By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 26 February 2014:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan repeated his claim that the authorities are making efforts to rebuild the . . .[restrict]security environment in Libya after the 17th February Revolution.
Speaking at yesterday’s press conference on the back of the “inhumane” execution-style murder of seven Egyptians in Benghazi on Monday, Zeidan said that he had just been at a meeting in the east of the country to put in effect security measures all over Libya against such acts.
The Prime Minister condemned the executions and paid condolences and apologized to Egypt for the incident.
“We have made an effort to establish a police and army and I have ask them to take up their security roles”, the Prime Minister added, referring to his earlier complaints in previous statements that many paid-up security personnel refuse to turn-up for work.
Referring specifically to the increased occurrence of kidnappings and assassinations, the Prime Minister admitted that there was a “failure in security”, but then warned that the Libyan authorities will no longer stop at locally pursuing suspects and seeking to arrest them, but that Libya would seek to issue an international arrest warrant with Interpol for such perpetrators.
Interpol issues red notice international arrest warrants and transmits them to its 188 member countries.
Zeidan said that there could be no sympathy with such criminals and that his government was determined to take action. He said that such terror activity was inhumane and wholly unacceptable.
Asked by the media regarding his government’s security performance, Zeidan reacted robustly. Zeidan repeated his regular mantra saying that “the Libyan state is weak”, adding on this occasion, “becuase you are weak – the Libyan public”.
On the implied question as to what action his government might take to impose security, Zeidan added that his government “did not come to power to fight Libyan citizens. We did not come to fight, we came to keep security”. [/restrict]
