Global News Post: Libya

Libya Marks 1st 'Liberation' Anniversary

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NNN---
Libyan girls wear traditional outfits during celebrations to mark the first
anniversary of the country's "liberation" on 23 October 2012. <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country>
celebrated the first anniversary of its "liberation" from the regime
of Moamer Gaddafi, even as fighting flared in a former bastion of the slain
dictator. On October 23, 2011, just three days after Gaddafi was captured and
killed in his hometown Sirte, the transitional authorities declared the
country's liberation, formally ceasing hostilities. The day was observed as a
public holiday across <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country>.
Photo courtesy agencies---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Libya Marks 1st 'Liberation' Anniversary

NNN--- Libyan girls wear traditional outfits during celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the country's "liber...

Libyans Hold Emotional Multi-Party Election, First in 60 Years

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Al Pessin<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">TRIPOLI, Libya -- Libyans went to the polls Saturday for the country's first multi-party election in 60 years. Midway through the day of voting, there no disruptions or major incidents. It was an emotional moment for people who have lived through 42 years of dictatorship and a bloody revolution.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Libyan drivers honked in celebration as they passed young revolutionary fighters guarding a key intersection. Just nine months ago, the young men were fighting the forces of Moammar Gaddhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At a school in a working class neighborhood, women celebrated and showed off their ink-stained fingers, evidence that they had voted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Inside, in separate men's and women's voting rooms procedures were followed with precision and respect.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are dozens of Islamist and relatively secular parties, and hundreds of independent candidates. Islamists are expected to do well, but 23-year-old recent university graduate Farah Moterdy said she would not be voting for them, fearing they would try to restrict women's rights.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My heart is beating quickly," Moterdy said. "Yesterday I was crying when I see the pictures of the people who are in the election. Who will we choose of them? I don't know. We want to make the future for Libya. It depends on us. This is what I know. It depends on us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Businessman Suleiman Giornazi was also emotional, calling the election a fantastic achievement. He said he is not worried about ongoing conflicts in the countryside involving dissatisfied militias and tribes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Nothing bothers me," he said. "The only thing that bothers me is Gadhafi, and he's gone. And we will be all right. This is hiccups and doesn't mean nothing to us. We for sure will get over it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Voting went surprisingly smoothly after extensive training of Libyan election workers and observers. The head of the Shahed Network for Election Observing, Abdelkarim Mohammed Hassan, gave up his own chance to vote near his home in the east to help with the election in Tripoli.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What I've seen here in Tripoli is great," said Hassan. "And also I have some contacts from my coordinators in different cities and towns in Libya. They are saying it's going great and it's going good. And I think we're going to pass this, Inshallah [God willing].”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nearly three million people registered to vote, about 80 per cent of those eligible. They are choosing among 1,400 candidates for 200 seats in a National Assembly that will form an interim government and write a new constitution. Voting was complicated, and the outcome will be decisive for Libya's future.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But on Saturday Libyans of all ages put their concerns aside and celebrated the simple but hard-fought triumph of their first post-revolution election day.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libyans Hold Emotional Multi-Party Election, First in 60 Years

By Al Pessin TRIPOLI, Libya -- Libyans went to the polls Saturday for the country's first multi-party election in 60 years. Midway th...

Libya Nearing Key Moment in Its Democratic Transition, Says UN Envoy

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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Special Representative Ian Martin. UN Photo/Iason Foounten</span></span></div></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">UN News--- – Libya is nearing a key moment in its democratic transition with upcoming elections, the United Nations envoy for the North African country said today, while adding that the polls are just one part of a process that requires addressing key issues such as ensuring public security and promoting human rights.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Elections are part of the transition; they are not the beginning and not the end,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya, Ian Martin, said in a briefing to the Security Council.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Elections will help address some of the issues which plague the transitional authorities, but following the elections, Libyans must re-commit themselves to serious long-term state-building,” he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Just over one million people have so far registered to vote in the election of a National Congress, which will, among other tasks, draft a new constitution for the country. The polls, to be held by late June, will be the first free elections in decades in Libya, where Muammar al-Qadhafi ruled for more than 40 years until a pro-democracy uprising last year led to civil war and the deposing of his regime.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mr. Martin – who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) – cited public security, human rights, transitional justice and the rule of law, and arms proliferation and border security as the main priorities that need to be addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He noted that the Libyans’ expectations of concrete progress in the post-revolution period are strongest in relation to security, where ordinary Libyans would like to see a coherent process of rebuilding institutions, establishing the rule of law and integrating the so-called revolutionary forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Armed clashes in recent months between various groups have tested the reach and authority of the government’s security apparatus and ability to impose the rule of law, said Mr. Martin. A key issue related to public security, he added, is the integration or demobilization of the revolutionary fighters and the control of weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The mounting challenges which Libya’s transition has to overcome, especially as regards security, make it urgent that issues of legitimacy are settled through early electoral processes,” he stated. “The Libyan people need to feel that their government is chosen by and accountable to them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also briefing the Council was Ambassador José Filipe Moraes Cabral of Portugal, in his capacity as chairman of the committee overseeing the sanctions imposed on Libya by resolution 1970 of 2011, which included an arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Presenting the work of the committee from 1 March to 10 May, he told the 15-member body that all levels of authorities in Libya needed to be engaged in the overall efforts to control weapons and combat illicit trafficking.                           <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya Nearing Key Moment in Its Democratic Transition, Says UN Envoy

