Heir Apparent thanks ‘friends of Libyans’

HH the Deputy Emir, Heir Apparent and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, yesterday thanked all the parties that helped in liberating Libya.Speaking  at the inaugural session of  the Conference of the Friends Committee in Support of Libya in Doha, the Deputy Emir affirmed that the mission’s only aim was just to help the Libyans to live honorably and freely and the Libyans would not forget this. UK Chief of Staff General Sir David Richards said that Nato’s mission in Libya has been one of the most successful operations in its history and Qatar has been a great catalyst to insure the success of the operation. Yet, he believed that Nato may not be the right vehicle to do the support needed for Libya at this stage, perhaps be due to legal and technical formalities. He also anticipated a meeting of the participating countries in Libya soon.  The meeting held yesterday was attended by chiefs of staff and their representatives of various countries among which are UK, USA, France, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Italy, Malta, UAE and Canada. The Chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abdul Jalil headed the meeting.Addressing the gathering, Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Qatar was “most supportive” of the Libyan cause. He  pointed out that Qatar had played a key role in managing the liberation battle through the strategic support of the Qatari military in selecting the main targets that would topple the regime of Gaddafi. He said that without Nato’s role in protecting civilians and support of the rebels, they would not have achieved such a swift victory. “This operation would enhance the reputation of Nato in the world as a guarantor of freedom and justice,” he said.However, he hoped that Nato would extend its mandate, which expires by the end of this month, in Libya at least till the end of this year. He indicated that Libya was still in bad need of the support of its friends to maintain its internal and border security to guarantee that weapons are not smuggled, combat illegal migration and deal with remaining Gaddafi fighters. This would also enhance regional security and give protection to southern Europe. Abdul Jalil pointed out that NTC has implemented a plan to absorb rebel fighters into the new civil society and collect all weapons, indicating that some groups had already turned in their weapons. He also anticipated more logistic and strategic aids from friendly countries to train Libyans, and develop regular comprehensive defence and security systems. “We hope that next meeting will be in Libya held soon,” he said.NTC Defence Minister Jalal ad-Dighili pointed out that Libyan oil plays a major role in sustaining the global economy and he asked the industrial countries to assist Libya in maintaining its security. He also said that the state has a plan to re-employ former rebels into the various security and custom fields pointing out that the remaining Gaddafi forces still constitute a challenge. “Gaddafi has his followers inside Libya and abroad. Those inside will be dealt with fairly according to the law,” he said. He also asked the co-operation of the international community in repatriating those abroad to be dealt with in accordance with justice in a free democratic society. He pointed out that a national army was being formed and it would be restructured soon, though securing marine and land borders represents great challenges. In this respect he reiterated the  need for weapons, surveillance and communication equipment and helicopters.  Ahmad Darrat, NTC Minister of Interior said that the main priorities at this stage were maintaining security and order indicating that the ministry offered to include former rebels, who wish so, into its forces and many of them had already been welcomed. Others will be redirected to their former occupations and surrender their weapons. He also indicated the need for more logistic and security support.