Dead Sea, Jordan: Mahmoud Jibril, Chairman of the Executive Office of the NTC, yesterday announced here the complete liberation of Libya from dictatorship.
"Today the National Transitional Council, NTC, announces the complete liberation of Libya from dictatorship after eight months of bitter struggle," Jibril declared.
"I salute all those martyrs who passed away in the struggle. We did not have any money; and we did not have any arms, but we did have our will. I salute the heroism of the young people who fought for Libya," said Jibril in an emotional tribute to the thousands who joined the fight against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Jibril was talking to a press conference at the World Economic Forum's Special Meeting on the Middle East. He was very clear that he personally did not seek to stay in office as the interim constitution takes over the process of government.
"With the liberation complete, within one week to one month we will form an interim government, which will oversee the election of a new National Congress. This body will draft a constitution and manage elections for a parliament. The head of that parliament will be the acting head of state until we have presidential elections. After all this, Libya will have a freely elected government for the first time in decades," said Jibril.
To a question on the propriety of the apparent killing of Gaddafi, Jibril denied that Gaddafi had been killed by the arresting forces of the NTC. "I have seen the coroner's report, and spoken to the forces which were there. Gaddafi was found wounded in a culvert, and the arresting forces put him on a truck to take him to a hospital. The truck was caught in cross fire between NTC and pro-Gaddafi forces, and during this exchange of fire, Gaddafi was killed. I have no reason to doubt this story," he said.
In a meeting before the press conference Jibril listed the immediate priorities that Libyan authorities face. "It is essential to collect the arms that are all over the country at present", he said, speaking of the vital need to restore stability in a country with tens of thousands of men under arms. "This will not be easy, and it will test the resolve of the National Transitional Council, but we have to rely on the good sense and goodwill of the Libyan people."
"Then we have to build a reconciliation process, in order to bring in all strands of society to share in building a new Libya." Jibril was referring to the need to include people from both the east of the country near Benghazi where the revolution started, and the west around Tripoli, as well as the different political forces that all joined the common cause of liberation from Gaddafi at different times.
Looking ahead, Jibril spoke of the necessity for Libya to plan a new future incorporating new values, working within the global culture which all the young people of the world share. Seeking to make this more of a reality, he told Gulf News that he will convene a conference of young people from Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya - "the three Arab countries of the Mahgreb which have all gone through revolutions and liberation."
"Our old thinking is not suitable and we need to change our ideas to meet their expectations. If we don't do this, we will see them on the streets time and time again," said Jibril, taking a surprisingly long term and strategic view on the priorities that his interim authority has to deal with, the midst of winning a civil war.
Meanwhile, the US and Britain backed calls for an investigation into whether fallen Libyan dictator was executed in custody.
In Benghazi Omar Hariri, one of the officers who took part in Gaddafi's 1969 coup but was later jailed, was appointed head of the military. He was one of the interim government's senior military commanders during the revolt. Hariri promised that Libya's army would side with the people. Saleh Al Gazal, another official said that the country was blessed with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the NTC.