Special Representative Ian Martin. UN Photo/Iason Foounten UN News--- – Libya is nearing a key moment in its democratic transition wi...

Gaddafi Spy Chief Arrested

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)---The intelligence chief of late former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been arrested in Mauritania, al Jazeera tevelision reported on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's brother-in-law, was detained at Nouakchott airport as he arrived from the Moroccan city of Casablanca on a false Malian passport, Mauritanian security officials said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 63-year-old has been described as a hardliner and one of Gaddafi's closest aides. He fled Libya after Gaddafi was deposed and then killed in anuprising last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The International Criminal Court has indicted Senussi on two counts of crimes against humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gaddafi Spy Chief Arrested

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)---The intelligence chief of late former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been arrested in Mauritania, al Jazeera teve...

Gadhafi Supporters Attack Libyan Town, 4 Dead

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<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Heavy fighting broke out Monday in the Libyan town of </span><st1:city style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bani Walid</st1:place></st1:city><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">, as supporters of ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi attempted to capture the city, killing at least four fighters loyal to the country's new government.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Residents said both sides fought with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank weapons. The clashes are said to have begun when Gadhafi loyalists, angry about the arrest of some of their men attacked revolutionary fighters in the town.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Libyan media quoted Bani Walid’s local council spokesman, Mahmoud al-Warfali, as saying pro-Gadhafi units took control of most of Bani Walid and that the green flag, the banner of the former government, could be seen flying in the streets.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Senior Libyan officials confirmed reports of battles in the city, 140 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tripoli, but they said the fighting may have resulted from "internal problems." A revolutionary commander said dozens of reinforcements were sent to Bani Walid to help secure the town.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">The outbreak of violence prompted pro-government militias in Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi to declare a high alert and to secure entrance points to those cities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Bani Walid - base of the powerful Warfallah tribe - was one of the last towns in Libya to surrender to last year's anti-Gadhafi revolt. Many people there oppose the country's new leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Local tribal elders eventually agreed to let National Transitional Council [NTC] fighters enter the town, but relations even after the war have been uneasy. In November, about 15 NTC soldiers were killed in an ambush by Gadhafi loyalists just outside the city.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Libya's new rulers are struggling to unify a deeply fractured country after eight months of civil war and more than 40 years of Gadhafi's authoritarian rule.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">On Sunday, deputy NTC head Abdel Hafiz Ghoga stepped down, one day after anti-government protesters stormed the ruling body's offices in Benghazi.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Ghoga, one of the Council's highest-profile members, announced his resignation as thousands of university students demonstrated against him in Benghazi, where last week he was manhandled and had to be pulled to safety. The protesters denounced Ghoga's presence in the NTC, calling him and other former loyalists "opportunists." Ghoga was a belated defector to the Libyan rebels from the Gadhafi government.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="font-size: small;">Benghazi residents also have accused the NTC of corruption, not moving fast enough on reform, and favoring former loyalists at the expense of wounded rebels who helped overthrow Gadhafi last year. ---VOA News</span><o:p></o:p></span></div></h2></div>

Gadhafi Supporters Attack Libyan Town, 4 Dead

Heavy fighting broke out Monday in the Libyan town of Bani Walid , as supporters of ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi attempted to capture the ...

Libya's No. 2 Leader Resigns After Benghazi Anti-Government Riot

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The deputy head of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s National Transitional Council says he is resigning his post a day after anti-government protesters stormed the ruling body's offices in the eastern city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Abdel Hafiz Ghoga announced his resignation in an interview with Al-Jazeera television Sunday. A day earlier, rioters threw stones and hand grenades at the NTC complex in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city>, entering the site while senior officials were inside. It was the most serious display of public anger toward the NTC since Gadhafi's ouster. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The protesters accused the NTC of neglecting wounded rebels who helped to overthrow Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi last year. They also denounced the presence of former Gadhafi loyalists in the NTC, calling them "opportunists." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ghoga was a belated defector to the Libyan rebels from Gadhafi's government. Some of Saturday's protesters had chanted slogans against him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NTC officials led by the body's chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil met again in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city> on Sunday. Ahead of the meeting, he said the NTC would adopt a draft law for national assembly elections that it has promised to hold in June. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Benghazi</span></st1:city><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> was the birthplace of the revolt against Gadhafi's 42-year autocratic rule of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span class="apple-style-span"> ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>

Libya's No. 2 Leader Resigns After Benghazi Anti-Government Riot

The deputy head of Libya 's National Transitional Council says he is resigning his post a day after anti-government protesters stormed...

