By Libya Herald staff
Tripoli, 26 October 2013:
Residents in Zawia have been staging a protest in its main square, Martyrs Square, against . . .[restrict]the local council, the General National Congress and the government. Protestors claim that the council and Congress, in particular, are dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Demonstrations were said to have been launched from several mosques in the town against the Muslim Brotherhood after Friday prayers yesterday, demanding changes in both bodies.
According to former Zawia Local Council member Abdulfattah Ammar, the protests started on Wednesday afternoon, after Dhuhur prayers with “hundreds of people” converging on the square. “There were young and old people at the protest from all walks of life with no political orientation demanding the GNC a change course,” he stressed.
However, according to the head of Zawia Local Council, Mohamed Khathrawi, the protestors, who he said had been attending the funeral of one of the town’s revolutionaries, were not against the Brotherhood. Rather they were calling for better performances by the council and government and changes in the GNC. Members of the council, he told the Libya Herald, had gone to the square to negotiate with them.
This latter is denied by Ammar who insists that the local council did not react to the protests nor did it enter into dialogue with the protesters.
There have been regular protests in Zawia against the performance of the government, Congress and the council in recent weeks. Following the accusation by the Prime Minister six days ago that two of Zawia’s Congress members, Mohamed Al-Kilani and Mustafa Al-Treiki, were involved in his kidnapping on 10 October, there were anti-Zeidan protests. The council also demanded that he withdraw any reference to Zawia in his statement – a demand that the Prime Minister has ignored.
According to Amamr, further protests are planned.
“Zawia locals will be taking part in 9 November Movement to show their dissatisfaction at the work of the GNC,” he said.
The 9 November Movement is an initiative by Libyan civil society activists, former revolutionaries and media people According to its Facebook page it aims “to save the country from conflict between different factions who have lost sight of reconciliation” and put the Libyan revolution back on track. [/restrict]
