http://www.libyaherald.com/?p=11836
Qaddafi intelligence officer assassinated in Benghazi drive-by shooting
By Michel Cousins
Tripoli, 29 July:
A senior Qaddafi-regime military intelligence official was assassinated in Benghazi yesterday in what is being described as a hit list killing.
Suleiman Buzraidah was killed on Saturday evening by a single shot fired from a white Chevrolet while he was going to Isha prayers near his home in the city’s Al-Leithi district. He was rushed to Benghazi Medical Centre but died shortly afterwards.
“It was a very professional killing”, said one Benghazi resident who lives nearby. “They were clearly waiting for him.”
It is being reported that Buzraidah was number 12 on a death list drawn up by a supposedly Islamist vigilante group. The list is rumoured to contain 106 names of Qaddafi-era officials. Buzraidah was a colonel in the former regime but was said to have continued to work for the NTC.
On Thursday, another Qaddafi regime official, Hameed Ali Kunduz, was assassinated in the city in a remote control car bombing. He had worked with the Internal Security Agency. He is believed to have been killed by the same shadowy group as killed Buzraidah.
Last month, Saleh Al-Warfali, another retired Qaddafi-era intelligence colonel, was assassinated in front of his home in the city.
Meanwhile earlier today, Sunday, it was reported that a group of unknown assailants, in 20 armed vehicles, threatened to attack the National Security Headquarters in the city’s Hawari area unless a number of prisoner were freed.
On Friday, bombs containing at least 40 kilos of explosives were found behind the Criminal Investigation Department building and the Police Patrol Department of Benghazi Directorate in Hawari.
The bombs were defused by members of the specialized Department of Explosives. According to one of the technicians involved in dismantling them, the bombs were fitted with a car alarm system which could be easily set off by a remote signal.
The bombs were said to be strong enough to cause extensive damage to the building departments as well as surrounding structures including the houses opposite the Directorate.
Also on Friday morning, a grenade was thrown at the north court in central Benghazi. No one was hurt. It is reported that a Sudanese man has since been arrested in connection with the attack.
The north court was extensively damaged in a triple bomb attack on 27 April.
The Buzraidah killing and the attacks are reported to have increased fears in the city that there will be more bloodshed.
“People very nervous about it,” said Salah Benali who works for a UN agency in Benghazi. “They fear that it will start revenge attacks and that there will be more killings.”
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Congress independent members mull PM and chairman choices
By Michel Cousins.
Tripoli, 28 July:
It is reported that broad agreement been reached by a powerful block of members of the newly-elected National Congress that Libya’s next prime minister should come from the east of the country. It is also agreed that chairman/speaker of the congress come from the west or south.
Members of the Congress (MCs) who were elected on the independent ticket and who are unconnected to either Mahmoud Jibril’s National Forces Alliance or the Islamist grouping around the Muslim Brotherhood’s Justice and Construction Party, together with members of smaller parties such as the National Front or the Union for Homeland, have been holding a series of meetings in the past few days on the issue. With over half the total number of seats in the congress, this “third force” is seen as kingmaker in the process.
“It’s agreed that the leader of the government should come from the east and the head of the congress from the west,” Abdurrahman Sewehli, leader of the Union for Homeland, told Libya Herald. He was elected on the party list system in Misrata.
It is felt that if the prime minister is from the east, he said, it will help address the east’s complaint that it has been ignored.
According to Ahmed Langhi, one of the independent MCs representing Benghazi, the idea has not been officially agreed but most members of the congress think it a “good idea”. That includes Mahmoud Jibril, whom he saw this morning, Saturday, to discuss a number of issues, and the Justice and Construction Party.
According to Sewehli, names on the table for the post of prime minister include those of Electricity Minister Awad Barasi and Saad Aghila. The 46-year-old Barasi, who was appointed minister last November, comes from Benghazi. Other sources confirm that he is being supported for the job. Aghila is the judge who heads Benghazi’s north court. He is involved in the investigation into the killing of Abdul Fatah Younis who was killed a year ago today.
Another name being mentioned for the job in the past couple of day by some MCs is that of Salah Ajouda who was also elected as an independent in Benghazi. He is extremely popular in the city, topping the list of 248 candidates in the elections and winning more than 40,000 votes — more than any other candidate in the country.
There are, however, questions about his experience. A former dissident who spent many years in the US, he is seen to lack political acumen by some. “He is more social than political”, said businessman Hani Benali from Benghazi. “He knows how to talk to people.” It is being rumoured too that Ajouda is supported by Qatar.
