By Libya Herald staff.
Tunis, 2 March 2015:
The Beida-based government’s information chief, Omar Gawairi, has claimed that the government has evidence of . . .[restrict]Turkey providing support to what he called “terrorist groups” in Libya. Speaking in an interview broadcast on Egyptian TV on the position taken on Libya by a number of countries, he said the most blatant evidence of Turkey’s stand was the fact that it was allowing wounded “terrorists” to be treated in Turkish hospitals while others were being given shelter there.
The Thinni government, he confirmed, had decided to end Turkish contracts but this would be passed to the House of Representatives to vote on. Those contracts, he suggested, could be given to Italian and Egyptian companies – especially, in the case of the latter, construction contracts.
The fact that Italian and Egyptians companies might be reluctant to accept such contracts because they might be sued by affected Turkish companies was not addressed.
A number of countries, Gawairi claimed, were giving technical assistance to Libya Dawn, including providing spare parts and upkeep for military aircraft. The only country he named was Sudan which, he alleged, had an aircraft maintenance team at Jufra airbase, near Hun. Again, he said, the government had the evidence, including names of the technicians and voice recordings.
Criticism was directed too at the UK and the US.
In the case of the UN Security Council and the government’s request for sanctions on arms supplies to be lifted, Libyans should not hold out much hope of it happening, he said. Libya would have to rely instead of support from “friendly countries”. Thanks to it the government had been able to continue the fight against the “terrorists”, he stated. But that support could not be military intervention, he insisted. It was purely a matter of arms supplies.
Holding out olive branch to Tunisia following last week’s row over Tunisian plans to reopen its consulate in Tripoli as well as one in Tobruk, Guwairi said that there had been a misunderstanding. In fact the Libya government recognised that the Tunisian authorities had to look after the interests of its citizens in Tripoli and had taken the decision in that light, he explained. Fundamentally, though, there were no differences between the two governments.
On the issue of illegal migrants from Africa and Asia using Libya to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, Gawairi warned that the Libyan government was in receipt of information of plans to send terrorists to Italy hidden among the other travellers. He claimed too that weapon for use by terrorists had reached France along the illegal migrant route from Libya.
He singled out France, though, for praise in understanding the seriousness and scale of the terrorist issue in Libya.
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