Islamists Demand Sharia-Based Laws in Libya

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">Cairo</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"> (Ria Novosti)- Over 3,000 Libyans in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:place></st1:city> rallied on Saturday to demand that Sharia law be the main source of the country’s legislation, Al Arabiya reported.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The protesters are calling for the Sharia law as the source to be clearly stated in the constitution, Ghaith al-Fakhri, a Libyan Islamist told the AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Islamists gathered on the central square in <st1:city w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:city>, a stronghold city of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s revolution, waved copies of the Koran and chanted Islamic slogans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Apart from <st1:city w:st="on">Benghazi</st1:city>, hundreds of people staged a rally on the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>’s main <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Algeria Square</st1:address></st1:street> in a protest against secular laws, Al Arabiya said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They burned copies of the “Green Book,” a handbook on politics, economics and everyday life, written by the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi who was killed in October near his hometown of Sirte after being captured by then opposition forces.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“We want to run our life according to Islamic principles, be it the economy, politics or our relations with other countries,” Abdul Basit Ghuwaila, a preacher at a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> mosque told Al Arabiya. “Most people think Islam is just about harsh penalties.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Islamists were opposed by a group of protesters who participate in a month-long sit-in for a secular state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“We all want Sharia, but not the one they’re talking about, the one that rejects women,” said Nour al-Zintani, a female participant of the sit-in. “We want a moderate Islam that gives women their rights.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">Libya</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"> saw almost ten months of fierce fighting before the National Transitional Council (NTC) established control over the country's territory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In late October the NTC head, Mustafa Abdel Jalil said that the Islamic Sharia law will be the basis for the laws in the newly liberated <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> and any existing laws that contradict it will be abolished.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Islamists Demand Sharia-Based Laws in Libya

Cairo (Ria Novosti)- Over 3,000 Libyans in Benghazi rallied on Saturday to demand that Sharia law be the main source of the country’s le...

Libya: UN and Government Sign Status of Mission Agreement

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QUQz0opi4xo2Ke93PSis0InVGz9Wdw-QgJLNAKJAPvn6GZp03zxl5Ne9lhudfl6Wy7A5tY1hfyPQBSb63zOAgqU2aquXgU1tMOWnXstH8cHWQoI4UHkS_WwG9lZzWX79YnmiMmvKSyU/s1600/LibyaUN+and+Government+sign+status+of+mission+agreement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QUQz0opi4xo2Ke93PSis0InVGz9Wdw-QgJLNAKJAPvn6GZp03zxl5Ne9lhudfl6Wy7A5tY1hfyPQBSb63zOAgqU2aquXgU1tMOWnXstH8cHWQoI4UHkS_WwG9lZzWX79YnmiMmvKSyU/s640/LibyaUN+and+Government+sign+status+of+mission+agreement.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Special Representative for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place> Ian Martin Photo © UN News<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The United Nations and the Libyan authorities today signed an agreement establishing the legal framework under which the UN mission set up last year to support the country’s post-conflict reconstruction efforts will operate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The status of mission agreement between the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s interim Government lays out the rights, responsibilities and procedures for both signatories, with respect to the deployment, presence and safety of UNSMIL operations and personnel in fulfilling the mission’s Security Council-authorized mandate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ian Martin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of UNSMIL, signed agreement in the Libyan capital, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city></st1:place>, on behalf of the UN, while the country’s Minister for Foreign and International Cooperation, Ashur Bin Khayyal, signed for the Government. As I speak, United Nations electoral experts are sharing their experience in order to help Libyans to shape the first elections most Libyans will ever have experienced.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Today, Libya will be listened to with respect at the United Nations, and Libyans will be recognized as people who have courageously asserted their dignity, and in doing so have risked – or in too many cases, laid down – their lives,” said Mr. Martin.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Your interim Government and a vibrant civil society are addressing the enormous challenge of making the principles of democracy and human rights into a reality, in a complex post-conflict environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“As I speak, United Nations electoral experts are sharing their experience in order to help Libyans to shape the first elections most Libyans will ever have experienced. Together with public security and transitional justice, this is one of the three priority areas for which you have requested United Nations support,” he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Security Council last month extended UNSMIL’s mandate until the middle of March and expanded its tasks to include assisting the transitional Government in its efforts to address the threat of arms proliferation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The mission was established by the Council last September for an initiative period of three months. Its initial mandate was to support the National Transitional Council (NTC) in its reconstruction efforts after the end of the conflict, including restoring the rule of law, drafting a new constitution, promoting reconciliation and preparing for elections.<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;"> ---UN News<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div></div>

Libya: UN and Government Sign Status of Mission Agreement

Special Representative for Libya Ian Martin Photo © UN News The United Nations and the Libyan authorities today signed an agreemen...

