Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi appeared on state TV on Tuesday to deliver a defiant address.

Speaking in a loud voice, he announced he had no attention to step down as other African leaders had and vowed to “die a martyr” in Libya as “head of the revolution.”

He added that Libya’s image was being distorted by Western media and denounced the protesters as “rats.”

He said, “We Libyans have resisted the US and Britain in the past and will not surrender.”

His rambling address came hours after a bizarre 22-second appearance on state TV when he appeared beneath an umbrella in pouring rain in order to “prove that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela and to deny television reports, those dogs.”

Update at 11:32 a.m. ET: Gadhafi says Libyans can have whatever constitution or legal system they want and can decide how to spend the country’s oil riches.

Update at 11:25 am. ET: Gadhafi says he has not yet started to use force and violence against protesters, but is willing to do so.

Update at 11: 23 a.m. ET: Gadhafi says anyone taking up arms against the state will face the death penalty.

Update at 11:16 a.m. ET: In a rambling speech on state TV, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says, “I will fight to the last drop of my blood with all the LIbyan people behind me.”

“If you love Moammar Gadhafi, go out and secure Libya’s streets,” he says.

Update at 11:14 am. ET: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vows to fight on against protesters demanding his ouster and die as martyr.

Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: “All the legislative power is in the hands of the Libyan people,” Gadhafi says. “The Libyan people will decide.”

At another point in his rambling speech, Gadhafi tells Libyans that unnamed forces are trying to mainpulate young people with drugs and alcohol.

Update at 11:05 am. ET: Opponents are “trying to copycat Tunisia and Egypt,” he says. He says he is “not a president to step down.”

Update at 11:01 a.m. ET: In his televised remarks, Gadhafi, who is standing, shouts and gestures frequently, saying at one point that “friendly Arab nations are betraying you. They want chaos (and) … have tarnished your image.”

Update at 10:55 a.m. ET: Gadhafi has begun to speak on state TV, saying his opponents “want to insult you” by criticizing what is happening in the country and says it it time for Libyans to “respond with action on the ground, on the square.”

(Source: Newsmax)