Tripoli, 28 April:
It has been confirmed by the government that May Day — Tuesday, 1 May — will be a public . . .[restrict]holiday in Libya. It will the first time ever that Libya has marked the international workers’ holiday,
Government departments have been told to organise their workload so that appointments and activites requiring to be done that day are dealt with at another time.
Apart from the Islamic holidays of Mawlid Al-Nabee (the Prophet’s Birthday), Eid Al-Fitr, Arafat Day and Eid Al-Adha, and the Islamic New Year, there are six secular holidays in the new Libya, of which May Day is the only international one. There were five secular holidays during the ousted regime, all relating to its history. [/restrict]