Libya to Discuss Trial Arrangements for Gadhafi Son with ICC

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libya</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’s transitional government is preparing for talks with the International Criminal Court about where to hold a trial for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the captured son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says he will travel to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> in a week to discuss arrangements for the trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan militiamen from the western town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Zintan</st1:place></st1:city> captured Seif al-Islam before dawn Saturday in the country’s southern desert. Libyan transitional authorities later chartered a transport plane to fly him to Zintan. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Some Libyan officials have said they want the former heir apparent of Moammar Gadhafi to be tried in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Netherlands-based ICC issued arrest warrants for Seif al-Islam, his father, and the late dictator’s intelligence chief in June, charging them with crimes against humanity for violently suppressing a pro-democracy uprising. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan transitional fighters captured and killed Moammar Gadhafi in his hometown of Sirte on October 20. The former intelligence chief remains at large.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">’s transitional Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib visited Zintan on Saturday and praised the capture of Seif al-Islam as marking a new chapter for the country. Transitional forces launched the uprising in February and drove the senior Gadhafi out of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> in August, ending the dictator’s 42-year rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyans celebrated Seif al-Islam’s capture with gunfire in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> and other cities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a statement Saturday, the U.S. State Department said the capture and trial of Seif al-Islam “would be another step away from a 40-year dark chapter in Libyan history” and help the Libyan people achieve “the peaceful and democratic future they deserve.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:state w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Washington</span></st1:state><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> also urged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> to treat all prisoners humanely and in accordance with international standards. Transitional fighters who seized Moammar Gadhafi in Sirte were seen beating him before he died, prompting international concern about his treatment in custody.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Libyan militiamen who captured Seif al-Islam say they got a tip that he would be traveling in a convoy on a desert track west of the Libyan town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Obari</st1:place></st1:city>. They say they intercepted two vehicles in the area and identified Seif al-Islam before detaining him and several associates without a fight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photographs of Seif al-Islam after his capture showed the 39-year-old with a thick beard and wearing brown robes and a turban in the style of ethnic Tuaregs. Several of his fingers were bandaged due to injuries he said were sustained in a NATO airstrike. Journalists who flew with him to Zintan said he otherwise was in good condition after several months on the run. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Seif al-Islam’s appearance marked a transformation from his former image as an internationally-respected, British-educated reformer in his father’s autocratic government. He had become one of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s and the world’s most wanted men for supporting Moammar Gadhafi’s crackdown on the uprising. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Libya to Discuss Trial Arrangements for Gadhafi Son with ICC

Libya ’s transitional government is preparing for talks with the International Criminal Court about where to hold a trial for Seif al-Isla...

Libyan Military Captures Gadhafi's Fugitive Son

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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan military officials say they have captured and detained Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, a fugitive son of former leader Moammar Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A military spokesman said Saturday forces caught Seif al-Islam and several of his aides near the southern town of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Obari</st1:city></st1:place>.<span>  </span>The town is near the border of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place>, which has already given asylum to another son of the former Libyan leader, Saadi Gadhafi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Libyan officials say it appears as though Seif al-Islam's aides were trying to smuggle him into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The country's president, Mahamadou Issoufou, said last week no decision had been about what to do if Seif requested asylum.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Associated Press quotes <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s acting justice minister, Mohammed al-Alagi, as saying Seif al-Islam will be transported to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city></st1:place> soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Television video from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city></st1:place> on Saturday showed Libyans celebrating news of Seif al-Islam's arrest. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity for helping to lead the crackdown on protests during his father's rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last month, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the court had been in talks with Seif al-Islam about a possible surrender and making sure he gets a fair trial. --- VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Libyan Military Captures Gadhafi's Fugitive Son

Libyan military officials say they have captured and detained Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, a fugitive son of former leader Moammar Gadhafi. A m...

