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Tripoli, 26 April:
In an unprecedented counter attack against the body that elected him, Libyan Prime Minister Abdurrahim Al-Kib expressed his . . .[restrict]deep regrets regarding the ‘fierce media campaign’ on his Transitional Government conducted by some members of the National Transitional Council (NTC).
In a strongly worded press release, and in response to a growing campaign against him and his government long suspected to originate from within the NTC, Al-Kib said that ‘the government has become, with or without good justification, a target of a fierce media campaign by the NTC or some of its members, concerned with discrediting the government and eroding its efforts in the people’s interest in these difficult circumstances’.
‘This campaign has led to the dispersal of the government’s efforts and its members and diverting them from performing their duties as required’, he added.
The usually diplomatic Al-Kib went on to say that ‘in fact, it has led to an embarrassment to both the government and to Libya as a whole towards the Libyan citizens and brotherly and friendly countries interested in our success’.
Revealing major fault lines developing between the government and at least some members of the NTC, the Prime Minister went on to admit that ‘the current charged atmosphere at this critical time is hindering the efforts of the government to carry out its duty and to realize the national elections on schedule’ .
He called on the NTC and the Transitional Government and civil society organizations to ensure that their top priority is that the elections be conducted on time, rather than the subject of whether the government will be dismissed or not.
Al-Kib went on to point out that his government has sought to communicate with the NTC in an effort to focus over the next two months on the elections.
They also attempted to ‘cooperate strongly and seriously to achieve this great goal, and move away from media rhetoric and attracting public opinion’.
‘The government has distanced itself from entering into such campaigns, not because we are lacking the ability to speak, but because we see that the government and the NTC are complementary and both are equally responsible for achieving the goals of the revolution and the transition to the state, and institution-building and the establishment of the Constitution’.
He pointed out that the threat of the withdrawal of confidence from the government and the continued attack on it impedes its efforts to carry out its duties in the service of the objectives of the 17th February Revolution, and especially the ensuring of the realization of the elections on schedule.
Finally, Al-Kib concluded that the ‘government will not accept in any case the delay of the elections for such reasons, and therefore the government will not bear the historical responsibility and consequences’.
‘The government does not accept in any way the delay of the election for such reasons, and so the government will not bear the historical responsibility and consequences, which may deviate the revolution from its course’. [/restrict]
