The West must release all Libya’s frozen assets in order for a new government to succeed following the uprising against the 42-year-rule ofMoamer Gaddafi, a senior Libyan rebel figure said Friday. “There will be high expectations after the collapse of the regime. The frozen assets must be released for the success of the new government to be established after the Gaddafi regime,” said Mahmud Jibril, number two in the rebels’ National Transitional Council (NTC).
He was speaking, through an interpreter, at a news conference with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu the day after senior diplomats of the Libya Contact Group met in Istanbul and underlined the need to empower the NTC with legal, political and financial means to form an interim government. “Salaries of civil servants need to be paid,” said Jibril. “Life needs to continue on its normal course.” The Gaddafi regime “is going through its final moments,” he added, calling for efforts to restore peace and stability.
“The arms (being used by rebel fighters) must swiftly be collected, so that we can establish a national army and a strong police force,” Jibril stressed. Turkey’s Davutoglu hailed the release of $1.5 billion in the frozen Libyan assets by the UN sanctions committee as a “positive development.”