Libyans Optimistic on Democracy, Challenges Loom

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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By Al Pessin from Tripoli</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the first blush of enthusiasm after the nine-month struggle to oust Moammar Gadhafi, many Libyans are optimistic that the country will be able to move toward democracy with little payback for the iron rule and atrocities of the past. But some analysts are not so sure.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The private compound from which Moammar Gadhafi ruled Libya is flattened.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Youths play on what is left of some of his military vehicles.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">University students celebrate their newfound freedom.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But there is serious work to do.  The council that led the Libyan revolution gave way to an interim government, which is to lead the country to elections and a new constitution.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Along the way, Libyans will have to decide how to deal with those who supported Gadhafi, and those who allegedly committed atrocities in the name of the revolution.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Libyan politician Hadi Shalluf, of the Justice and Democracy Party, hopes to be part of the country’s future leadership. “If anyone committed any crimes, any violation of human rights, he should be judged.  If the people didn’t commit any crimes in that time, we have no problem.  These people should be integrated into life,” Shalluf said.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rebel fighters also need to be reintegrated.  These men are being honored because they handed in their weapons.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rebel fighter Tariq Hussein fought in some of the toughest battles in Misrata and in Gadhafi’s hometown, Sirte.  He’s guarding government buildings now, and he thinks reconciliation is already well along the way.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“I hope God will grant us reconciliation," Hussein stated. "I think it’s already at 70 percent, and I hope it will reach 100 percent soon.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But some analysts outside Libya are not sure the country will have such a smooth a transition to democracy.  They say tribal, regional and political differences, could become more pronounced in the coming months.  Among them is Anthony Skinner of the Maplecroft risk assessment company, who spoke to VOA via Skype.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“We have to be careful, mindful of the risks, that you still have a large number of groups that are very well armed, that are very concerned to ensure that they lay their claim to the political landscape," Skinner said. "And the concern is now with Gadhafi actually removed from power, and actually killed, that this glue which held these groups together will have disappeared.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All the Middle Eastern countries that overthrew their rulers this year are facing various difficulties along the road to democracy.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But for now in Libya, with children playing on the relics of the old regime, most people are eager to put any differences aside, at least for the moment, and to hope that after decades of dictatorship and months of war they can move forward together.---VOA News</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Libyans Optimistic on Democracy, Challenges Loom

By Al Pessin from Tripoli In the first blush of enthusiasm after the nine-month struggle to oust Moammar Gadhafi, many Libyans are o...

Womens' Rights Unclear in Post-Gadhafi Libya

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By Al Pessin from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place> heads toward elections, there are Western concerns its new government could move towards conservative Islam and limit the rights of women.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>’s Liberation Day, transitional leader Mustafa Abdul Jibril said in the new <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place> he wants men to be allowed to marry up to four wives, without getting permission from their existing wives, as a Gadhafi-era law required.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That raises concerns in the West, and among some Libyans.<span>  </span>But many Libyans take the announcement in stride, including unmarried 19-year-old university student Zakia Hassan who acknowledges that the arrangement of her future husband with multiple wives would not be a problem for her.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But other Libyan women express concerns. One woman stated: “I have no objection to Sharia, but we should not just give men the right to marry additional women and forget about the rights of his other wives.” Another, “I have no objection to men taking multiple wives, but not my husband. <span> </span>Only if I’m sick and can’t take care of him.<span>  </span>But if I’m OK, no way I could accept that.” Yet another, “A man has the right to marry another woman, but he should get permission from his first wife.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Libyan lawyer Manal al-Deber, who lived in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> for 14 years, thinks Westerners are too worried about this aspect of Islam. “Everybody’s scared on this point," she said. "But when you give man authority to do it, he will run away from it (laughs). “ <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Several men indicate she might be right. One man stated: "One wife is just enough.<span>  </span>We have many problems, and more than one wife, come on, we can take one and we can say that that’s it.<span>  </span>More than one, it might be a difficult problem." Another, "“If you ask me for my own opinion, one woman is too enough for me.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But clothing importer Marukh Dubruk has a different view. “I already have two wives, and I will take a third, God willing," he said. In Sharia, we can have up to four wives, but a man must be fair with all of them.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One concern is that allowing multiple wives would go along with limits on women’s rights.<span>  </span>But Libyan psychiatrist Iman Farhad, a mother of two, is not worried about that. “My husband wouldn’t do that.<span>  </span>And if he is going to do that, he doesn’t need my permission," she stated. "He can do it without that."<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That is not going to convince those who worry about the future of women’s rights in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But in fact the revolution inspired some women to get more involved in their society.<span>  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One organization that sprung up is Heartfelt Promise, founded by housewife Su’ad al-Feituri and several of her neighbors. “The goal is to raise the standards of Libyan women, for example by teaching them how to operate computers and how to speak English," she said."Democracy starts from the smallest units of society, and then it expands.”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All across the country, women joined in the celebrations of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s liberation.<span>  </span>But as Libyans build their new society, one question they will have to answer is to what extent women will truly be involved.---VOA News</div></div>

Womens' Rights Unclear in Post-Gadhafi Libya

By Al Pessin from Tripoli As Libya heads toward elections, there are Western concerns its new government could move towards conservati...

