Libyan PM Calls for Solidarity Between Government

Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdulrahim El-Keeb urged Monday for solidarity between the government and the people, and that the nation’s “silent majority” to protect the state against what he called “pseudo-revolutionaries.”

In an interview on the programme “Meet the Minister,” that was broadcast on Libya’s state television, Mr El-Keeb said: “It is up to the silent majority to protect the institutions of the state, to fight chaos, to say no to those who usurp state property and territory, to reject non-state institutions,” he said.

He said he did not want new blood to be spilled in Libya but that it was up to the street to “fight against the chaos” taking place in the country.

The interview was considered as very important by local and international media, particularly following warnings by Rights groups that out of control militias pose the greatest challenge to stability in the country which is seeking to build state institutions from scratch after decades of dictatorship under Muammar Gaddafi

Mr El-Keeb criticised the registration of more than 140,000 people with the committee of veteran affairs, saying the number was an exaggeration, and called on “true revolutionaries” to help build state institutions.

The Libyan prime minister flatly rejected calls to fashion Libya into a federation, saying: “We do not need federalism because we are heading towards decentralisation and we don’t want to go back 50 years.”

He also announced that the government is in the process of establishing offices in the eastern city of Benghazi and Sabha to the south which, he said, will help facilitate the administrative transactions of citizens.

Mr El-Keeb’s interview follows the interim government’s emergency session on Sunday that discussed a draft bill proposing the principle of decentralisation in the country.

Meanwhile on Monday, the head of the National Transitional Council, NTC, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said that calls for the implementation of a federal system in Libya, were likely to meet a cool reception. He said that Libyans fought for a united Libya so these clamours will be of no consequence.

Source: The Tripoli Post