By Ahmed Elumami and Houda Mzioudet.
Tripoli, 14 July 2013:
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been criticised by acting Army Chief of Staff, Salem Gnaidi, for not making more efforts to build the Libyan army.
“The government of Ali Zeidan does not want a national army,” said Gnaidi, speaking yesterday on Libya Awalan TV station. He said that instead it was trying to build up a new body parallel to the army, called the National Guard.
The government, however, last week repealed a resolution made a month ago to set up a National Guard. It is expected that the General National Congress (GNC) will make a new law to establish a similar security force.
“I have been asked by Ziedan,” Gnaidi said, “not to interfere in establishing the National Guard.” He suggested that the National Guard was the same as Qaddafi’s former Revolutionary Guard, but added that he thought the name might be changed.
The solution for the Libyan Army, Gnaidi said, was for a high council of defence, which should be made up of patriotic Libyan soldiers without political partisanship. This was needed, he said, to get rid of regional and political allegiances which are currently holding back the army.
He said that some Libyan army officers are members of political parties and blocs. This, Gnaidi said, was another problem hindering the construction of the army, which must be impartial.
Gnaidi also said that the billions allocated to the building of the Libyan police and army are not going to military accounts. Rather, he said, some of the funds are going into “unknown personal accounts.”
Defence Committee member Jumaa Sayah told the Libya Herald, however, that Gnaidi should back up his claims with evidence, especially now that Libya is in “a sensitive situation.”
“In my opinion, Mr. Gnaidi is old, and he does not know what to say,” Sayah said. He added that Gnaidi did not have enough background to talk to the media. [/restrict]
