The Sebha and Zuara area conflicts took up most of official government spokesperson Nasser Al-Mana’s weekly press conference on Wednesday evening. . . .[restrict]The gravity of the situation was reflected in the fact that the Commander-in-Chief, Major-General Yusuf Mangoush was present for the duration of the press conference.
Sabha quieter
Al-Mana said that Prime Minister Abdurrahim Al-Kib had visited Sebha. The city was now calm and the main utilities, including the airport, were back under government control, he reported, and the thuwar in Sabha now under the national army. The electricity supply was back up after a short period of power cuts in some areas. The previous night an agreement had been signed between the parties. Prisoners were exchanged. All the needs such as medical, relief and food were being delivered, he said.
Zuara clashes
Moving on to the Zuara-Regdaleen-Jmail triangle flare-up, Al-Mana expressed sorrow for the skirmishes that had led, he said, to the deaths of 18 people and over 250 injured. He assured reporters that efforts were continuing to stabilise the area. Meetings were being held with the various parties including the military and local councils, the elders and the thuwar. An agreement had reached on Tuesday. The Chiefs of Staff had sent in forces to form a barrier between the two sides.
Al-Mana admitted that some of the causes of both conflicts were old and real which the old regime, rather than solve, had exploited for control. But he also stressed that there were some who were taking advantage of these conflicts.
Yousef Mangoush
The official spokesperson then handed over to Commander-in-Chief, Major-General Yusuf Mangoush who read a statement confirming that the government had sent in forces but that these had come under fire and had to partially withdraw to defensive positions.
When challenged as to why the army only responded after there was trouble, Mangoush stressed that they could only respond to situations.
Questioned
To an accusation by the Al Jazira correspondent that the government was providing just ‘pain killers’ to the various outbreaks of violence, Al-Mana said he was happy to apply painkillers if it solved the problem in Zuara as was the case in Sebha.
To the question when was the government going to start arresting those who broke the law – as in Sabha and Zuara, he said that Libya was still in transition and that the official national army was minimized under the past regime. ‘We are still rebuilding’, he stressed.
He confirmed that there were some arrests and hoped that the state would soon start to impose itself. He indirectly admitted that the multiplicity of skirmishes had stretched the government and asked Major-General Yusuf Mangoush to comment about the military side.
Mangoush confirmed the news that Libya was now divided into 10 military areas for operational and administrative military purposes.
Skirmishes sending wrong signals to oil companies
The spokesperson admitted that the continued reports of the outbreak of violence in the different parts of Libya was sending the wrong signal to international companies, especially oil companies with exploration activities deep in the Libyan desert.
Nonetheless, he pointed out, oil production was up again. It had reached 1.45 million barrels of oil per day.
Elections postponed?
Asked by Libya Herald whether the June elections would be postponed, given the outbreaks of violence in Kufra, Sebha and the Zuara area and the fact that safety, security and stability were pre-requisites for fair elections, Al-Mana said that the decision was not for the government to take. It was for the NTC and the Election High Commission.
He explained that many steps were being taken to prepare for elections, including the training of judges, the Ministry of Interior was working on security for elections, the Ministry of Education and Culture and Civil Society were also preparing too.
Al-Mana confirmed that security and stability were vital for proper elections and agreed that outbreaks of violence might affect the timetable. He appealed to all members of Libyan society to help in creating stability. However, whilst leaving a door slightly open to postpone elections, he stressed that for now, the latest information from the NTC was that elections will be on time.
Tripoli International Airport
Asked about the latest in the handover saga of Tripoli International Airport, the government spokesman said “we are late in returning the airport. A delay without justification has occurred. We won’t accept arm-twisting. The government looks upon the thuwar as one, and deals with them on an equal footing. The door is still open,” he stressed, “for conscription into the legal and official institutions. They would be accepted according to their capabilities”.
Al-Mana, showing growing government frustration at the thuwar still refusing to handover the airport, then raised the ante slightly. “We won’t let those who were once seen as thuwar to try to impose themselves, or take advantage of the situation. There is no excuse,” he stressed. Finally seemingly wishing to send a message to the thuwar he warned: “Even if we have to close the airport, we won’t have our arms twisted.”
Part of the problem at Tripoli airport had been the refusal of the thuwar there to join the security forces under the defence or interior ministries. However, according to Al-Mana, many other thuwar were enrolling.
He said that the Thuwar Authority had started interviewing potential recruits in Western Libya in 19 different locations, using 263 specialists supervising over 7,000 interviews per week.
He confirmed that by this week over 8,000 of the thuwar had enrolled in various official bodies, including the electricity police.
Why not collect arms off the streets?
When asked why the government was not collecting arms off the streets, Al-Mana said that the government hoped to do this as soon as possible. “We are doing the best we can,” he stressed. He called on all army and police conscripts to return to work immediately.
Freedom
Al-Manaa stressed that freedom does not mean that justice and rights are to be taken by the use of arms only. There are other ways he said. He asked all Libyans, especially those in the official bodies and institutions to return to work. He expressed his frustration and inability to comprehend why some refused to return to work. “Stop hesitating and waiting for things to get better. This is the time to return to work. Libya needs everybody to go back to their jobs now,” he stressed.
Ready to put Saif on trial
Al-Mana confirmed the news that various prisons under the control of the government were now ready for operation and that the government was now ready to put Saif Al-Islam on trail soon. The government had made all the necessary preparations for this trial, he stressed.
Regarding Abdallah Senusi, Al Mana confirmed that the Libyan government was still pursuing the case. He repeated the government’s call for his handover.
The spokesperson also confirmed that a committee had been set up to pursue members of the old regime. It had started creating a list of these working with various national and international bodies.
Go-ahead for some development projects
The spokesperson confirmed that the Ministry of Planning had approved payments for Libyan students abroad and had given the go-ahead for “some priority development projects such as those with a high completion rate”. He did not elaborate as to which projects, for which companies and in which country.
Lower-priced internet
To the many frustrated internet users up and down the country, the spokesperson confirmed that the Ministry of Telecommunications had made some price reductions to some call tariffs including a reduction of prices for internet use.
He made no comment about the current poor quality of the internet service.
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