Tripoli, 10 May:
By Sami Zaptia.
The scheduled weekly official press conference of Wednesday 9 May was overshadowed by the previous day’s hastily . . .[restrict]scheduled press briefing forced upon the government by yet another armed attack on the prime minister’s office.
Therefore, instead of the elections continuing to enjoy the limelight of publicity and government attention, a good part of the conference was taken up with reconfirming the events of the armed attack – which were covered by the Libya Herald in its story ‘Armed protestors try to storm Prime Minister’s headquarters; 1 killed’.
Use of force – misunderstanding of freedom
The one sad additional piece of news regarding the incident was the report by the official spokesperson, Mr Nasser Al-Mana, that one of the injured hospitalised guards had yesterday lost his life. This brought the total dead as a result of the attack to two.
The official spokesperson went on to condemn the actions of the armed groups. “We are concerned by the misuse and misunderstanding of ‘freedom’. Some are exploiting this opportunity. Some in ignorance, but some by design”, he felt.
“You cannot have discussions and negotiations if you are threatening the use of force. We prefer to solve these issues by discussion. But we also have a responsibility, therefore sometimes we need to use force”, Al-Mana stressed.
“There is increased awareness and support for the government to use force to protect the interests of the nation. The transitional period needs cooperation and solidarity between society and the government”, he said reflecting, and seemingly at once appealing for, wider public backing.
We support a free media
In a complaint by members of the media present at the press conference that they were prevented from conducting their duties during the attack on the prime minister’s office, spokesperson Al-Mana publicly apologized to the media concerned and stressed that his government ‘supported a free media’.
“We respect all the media and the in-ordinary situation yesterday may have inadvertently led to hasty actions by some security personnel. Nothing justifies the prevention of the media from doing its job.”
Asked about the contradiction between a free media and the government having a Ministry of Culture and NGOs, the spokesperson felt that “the existence of the Ministry of Culture and NGOs does not contradict our (the government’s) aims for the support of a free media”.
The strike at the government presses
Asked about the strike at the government presses that are responsible for the printing of Libya’s hundreds of private and state-owned newspapers, spokesperson Mana said that “the government was looking into this and that a decision will be taken soon”.
Lockerbie…
Asked by foreign media as to whether Libya will cooperate with foreign nations to further investigate the Lockerbie issue, the spokesperson retorted that “most regional problems in Africa such as in southern Sudan, you will find that Qaddafi was part of them, therefore we are not surprised that we receive delegations wanting more information”.
“The government is keen to ensure justice within Libyan laws and within international and bilateral frameworks and in view of Libya’s high national interests”, he stressed.
“No decisions have been taken yet in either the Lockerbie case or on any other major issue. Some files can wait until after the elections for an elected body to decide”, he said, revealing the government’s view on the issue .
Trail of members of the old regime starts in Zawiya
On 8 May the first sitting of the trail of members of the old regime were brought to court in Zawiya. The sitting was short and procedural. The accused were charged with charges including being in possession of arms without a permit and the intention to use arms.
Ras Lanuf and Brega Ports free of mines
The Ministry of Defence also announced that both the oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Brega were now free of any mines thanks to the demining work conducted there by the Ministry with help from a French team of experts.
AGOCO staff back to work
The spokesperson confirmed that as a result of a successful dawn raid by Ministry of Interior forces, the three week armed blockade of the Arabian Gulf Oil Company by non-employees was brought to an end. All the members of the armed group were arrested without any spilling of blood or loss of life. The blockade lead to a great financial cost to the state, the spokesperson reiterated.
The High National Election Commission and the Elections
The High National Election Commission (www.hnec.ly) confirmed that the deadline for the registration of candidates for the June elections has been extended until 15 May.
The spokesperson also revealed that up to Wednesday over 800,000 Libyans had registered to vote in these elections, or about 25 percent of the total potential voters (3.2 million). He expected about 55 percent (1.76 million) of the total of potential voters would register by the deadline.
He revealed that 500 candidates had registered so far.
The Ministry of Education on its part has revealed that it has provided for use 1,430 schools and 8,500 teachers and administration staff in the election effort.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that last week a workshop commenced for the training of judges specifically for the election appeals process.
Election Security
The Ministry of Interior confirmed that in a meeting for Security Directors and election experts from the UN, held Tuesday 8 May, the security needs of the elections were discussed and a security plan was put in place in coordination with the HNEC.
The Ministry of Interior also confirmed that over 1000 personnel were trained to secure the election centers and 350 police members were trained as trainers of trainers for the election.
Ministry of Culture and NGOs and the Elections
The MOCNGOs revealed that it has assigned a representative to act as coordinator with the HNEC to offer any help that might be needed with the election process.
It has also created 2 committees, one in Tripoli and one in Benghazi to collect any information on election projects by NGOs that it can support and help with during the election process.
It also informed that it has put in place a plan to increase election awareness.
The Election free phone number: 1441
The Ministry of Communications revealed that it has provided 2000 free phone lines to facilitate communications for the HNEC, as well as a free phone number (1441) set up especially for citizens to call the HNEC for enquiries. This free number works on all Libya’s mobile networks.
Ministry of Health to take over treatment of war injured abroad
The spokesperson announced that the new Authority for the Injured was now part of the Ministry of Health (MOH), and that the Ministry will now take over the organization and process of sending injured abroad for treatment in coordination with the Ministry of Health in the host country.
The MOH will also coordinate the transport of the patients and their accompanying members back to Libya.
Oil production up and Brega methanol factory to open
The Ministry of Oil and Gas confirmed that Libya’s production of oil was up to its highest levels since the Revolution reaching 1.5 million barrels per day.
It also announced that it is preparing to operate the methanol factory (number 1) in Brega.
Judicial police graduations
The Ministry of Justice announced that 120 of its recruits had graduated from the judicial police and these judicial police will be used to protect property belonging to the Justice Ministry and ensure the success of the judicial system. This was an important part of the reinstating of the state and a return to normality of Libya, the official spokesperson commented.
The symbolic Benghazi Courthouse
On 5 May the North Benghazi Court House was returned to the authorities. This is the famous building seen on television screens across the world which was where people of Benghazi launched their first civil disobedience actions against the old regime and became the focal point of the uprising in the early days of the February 17 Revolution.
Renovations on the building will commence shortly, the spokesperson informed.
Registration of Ministry of Defence Property
The Ministry of Defence informed the Property Registrar that it should not register any property to persons or entities that had belonged to it without prior and direct consultation.
Ministry of Education prepares for next academic year
The Ministry of Education announced that it had commenced preparations for the next academic year and that high school students will return to the normal pre revolution procedure concerning their choice of specialization in the years prior to university. [/restrict]
