GNC members issue statement on “isolation law”

By Maha Ellawati.

Benghazi, 24 December:

A diverse group General National Congress (GNC) members issued a statement on proposals for an “isolation law” targeting figures linked to the former regime.

The statement, which was broadcast on television channels late last night said that the group were in favour of a law to shut out those linked to Qaddafi’s rule from the current government.

In the statement, the group said that they would “work through the GNC to speed up the passing of a law to block the way for any leftovers from the former regime to infiltrate the organs of the state and its institutions”.

Such figures also needed to be removed from “the judicial establishment” , the group said in their statement.

They expressed their profound belief that “anyone who participated in the destruction can not in any way be a tool for rebuild the state, and it is unimaginable that anyone who took part in the corruption of the social, political and economic life of Libya could ever be a cause for reform”.

The group is made up of independent GNC members, as well as several from different political blocs, who represent areas all across the country, the statement said.

Their statement came days after a series of small protests were staged in towns and cities across Libya calling for an “isolation law” that would prohibit those closely connected with Qaddafi from holding senior posts in the new government.