MUAMMAR Qadhafi should see the writing on the wall, instead of threatening to crush what he calls the “rats and mercenaries” who have revolted against his four-decade old rule. The eastern part of the country is largely out of his control, two air force pilots have defected to Malta, many army units have mutinied, and his own diplomats have asked him to quit. These kinds of fissures in the government apparatus and state structure were not to be seen in Tunisia and Egypt, where Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak from day one seemed to be on the defensive and responding to the people's demands. Mr Qadhafi, let us accept, has not failed to pass on the benefits of his oil-rich economy to the people, but he has paid more attention to his power base in the western region than to the eastern part of the country. In 1990, several people were killed in a demonstration in Benghazi against blasphemous cartoons, and later that decade there were Islamist uprisings in Benghazi and Derna. Since then, Mr Qadhafi has neglected the eastern region. But this time there has been violence in Tripoli, too.

His speech on Tuesday was in bad taste, vindicating those who are calling him “butcher and tyrant”. The Libyan state is under tremendous pressure. Instead of conceding ground and promising reform, the Libyan leader has grown more adamant, and is, in fact, encouraging bloodshed which could lead to civil war. His call to his supporters to stage pro-government rallies and cleanse Libya “house by house” constitutes a shocking throwback to Louis IV's ' l'état, c'est mois '. In other words, Mr Qadhafi would rather see Libya break up and dissolve into chaos than quit power to which he seems to be clinging on, despite the continued spread of the fire of revolt.