Civic activism emerges from Gaddafi's former compound
Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has adopted "the new amended
Election Law" to form the basis for the election of the first constituent assembly in
June 2012. After 42 years of dictatorship, the country has virtually no experience of
multi-party politics. But as BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse reports, out of the ruins of Col
Muammar Gaddafi's former compound in Tripoli, a sense of civic activism is emerging.
Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had an
undeclared stockpile of chemical weapons, the body that oversees a global ban on such
munitions has said. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said
inspectors visited Libya this week.
Among the chemical munitions they found were stocks of sulphur mustard agent, which can
cause severe blistering. Libya's new rulers told the group about the previously unknown
stocks last year after removing Gaddafi from power.
"The inspectors verified the declared chemical weapons, which consist of sulphur
mustard agent that is not loaded into munitions," the OPCW
said. "At the same time, at the request of the Libyan authorities, the inspectors
examined munitions, mainly artillery shells, which they determined are chemical munitions
and hence declarable."
Global goal
The inspectors said that all the newly declared materials are being stored at the
Ruwagha depot - believed to be part of the former Rabta chemical weapons production
facility. The OPCW said Gaddafi's government had succeeded in destroying 54% of its
declared sulphur mustard and about 40% of the precursor chemicals before operations had to
be suspended in February 2011 when the destruction facility stopped working.
Libya now had until 29 April 2012 to submit a detailed plan and a date by which the
destruction of the materials would be completed, the OPCW added. According to an
international treaty to rid the world of chemical weapons signed by Libya, stocks were
supposed to be destroyed by 29 April 2012.
However, delays on action to meet such a goal by other major stockpilers and
signatories - including the US and Russia - mean that it is highly unlikely this deadline
will be met. The US has acknowledged it will take as long as 2021 to finish
destroying the final 10% of its chemical weapons.
Russia is farther behind in its effort, having destroyed only about 48% of a large
cache of chemical weapons, the OPCW has said.
In Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, the symbolic
centre of Libya's uprising, the facade of the National Commercial Bank still bears the
marks of fighting. The bullet holes are a stark reminder of Libya's recent conflict.
But inside, queues emphasise the impact the fighting is still having on the country's
economy.
One customer waits patiently at the broken counter window to withdraw his salary.
Queuing behind him, there are close to 100 people, all trying to do the same thing.
On another long counter, arms stretch over as customers battle to deposit their cheques
that the bank clerk duly stamps. Few words are exchanged. Here, it is all about dealing
with the deluge.
Since the fighting began, Libya has been strapped for cash, with billions of dollars of
assets frozen in foreign bank accounts. Banks limited the amount of money that
customers could withdraw to 750 dinars ($600; £400) a month, and although there are signs
that this limit will be raised, it has made things difficult for people trying to access
funds and rebuild their lives.
Most customers wait without complaint, but one man, about the 20th in line, starts to
shout. He is blaming the Western banks for hanging on to Libya's money and causing the
country's cashflow crisis. "They haven't given our money to us. Why?" he
asks. "Gaddafi has gone. But now we are still living in the crisis, deep in the
crisis. It's worse than before."
No Libyan response' on Gaddafi son as deadline nears
A deadline has nearly elapsed for Libya to give the International
Criminal Court information about the health and status of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. The
former Libyan leader's son was captured in southern Libya in November.
The ICC, based in in The Hague, has indicted him for crimes against humanity but
Libya's new leaders say they want him to stand trial in Libya. The ICC could refer Libya
to the UN Security Council if it does not respond to its request on Tuesday.
Libya on Sunday decided to mark May Day and the country’s independence from
colonial rule — two holidays banned under the regime of Muammar Qadhafi — as
public holidays, an official said.
Abdul Razak Al Aradi, a member of the ruling National Transitional Council
(NTC), said that the two holidays would feature in the new yearly calendar approved by the
NTC on Sunday.
