Tripoli, 2 February 2013:
Zintan has declared its loyalty to the General National Congress (GNC). The declaration comes amidst growing concerns that . . .[restrict]there could be mass protests on 15 February attacking the GNC and the government.
Cyrenaican federalists have called for mass protests on that day to “correct the course of the revolution” and there are fears that others opposed to the revolution, including both Qaddafi sympathisers and militants, will use the occasion to instigate violence.
In a statement which stressed the legitimacy of the GNC, Zintan’s local and military councils insisted that any changes to the way Libya is currently governed had to go through the GNC which, they said, had been “legally elected”. Confirming Zintan’s opposition to any illegal activities that threaten to damage the country’s interests, the statement claimed that forces inside and outside the country critical of the revolution’s progress were threatening to destabilise Libya.
The Zintanis’ priority, the statement said, was to ensure the continued success of the 17 February Revolution..
The National Rally for Libya Rebels has also asserted its support and commitment to the revolution. It condemned any attempts to create chaos and panic in the run-up to the second anniversary.
“Any attempt to circumvent the revolution” the Libyan news agency LANA reported the organisation as saying, “is a betrayal of the homeland, driven by foreign agendas and [the] black hands of remnants of the old regime”.
The National Rally continued: “The National Congress is a product of the Revolution of 17 February, which all Libyans have chosen through the ballot box”. It said that the interim government and the GNC had formal mechanisms and were legitimate and transparent. It added that demonstrations were also legitimate but should not be used to promote chaos.
The organisation vowed that it would “strike with an iron fist all wishing to prejudice the destiny and prosperity of the people”. [/restrict]
