After taking into consideration that any given population data would include children and that many Libyan families have fled the capital to escape the violence, it seems almost certain that the 1 million figure is a gross exaggeration. Still, even if the turnout was a quarter of that it's massively indicative of majority support for Qadaffi and a clear message to NATO that the people don't want the West's "protection".
I must say, even though it's clear that Qadaffi (unsurprisingly) enjoys the overwhelming support of the Libyan people, I find it hard to believe that 1 million Libyans turned up to this demo, given that the total population of Tripoli is only 1,065,405 (2006 census, population growth rate 2.064% per annum). It just doesn't seem plausible. I want it to be, but it isn't.
After taking into consideration that any given population data would include children and that many Libyan families have fled the capital to escape the violence, it seems almost certain that the 1 million figure is a gross exaggeration. Still, even if the turnout was a quarter of that it's massively indicative of majority support for Qadaffi and a clear message to NATO that the people don't want the West's "protection".
Maybe you are right. The latest population figure for Tripoli I could find put it at approximately 1.1 million.
I must say, even though it's clear that Qadaffi (unsurprisingly) enjoys the overwhelming support of the Libyan people, I find it hard to believe that 1 million Libyans turned up to this demo, given that the total population of Tripoli is only 1,065,405 (2006 census, population growth rate 2.064% per annum). It just doesn't seem plausible. I want it to be, but it isn't.
I read about this on Pravda.ru. Here's Lizzie Phelan's interview with PressTV:
Libyan majority in support of Gadaffi