By Umar Khan.
Tripoli, 23 April 2013:
The bomb attack on the French embassy that damaged part of the building, injuring two guards . . .[restrict]along with a few residents of the neighbouring houses, has been condemned by both the government officials and politicians.
The first censure came a couple of hours after the bomb went off, from the Minister of Interior, Ashour Shuwail, when he visited the scene of the blast. He described the crime as “regretful” and promised to set up an investigating committee. His sentiments were echoed by the Foreign minister Mohamed Abdulaziz, who called the bomb blast a ‘terrorist act’ and expressed solidarity with the French people.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Awad Barasi, also visited the scene within few hours of the explosion and strongly condemned the attack as a ‘terrorist act”. He stressed that such an outrage was against the “morals of Libyan society”. He also added that the Libyan people and Libyan government would not accept such violent acts.
For his part, the Undersecretary for Security Affairs, Omar Khadrawi expressed deep regret for the attack, which he described as catastrophic.
Condemnation started coming in from the political parties when Ummah al Wasat Party issued a statement condemning the attack. It read that the party strongly “condemns any act which destabilises the country and that targets the Libyan people and is intended to disrupt the international relations of Libya, especially with the countries that supported Libya during the revolution.”
Similar sentiments were voiced by the National Front Party which deplored the attack on the embassy and called for a “swift action to bring perpetrators to justice”. It also expressed support for the Libyan families affected by the blast. For its part, the Justice & Construction party also censured the bombing and asked the Minister of Interior to “arrest the perpetrators of the attack and ensure security of all foreigners in Libya”. The statement also praised the role France had played during the 17 February revolution and called the attack ‘an act against the morals of Libyan people.”
[/restrict]