Tripoli, 12 May 2013:
The Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has moved to counter public criticism of Qatar following accusations by protestors and in the press and social media that the Gulf state has been interfering in Libya’s internal affairs.
In a meeting today in Tripoli with the Qatari Ambassador, Sheikh Mohammed bin Nasser Al Thani, the Prime Minister said that there was no evidence for such accusations. He laid stress on the depth and strength of relations between the two states. There was profound mutual respect between the two, he said, noting that Libya valued the role Qatar had played during the revolution – politically, militarily and in terms of the humanitarian aid provided.
For his part, the Qatari ambassador reiterated that what was being said in the media and social networking about Qatari interference sites had no basis of truth. He stressed his country’s support for the legitimacy of state institutions in Libya and the will of the Libyan people in a peaceful transition from revolution to building a state of law.
Many of the anti-militia demonstrators who took to the streets of Tripoli, Benghazi and other towns of Friday have accused Qatar of funding the militia and Libyan Salafist political figures.
On Thursday, the Qatari embassy published a statement saying that it “rejected accusations of its intervention in Libya’s internal affairs and support for certain Libyan groups or political blocs”. The accusation was “false and unfounded”. Qatar’s role, it said, had been limited one of support and respect for the 17 February Revolution. [/restrict]