During Qadhafi’s regime, Libya never marked World Labour Day, also known as May
Day, on May 1, or the country’s independence from colonial rule gained on Dec. 24,
1951.
Libya gained independence under former king Idris from the French and the British, who
had administered the territory following Italy’s defeat in World War II.
The downfall of Col Gaddafi's regime heralded hope for a brighter future in Libya, but
many migrants have found themselves in a state of limbo in the new era.
While thousands of Africans from neighbouring states were voluntarily repatriated after
the conflict ended, others were branded as mercenaries and it remains unclear how many are
still in jail.
About 1.2 million Libyan children are going back to school, for the first time since
Libya’s revolution started. But many schools have been destroyed and most do not even
have basic facilities.
Libyan Naval Forces Command has asked Turkey’s cooperation in
reconstruction of its armada, training of mariners and in military issues.
Bases in Tripoli, Homs, Misurata, Sirte and Benghazi cities have been damaged during
NATO’s operations in May following the the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi’s
42-year rule.
Libyan officials recalled that several Turkish companies had constructed the ports in
Tripoli and Homs 20 years ago, noting that some Libyan officers had been trained in Turkey
too.
Commander Mustafa Joha in Tripoli base told AA that Turkey had an advanced fleet force,
adding that they wanted to make cooperation with Turkey.
Hundreds of Libyan soldiers protested on Thursday in the eastern city of
Benghazi, demanding payment of overdue wages and complaining militia groups had taken over
their bases and were not interested in joining a new national army.
The soldiers, part of a force marginalised by ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, gathered
outside a branch of the central bank in Benghazi in their military uniforms and clutching
their arms.
They said the new government should focus on building a new army rather than giving
cash compensation to former rebels who have formed powerful regional militia since ousting
Gaddafi.
“The revolutionaries don’t want to join an organised military, they want to
keep their current situation,” said Al Mabrouk Abdullah al-Oraibi, who worked in the
military’s accounting department but now works in the military police.
On Tuesday, fierce fighting erupted in Libya’s capital Tripoli between the
city’s rebels and those in Misrata. At least four fighters were killed and five
others injured.
A member of the Tripoli Military Council said the clashes were triggered by the arrest
of a Misrata fighter in Tripoli. But a Libyan official said the clashes were over control
of a building that previously housed an intelligence centre under Muammar Gaddafi, the
former Libyan leader.
Observers say disbanding disparate armed groups of former revolutionary fighters is one
of the most serious and immediate problems facing Libya’s new leadership.
A former colonel in Moamer Kadhafi’s military has been appointed as
the new chief of staff of the Libyan army, two members of the country’s ruling
National Transitional Council told AFP on Tuesday.
Yussef al-Mangush, who took
voluntary retirement from Kadhafi’s military and even participated in the rebellion
against the former leader, was promoted to the rank of general and appointed as chief of
staff, said NTC member Abdelrazzak al-Aradi.
His appointment was confirmed by Fathi Baaja, another member of the NTC from the
eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising that toppled Kadhafi.
The post has been vacant since the murder in July of General Abdel Fatah Yunis, who
commanded the former rebels in eastern Libya against Kadhafi’s diehards.
Libya will ship over one million barrels of Waha Oil Co.’s oil this
week, one of the nation’s oil officials said Tuesday, following the resumption of
exports from the giant Es-Sider terminal.
A first tanker of 600,000 barrels sailed Monday and another one of 440,000 barrels is
due Wednesday, he said.
Es-Sider loaded 447,000 barrels a day in January 2011, according to the International
Energy Agency, before becoming Libya’s most heavily damaged terminal during the civil
war. The need to repair the Es-Sider facility has been a stumbling block in the otherwise
rapid recovery of the country’s oil sector.
Muammar Gaddafi’s famous Green Book was once required reading for
every Libyan student. Now, the transitional government is purging textbooks and lesson
plans of Gaddafi’s ubiquitous influence
Port workers in Libya’s capital Tripoli went on strike on Sunday to demand better
working conditions and government investment to fix major damage caused by war and decades
of negligence.