Libya's NTC Elects New Interim PM

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s National Transitional Council has elected Abdel-Rahim el-Keeb as the country's new interim prime minister, hours before NATO ended its <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place> mission.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> native won with a slim majority Monday, gaining 26 of the 51 National Transitional Council members' votes.<span>  </span>El-Keeb is a U.S.-educated electrical engineer who earned his doctorate at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">North   Carolina</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">He is tasked with forming a new government that will pave the way for national elections.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The vote came shortly before NATO ended its <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> mission at midnight Libyan time, concluding its air campaign to protect civilians under a U.N. Security Council resolution. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed the seven-month bombing campaign during a visit to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> Monday. He said he is "proud of the part NATO played" in helping Libyan transitional forces drive Moammar Gadhafi from power.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Rasmussen said the alliance acted to protect the Libyan people and "together we succeeded." He called <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> "finally free," praising its people for having transformed the country and helping to change the region.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The NATO chief was in the Libyan capital for talks with the National Transitional Council, including chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil. Rasmussen said discussions will focus on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s expectations regarding possible future NATO assistance and the country's roadmap for a transition to democratic rule.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">NATO formally decided to halt the mission after the U.N. canceled the mandate last week, though <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s transitional leaders had urged NATO to continue because of security concerns.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> faces a "huge challenge" to unify the country, and that leaders have a complicated political task ahead of them. But she told The Washington Post the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> and other countries have offered assistance, and will help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> in any way they can.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s outgoing provisional Prime Minister, Mahmoud Jibril, Sunday said he could confirm the presence of chemical weapons in the country.<span>  </span>He did not provide details on weapons sites, but said representatives from international organizations are set to arrive later this week to deal with the issue.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Last week, the top U.N. envoy to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>, Ian Martin, told the Security Council that previously undeclared chemical weapon sites had been found in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Provisional leaders declared the country liberated from the 42-year rule of Moammar Gadhafi during a ceremony on October 23.<span>  </span>Officials have said they plan to form a new interim government within a month, followed by elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months.<span>  </span>Parliamentary and presidential elections would be held within a year after that. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Libya's NTC Elects New Interim PM

Libya 's National Transitional Council has elected Abdel-Rahim el-Keeb as the country's new interim prime minister, hours before NA...

Niger: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi would be Transferred Over to ICC

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Scott Stearns from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dakar</st1:place></st1:city></span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to arrange the surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is on the run and could be heading for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The new civilian government in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region></st1:place> says the eldest son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi would be turned over to the court if he arrives in the country.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Saif al-Islam Gadhafi has been on the run since he and his father, the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, fled <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> in August.<span>  </span>ICC prosecutors say they are trying to arrange his surrender on charges of crimes against humanity. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Throughout <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region>'s rebellion, several convoys of Gadhafi allies have crossed into <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> on what the government in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niamey</st1:place></st1:city> calls humanitarian grounds.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Habi Mahamadou Salissou is a senior member of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s coalition government.<span>  </span>He says surrender is Saif al-Islam's best option. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If the International Criminal Court is in talks with him, Salissou says, it is best that Saif al-Islam go of his own accord, rather than be hunted and caught by Libyans, who, Salissou says, will end up killing him as they did his brother and father. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Salissou says <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> does not know where Saif al-Islam is hiding, but that if he is in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the government will discuss how best to transfer him to the International Criminal Court. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Because <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region> is a signatory to the international court, Salissou says, it is obliged to respect its commitments.<span>  </span>But it will do so while protecting the life of all those on Nigerien soil. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Moammar Gadhafi remains popular among ethnic Tuaregs in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>, many of whom fought in his army.<span>  </span>The late Libyan leader backed, then helped negotiate the end of, Tuareg rebellions against the governments in <st1:city w:st="on">Niamey</st1:city> and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bamako</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The two countries say they are working together with <st1:city w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:city>'s interim leaders to arrange for the return to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> of some Tuareg veterans of the Gadhafi army.<span>  </span>Large groups of armed Tuaregs who fled <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> are raising concerns about renewed instability in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mali</st1:country-region> as well as the spread of weapons to al-Qaida affiliated terrorists in the <st1:place w:st="on">Sahel</st1:place>. ---VOA News</div></div>

Niger: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi would be Transferred Over to ICC

By Scott Stearns from Dakar The International Criminal Court (ICC) is trying to arrange the surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is on...

NATO chief makes unannounced visit to Libya

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</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BRUSSELS</span></st1:city><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti)-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made an unannounced visit to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> on Monday, a NATO spokesman said in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Brussels</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Rasmussen will hold talks with National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdel Jalil and other Libyan leaders in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city>, the press service said. After the talks, Rasmussen and Abdel Jalil will hold a joint press conference.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NATO on Friday announced the end of Operation Unified Protector, which was imposed to protect civilians from Muammar Gaddafi's regime.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NATO is formally ending the mission on Monday, which it has hailed as one of its "most successful" yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The no-fly zone and naval blockade imposed by NATO on March 31 will end at 11:59 pm Libyan time (21:59 GMT), as stipulated by a UN Security Council resolution approved last week that ends the mandate for military action.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Over the seven months, NATO aircraft carried out more than 26,000 sorties, including 9,600 strike sorties. The alliance also maintained a naval blockade of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> at the same time it facilitated delivery of 2,100 shipments of humanitarian aid.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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NATO chief makes unannounced visit to Libya

BRUSSELS (RIA Novosti)-NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made an unannounced visit to Libya on Monday, a NATO spokesman said ...