Nonethless, the suggestion of Ajouda is significant. It has future constitutional implications. It indicates that the MCs expect the prime minister to be a member of the Congress rather than an outsider merely appointed by them, as would be the case if Barasi were chosen.
As to a possible chairman of the congress, several names area being suggested. These include those of Sewehli, National Front leader Muhammad Yusuf Magarief, Ali Zidan and Juma Ateega, who like Sewehli was elected in Misrata.
Zidan, who represents Jufra in the south, appears to be the front runner according to both a number of MCs and diplomats in Tripoli. He had a major role introducing the NTC to the world at the beginning of the revolution and than became the NTC’s representative in Europe. As such he could be a bridging figure between the old NTC and the new congress.
Magarief has the problem that he is from the east and represents Ajdabiya. If the prime minister is also from the east, that would rule him out. Ateega is said to be too liberal for the Islamists. But then Zidan could be said to be that as well.
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http://www.libyaherald.com/?p=11709
Local administration law will serve as the base for decentralisation: Minister
By Umar Khan.
Tripoli, 27 July:
Local Government Minister Mohammed Hadi Hasimi Harari
The local administration law approved by the NTC last month is now being reviewed by its legal department before it is published. The Minister of Local Government, Mohammed Hadi Hashemi Harari, told Libya Herald that he expects the law to be published very soon. “I’m in constant contact with the legal department and I hope the law will be published within days. At the same time our team of specialists is working on the bylaws.”
Asked if this law, which is being described by many as “the decentralisation law”, will serve that particular purpose, Harari says it most definitely will.
“This law will serve as the structure of the state. It will be the backbone. The bylaws will specify the roles of different institutions and will empower the regional offices as they’ll be able to take decisions about their own areas. It will lead to decentralization”, he said.
“The NTC did not give this law the importance it deserved. It should have been the priority because the lack of administration and weak government often lead to complications with the tribes and other forces, making use of the power vacuum, challenged the government’s writ”,
But things are different now. “I’m very hopeful that the new government won’t repeat the same mistake and will adopt the law at their earliest,” he added,
Harari is confident that the law, if done in the right spirit, can be fully implemented within two years. He said: “People have to realise that we have been working for ourselves for 42 years and now it’s time to work for Libya. It’s not about taking credit but serving Libya.” He continued: “Our team of specialists have worked hard to come up with the law, they’re now working on the bylaws that will serve as the regulations for the executives.”
The local administration law, when implemented, will see fresh elections for all the local councils that will also be re-structured based on the new law. Dr Mustafa Dabbash, professor of economy and a central member of the committee formed by the Minister Harari, who has been working on the local administration law, says that the existing councils are temporary and will only be operational till the law is implemented.
“There will be elections as soon as the law is implemented to elect the local representatives. The current local councils are temporary bodies that will be replaced by the new local administration system,” explained Dabbash.
He also added that the committee had ensured that they would legislate for a welfare state where all services were provided to the people as and when they needed them.
“We are working to finish the bylaws by the end of this month so they are ready to be used as soon as the law is implemented,” said Dabbash. He also noted that the committee had also prepared procedural charts to help administrators implement the law in the best possible way.
“We have prepared training material for the people carrying out different tasks to implement the system easily and effectively. It requires a good administrator to implement the law as they have to begin from the scratch. If done in the right way, one year should be enough to implement the law.”
Regarding decentralisation, Dabbash says, “It’s a matter of the order of procedure, the manuals are all there. In fact we have 27 manuals that can be used straightaway after a little modernisation. Decentralisation can be achieved very quickly and the local administration law already provides the foundation for it to be implemented in the fastest possible time.”
According to Dabbash, the delay in preparing the law was because there was no actual local administration law in place and the committee had to work on every aspect of the law from scratch.
It remains to be seen, though, whether the newly-elected National Congress will retain the NTC’s local administration law or come up with something completely different. It is responsible for approving the new constitution and with the debate focused on arguments about federalism and decentralisation, local administration is bound to be a key component of constitutional planning.
The first session of the congress is in less than two weeks’ time and it will shortly afterwards announce the new interim government to run the country till the general elections next year. It is widely believed that most ministers will be replaced but some who performed well are thought likely to be asked to stay on in the same role.
Asked if he would want to continue in the same position if asked by the congress, Harari was very clear that he would not decline any offer if given the chance to work in an independent manner. “I want to do things quickly for Libya as we have already wasted a lot of our time. If given the opportunity to work in the same position, I’ll gladly accept,” he said.
“Even if not, I’d still continue to work closely on the law with the next minister, as the only thing that matters is to serve Libya. Positions don’t matter.”
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