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By Wil Crisp.
Tripoli, 19 February 2013:
Work has begun installing a pair of lofty new flagpoles in the middle of Tripoli’s Martyrs’ . . .[restrict]Square. The masts have reportedly been commissioned by the Interior Ministry to mark the second anniversary of the revolution.
A local construction company started breaking up concrete in the middle of the square this morning, to make way for the retaining bases.
The engineer overseeing the project, Mustafa Sagen, told the Libya Herald that the flagpoles will be 25 metres high and will, when complete, fly the red, black and green flag adopted by the revolution.
Passersby on the whole appeared to welcome the project as a positive development. One suggested it would be a nice touch if one of the two flags flown was that of the Amazigh.
“A lot more people were flying the Amazigh flag this year during the anniversary festivities’ he said, ‘I’m not an Amazigh myself but I think it’s great that we’re celebrating Libya’s diversity in a way that was impossible under Qaddafi.”
The new project comes after days of partying across Libya, all funded and organized by the people. Ahead of the celebrations, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said there was no budget set aside for the festivities. However, according to the engineer overseeing the flag poles, the project was being funded by the government.
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