PM offices surrounded by armed protestors

Tripoli, 25 March 2013:

Protestors demanding Prime Minister Ali Zeidan be sacked returned again yesterday, Sunday, to the government’s headquarters off Triq . . .[restrict]El Sikkah in Tripoli.

According to an eyewitness, the group numbered around 20 men. He thought they were  the same people who were at last Tuesday and Wednesday’s demonstrations calling for the passing of the Political Isolation Law and removal of Zeidan.

Yesterday, however, unlike the previous nights, the protestors came with arms and, according to a guard, threatened to use grenades against any vehicle that left the PM’s headquarters. The warning was taken seriously, as officials did not leave their offices until late afternoon when the tension had been defused, several hours after the protestors first arrived.

Misrata Congressmen Abdulrahman Swehli and Salah Badi were reportedly seen entering and leaving the building but had spent the larger portion of their time on site speaking with demonstrators. It is not clear if their appearance swayed the protestors to allow officials to leave the building.

Residents of the area say they are getting tired with the demonstrators and also gathered to oppose their continued appearances. Last night, several neighbours said they had had enough and demanded they leave immediately.

Reports that three demonstrators had been run over by the premier’s car, resulting in serious harm, were refuted by the government, who offered security camera recordings as evidence.

Earlier yesterday, there was an attempt to disrupt by the government’s question-and-answer session with Congress. However, according to a facebook post by Congressman Ahmed Langhi, the intruders were removed from the hall and the questioning session continued without further interruptions.

The protests at the PM’s offices have unleashed a new expression: moq moq.  The word can mean “foolish” in classical Arabic. However, it is said that a protestor on 19 March had intended to spray paint “Zeidan mut, mut” (“Zeidan death, death”) on the wall of the PM’s office, but misspelled both Zeidan’s name and the word mut.  On social media platforms, the protestors are now largely referred to as the “moq moq group”.