By Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli, 19 December:
Protests in support of former NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil continued for a second day in Tripoli . . .[restrict]and Tajoura on Wednesday, with roads being closed and tyres burned in several areas.
Hundreds of protesters have been periodically gathering in areas including Ben Ashour, Fashloum, Nufleen, Souk Al-Juma, around the Prime Minister’s office and GNC, and in Tajoura in opposition to the trial of Jalil and other issues.
A group calling itself the Revolutionaries of Fashloum has also released a statement, obtained by the Libya Herald, issuing a number of demands to the government.
In addition to emphasising their “total opposition to the way the investigation of Mustafa Abdul Jalil has been carried out”, the group also called for “the holding to account of, and investigation into, all members of the NTC for their role in bringing a foreign agenda into Libya [and] the formulation of a political resolution allowing a group of thugs [Qaddafi loyalists] to leave Libya.”
The group called for the government to hold to account the Kib Government and the GNC, and demanded from the latter greater transparency in informing Libyans when decisions have been made by the body on their behalf.
A common feature of many of the protests, also featured in the Fashloum statement, has been a sense of grievance over the perceived marginalisation of revolutionaries who fought in last year’s war.
The group complained at the way in which “revolutionaries are being marginalised and kept at a distance from the political scene, a method inspired by the French revolution”, whilst former Qaddafi elements, whom they demanded be “cleansed” from state institutions, remain in place.
Protests have also been held in support of Jalil and airing similar additional grievances elsewhere in Libya over the past week, including Beida, Misrata and Zawia. [/restrict]
