Tripoli, 3 April 2013:
The Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) organisation has called on the government to find those responsible for Thursday’s destruction of the Al-Andalusi Mausoleum in Tajoura and try them to court. It said that that government had an obligation “protect the religious and cultural rights of the Libyan people”.
Most of the 500-year-old Al-Andalusi Mausoleum, named after Sidi Mohamed Al-Andalusi, and considered a national monument, was destroyed in a bomb attack.
“This trend of impunity, in particular for the destruction of our rich cultural, religious, and historical heritage, if not properly addressed by the government, will only continue,” said LFJL Director Elham Saudi.
“Inaction and silence amount to the validation of the perpetrators’ actions and are further evidence of the lack of genuine political will to address human rights violations in a comprehensive manner. There must be accountability for human rights violations if Libya is to rebuild itself on principles of the rule of law and the government must take its obligation to protect all Libyans’ freedoms seriously if a culture that genuinely prioritises human rights is to be nurtured,” added Saudi.
LFJL said the government had to take all measures necessary to ensure that any remaining religious and historical sites, which may be vulnerable to attacks, are protected and that the rights of religious minorities to access their religious sites are guaranteed.
Last year, Salafists, themselves a small minority in Libya, were responsible for the destruction of a number of prominent Sufi shrines in Libya, notably those in Zliten and Derna and the Sidi Al-Shaab shrine and mosque in Tripoli.
The attacks received widespread condemnation from GNC members, GNC President Mohamed Magarief, and civil society organisations. UNESCO and three UN independent experts also condemned the attacks in August, with the head of UNESCO Irina Bokova stating, “destroying places of religious and cultural significance cannot be tolerated.”
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