ICC: Mercenaries Trying to Help Gadhafi's Son Flee

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The International Criminal Court says intermediaries have been in touch with a fugitive son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, to discuss a possible surrender so he can face trial.<br />
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ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also said Saturday the court has learned that mercenaries are trying to help Seif al-Islam Gadhafi flee to an African country.<br />
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Moreno-Ocampo said his office could order an interception of a plane trying to take him to another nation. Recent reports have said Seif al-Islam was traveling through the <place w:st="on">Sahara</place> to a neighboring country.<br />
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The ICC has charged Seif al-Islam Gadhafi with crimes against humanity. He is accused of killing civilian protesters during the uprising against his father's regime.<br />
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On Saturday, the Reuters news service quoted Moreno-Ocampo as saying Seif al-Islam told intermediaries he is innocent of the charges. <br />
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In other news, NATO is preparing to wrap up its seven-month-old <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Libya</place></country-region> mission on Monday. <br />
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NATO ministers approved a resolution Friday that will terminate the alliance's air campaign. NATO made its decision a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to cancel its mandate that established the mission. ---VOA News<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;"><br />
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ICC: Mercenaries Trying to Help Gadhafi's Son Flee

The International Criminal Court says intermediaries have been in touch with a fugitive son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, to d...

NATO will stop bombing Libya but won’t leave

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">By Yelena Suponina for RIA Novosti</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">NATO’s war in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> will come to an end on October 31, 2011. Preparations are currently underway. On Thursday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution announcing that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s air space will be open to both NATO aircraft and local airliners starting next Monday. This resolution ends the no-fly zone introduced by the Security Council in mid March, just two days before the war. The draft resolution, proposed jointly by <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, was unanimously approved.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The Security Council did not end the war<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Does this mean that the war in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> is over? Will NATO forces really leave? How can the Security Council make the decision to end a war it did not start?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Let’s recall that Resolution 1973 of March authorized force against the Gaddafi regime but did not mention war as such.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Russia</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> still maintains that this document did not sanction combat operations and that the Western countries that started the war with the support of several Arab monarchies, particularly <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qatar</st1:place></st1:country-region>, violated the resolution. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>’s Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said yesterday that the lessons of the events in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> must be learned. Western politicians, for their part, tell <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> not to play dumb – it allowed the resolution to pass with its abstention. Experts had no doubt that this would automatically lead to war.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Today I have seen for myself that it was not the Security Council and not <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> that made the decision to end NATO’s military actions in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>. I saw firsthand in <st1:city w:st="on">Doha</st1:city> (the capital of the small but significant <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qatar</st1:place></st1:country-region>) how such strategic plans are adopted.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Friends of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> set Oct. 31 deadline<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">As a political scientist, I was allowed to attend the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Doha</st1:place></st1:city> meeting of the Libya Contact Group (also called the Friends of Libya), which is now winding down. Established in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> on March 29, ten days after the start of the war, it was initially involved in overthrowing the Gaddafi regime. Now it has embarked on building a new <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The new Libyan leaders have been meeting with high-ranking diplomats and military officials from allied countries in different cities of the world. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s official representatives have not yet attended these meetings. On this occasion, the Friends of Libya gathered in one of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Doha</st1:place></st1:city>’s finest hotels.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Libya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> was represented by National Transitional Council (NTC) Chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil and some of his deputies and associates, including Defense Minister Jalal al-Digheili. The Islamist Abdul Hakim Belhadj is also considered to be a leader of the rebel military forces. A fierce struggle for the top spots in the new government is underway.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Crown Prince of Qatar, attended the opening of the meeting. On October 26, one day before the Security Council passed its resolution; they finalized their earlier agreement that NATO should officially announce the end of combat operations in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The meeting was lead by Gen. Hamad bin Ali al-Attiya, Qatari chief of staff and a relative of the emir. He told me that they had also suggested the date – October 31.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">A new military coalition to help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">It was only after the victors tied up the loose ends that the issue was submitted for a vote at the Security Council. Important political decisions are no longer made in the UN, no matter how much <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region> are trying to resist this or present it in a different light.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Some meticulous analysts have noted that at the very same meeting in Doha Libyan leader Abdul-Jalil declared for some reason that he would like NATO to continue its activities in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> “at least up to the end of this year.” Some commentators see this as a contradiction: the agreement was to wind down NATO involvement by the end of this month, and yet there is this suggestion that it could be extended.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This is not a contradiction. Abdul-Jalil (a former justice minister in the Gaddafi government) is not well versed in big time politics. He said what was on his mind and what is actually happening on the ground. NATO forces will remain in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> at least to the end of this year and maybe even longer, even after adopting to the resolution. They will simply change the name of the operation and slightly alter the staff. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This would no longer be a NATO operation but a mission of the Friends of Libya coalition. Gen. Hamad bin Ali al-Attiya told me that it “will consist of 13 or more countries,” led by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qatar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United Arab Emirates</st1:place></st1:country-region> will likely join. <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Britain</st1:country-region>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> and some other NATO members have already agreed to participate. So in reality NATO forces will continue to be geared towards <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>, although this won’t be so obvious to the public eye.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Moreover, the military officials that attended the meeting suggested to me that the aircraft of the partner countries may continue patrolling <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s air space. Libyans will be steadily adopting NATO standards in military training.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The allies are refining their mission as events develop. However, all participants in the meeting agreed that the war in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> was not yet over. The Libyans talked at length about Gaddafi supporters that were still fighting, and the inability of the new leaders to protect the country’s land and maritime borders or put an end to arms trafficking.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">To sum up, the war will continue for some time, and NATO will remain in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> for a long time to come, even though it has achieved its main goal – the Libyan opposition and its friends from several dozen Western and Arab countries have ousted Gaddafi. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 9pt;">Yelena Suponina is a Middle East scholar and a commentator for The <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> News. She filed this report for RIA Novosti from <st1:city w:st="on">Doha</st1:city>, the capital of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Qatar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 9pt;">Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti and Global News Post.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div></div>

