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By Muttaz Mohamed Ali.
Tripoli, 5 April 2014:
A general strike called to begin tomorrow is expected to have a mixed response depending . . .[restrict]on the location.
The strike was initially called for by an alliance of civil society organisations in Benghazi in protest at the failure of the General National Congress and the government to deal with the security crisis in the city.
The Benghazi strikers are demanding that the February Committee’s proposals be accepted as originally proposed, without amendment. Specifically, they want Congress to change the electoral law and include the election of state president. The other demands are that Congress is stopped and, pending the election of a new House of Representatives, the government runs the country alone.
There is no mention in the Benghazi organisers’ demands of the February Committee’s proposal, quietly dropped by Congress, that the House of Representatives should be based in Benghazi.
Support for the strike in the west of the country appears to be patchy. There is backing for it in Zintan and in Amazigh areas, but not in Misrata. In Tripoli the response has been mixed. There is some support because of the perceived failure of Congress and the government in general and in solidarity with Benghazi, and some residents have told the Libya Herald that they will be backing the call. But that view does not appear to be widespread.
In a bid to ensure there is no disruption in schools across the country, the Ministry of Education today launched an appeal on its website to students to go school tomorrow. It urged parents to care about their children’s education and keep them away from disputes between political rivals in the country. [/restrict]
