before being brutally killed.

Amnesty International has called for a "full, independent and impartial investigation" into his death, including pressing war crimes charges against the anti-Gadhafi rebels. They have also been charged with mistreatment of detainees, including torture and lynching of captured pro-Gadhafi fighters. There is huge international outrage over the way Gadhafi was executed.

Gadhafi's death has led to a new generation of armed leaders who consider themselves above the law, who executed their ex-leader in the most brutal and inhuman way. The disturbing images and videos released showing the rebels beating Gadhafi to death has shocked the world.

Is Libya truly in better hands now?