By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 15 May 2013:
Thirty four GNC members and the majority of government Ministers were in Benghazi yesterday most . . .[restrict]of whom attended the funeral of the three killed by Monday’s explosion.
During a live press conference last night, GNC head Magarief surrounded by numerous GNC members, Deputy Prime Minister Awad Barasi and Interior Minister Ashour Shuwail defended the GNC’s and government’s response to the fatal car explosion.
Asked why he had not arrived in the city earlier, Magarief replied that he first had to meet with the whole GNC to arrive at decisions in response to the fatal explosion and then he could travel to Benghazi. Magarief explained that they had all been in meetings beyond midnight the previous night to set up a Crises Management Room and the Joint Operations Room to be headed by the Army’s Head of the Commandos but with Ministry of Interior and Shield participation.
Asked why the GNC head felt this is Joint Operations Room would work when more than one previous one had failed, Magarief replied that the timing was different. On previous occasions he felt that the government was a caretaker government and it was unable to implement.
On this occassion he felt there was a (capable) Interior Ministry. He also felt this time round the Joint Operations Room was not set up hastily.”We took our time to create it”, he stressed. [/restrict]