NATO will stop bombing Libya but won’t leave

By Yelena Suponina for RIA Novosti © flickr.com/isafmedia NATO’s war in Libya will come to an end on October 31, 2011. Preparations...

Gaddafi’s Fugitive Son Says He Is Innocent

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- Saif al-Islam, the fugitive son of late ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has told the International Criminal Court (ICC) he is innocent of crimes against humanity, the BBC reports.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The ICC has said it made informal contact with Gaddafi’s son, who has not been seen in public since August. The court indicted the 39-year-old, once seen as a successor to his father, for murder and persecution in June.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Saif al-Islam claimed he was innocent and was concerned about what could happen to him if he was cleared of his charges.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">The Hague-based court is also seeking the arrest of former intelligence chief Abdullah Sanussi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">While the two men’s whereabouts remain unknown, Libyan officials have said they might be holed up in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s southern borderlands.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">On Thursday, a source in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s National Transitional Council said Saif al-Islam wanted a neutral aircraft to take him into ICC custody.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">However, the ICC’s Moreno-Ocampo said there were fears Saif al-Gaddafi might escape the court’s reach.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">“We have learnt through informal channels that there is a group of mercenaries who are offering to move Saif to an African [country] not party to the Rome Statute of the ICC,” al Jazeera television quoted ICC’s Moreno-Ocampo as saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Gaddafi’s Fugitive Son Says He Is Innocent

Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Must Be Transferred Safely – Amnesty

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">LONDON (NNN-KUNA) -- Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi must be allowed to surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face investigation for crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said last night. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Reports said that the fugitive son of Colonel Gaddafi is willing to turn himself in. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The ICC prosecutors said today the Court is in indirect contact with Saif Al-Islam over his possible surrender. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Al-Senussi, who is also wanted for crimes against humanity by the ICC, is also reportedly prepared to face justice in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">The Hague</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"If reports are correct that Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi are willing to hand themselves over to the International Criminal Court, they must be allowed to do so and their safety and rights must be guaranteed," said Marek Marczynski from Amnesty International's International Justice Team in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The National Transitional Council and neighbouring governments must ensure their safe detention and prompt transfer to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">The   Hague</st1:place></st1:city> for investigation, whether they surrender voluntarily or are arrested and transferred." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In June, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, along with Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, on two counts of crimes against humanity - murder and persecution Saif Al-Islam reportedly fled <st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region> to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Niger</st1:country-region>, where he has taken refuge among <st1:place w:st="on">Sahara</st1:place> nomads, following the killing of his father last week. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Abdullah Al-Senussi is reported to be in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Both men are believed to be at risk of suffering a similar fate to Mu'ammar Gaddafi and his son Mu'tassim Gaddafi, who were captured alive by anti-Gaddafi fighters and then allegedly killed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The NTC now has a responsibility to prevent similar harm coming to Saif Al-Islam Al-Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi, so that they can face justice for their alleged crimes in a fair trial," said Marek Marczynski. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Investigating the men before the ICC offers an opportunity to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the victims of the crimes against humanity they are charged with committing against the Libyan people - justice that may have been denied if the unlawful killing of Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Gaddafi is confirmed", Amnesty concluded. --NNN-KUNA<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Must Be Transferred Safely – Amnesty

LONDON (NNN-KUNA) -- Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi must be allowed to surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face investigation for...