The port, Libya’s largest non-oil harbour, was damaged during the civil war that
ended Muammar Gaddafi’s rule. In May, NATO sank eight Libyan warships there and
intercepted a fuel tanker it believed was destined for Gaddafi’s military forces.
The port’s decay predates the conflict, and it was held up as an example of poor
management by the Gaddafi government.
Workers say the new government needs to invest millions of dollars to get the
port’s collapsed platforms and other facilities back into shape. Maintenance work has
not been done for years, they said.
The Tunisian news agency says a four-member border patrol was kidnapped by an armed
Libyan group but three of the guards quickly escaped.
It was the first such incident along the border, which has been well guarded since the
violent uprising that left Moammar Gadhafi dead in October.
The TAP agency cited the Interior Ministry on Sunday as saying that the four were
kidnapped a day earlier in the Ben Guerdane region and three quickly escaped.
It did not confirm a Mosaique radio report that the fourth guard was freed Sunday
morning and was to be treated at a Tunis hospital for a bullet wound.
Saudi Arabia and Libya have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and
exchange ambassadors.
The agreement came following a meeting here between Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal
and Abdul Basit Al-Badri, an envoy of the Libyan interim President Mustafa Abdul Jalil.
Al-Badri was carrying a message from the interim president to Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah.
During the meeting, Prince Saud congratulated the Libyan envoy on the formation of a
new government in Tripoli. He also reiterated the Kingdom’s support to the Libyan
government and people. The Kingdom recalled its ambassador to Libya during the civil war
that began in February.
A Libyan militia chief today said his fighters had captured nine
supporters of overthrown leader Colonel Gaddafi who had been plotting to blow up
Tripoli’s power grid on New Year’s
Eve.
Abdullah Naker, the commander of Tripoli’s Revolutionist Council, said the men had
been caught with explosives bought from the black market and were now being interrogated.
Militia groups who helped oust Gaddafi last year still hold considerable power in Libya
and have taken the law into their hands in several areas. Some have been setting up road
blocks and arresting suspects despite the presence of an official police force.
Libya’s al-Sedr oil port has resumed operations and will see the
first oil shipment sail on Tuesday or earlier, an official from Waha Oil Co said, months
after the terminal stopped running during a civil war that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s
rule.
“The port was damaged by the Gaddafi regime and the facilities are now
operational,” the official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Sunday
night. Waha Oil, which manages the port, is owned by Libya’s National Oil Corporation
in a joint venture with U.S. firms ConocoPhillips, Marathon and Amerada Hess. “The
ship will move tomorrow (Monday) or the day after,” the official said.
A powerful Libyan militia leader warned Egypt Saturday he would use force
to close its embassy and shut the border if the military rulers failed to cut off a
Gaddafi-era state television station that has broadcast footage of his old speeches.
Abdullah Naker, the commander of Tripoli’s Revolutionist Council, said
Egypt’s Nilesat satellite broadcaster had allowed Muammar Gaddafi’s official Al
Jamahiriya station to broadcast last week.
The station had no signal Saturday, but residents in Tripoli said they had watched the
channel, which had the same name and logo as Al Jamahiriya, broadcasting Friday. Naker
said the channel was funded by businessmen loyal to the leader who was killed in October
and started broadcasting last week.
The 30,000 people living in a town in northern Libya
have been driven out of their homes,
Col Muammar Gaddafi died from bullet wounds after a failed attempt to
escape from fighters of the NTC
Tripoli underground: Handbags, dinghies and secret
emails
Was Gaddafi the last of the buffoon dictators
Nearly three months after the death of Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi, tensions remain high in his hometown of Sirte. Angry residents say
attacks by rebel fighters and NATO have left them homeless and poor, with some saying life
was better under Gaddafi. Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan reports from Sirte.
Libyans participate in a mass celebration in
Freedom square, Misrata
UK 
Libya
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