Abdel Rahim al-Keib, an academic and wealthy businessman who is a native of Tripoli, was elected interim prime minister in a public vote carried out by the members of the National Transitional Council (NTC) Monday night. Libya’s new prime minister pledged his interim government would set respect for human rights as its priority, as the UN warned against the proliferation of arms looted from Muammar Gaddafi’s huge stockpile.
“We guarantee that we are going to build a nation that respects human rights and does not accept the abuse of human rights. But we need time,” Keib said. Keib spent decades abroad as an opponent of Gaddafi before joining the pro-democracy revolution that overthrew him.
He replaces Mahmud Jibril, who resigned three days after Gaddafi was captured and killed when NTC fighters overran his hometown Sirte on October 20. “This vote proves that Libyans are able to build their future,” NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil said after Monday’s vote. Under a political roadmap, Keib now has until November 23 to form an interim government that, parallel to the NTC, will run Libya for eight months after which elections for a constituent assembly will be held.
At that point the interim government and NTC will disband, giving way to a “general national congress” that the constituent assembly will form to run the country until parliamentary and presidential elections are held.
The appointment of a new prime minister came as the UN Security Council on Monday called on Libya’s interim authorities and neighboring countries to stamp out the spread of weapons from Gaddafi’s stockpiles.
Amid mounting fears that militant groups in Africa and beyond could get shoulder-fired rockets and other weapons from the Gaddafi cache, the 15-member council unanimously passed a resolution demanding the clampdown.
Resolution 2017, drawn up by Russia, stressed international fears that the stockpile could cause unrest through Africa’s Sahel region and fall into the hands of groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The resolution called on Libya “to take all necessary steps to prevent the proliferation of all arms,” especially man-portable surface-to-air missiles, MANPADS.
Since the death of ousted despot Gaddafi on October 20, Libya’s transitional government has found two chemical weapons sites hidden by the old regime, experts said. The UN envoy to Libya, Ian Martin, told the Security Council last week that international inspectors have to visit hundreds of suspected weapons stockpile sites in Libya.
Monday’s election of a new prime minister followed a visit to Tripoli by NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen to mark the official end of the alliance air war that helped topple Gaddafi.
The no-fly zone and naval blockade, enforced by NATO since March 31, ended a minute before midnight Monday Libyan time (2159 GMT), as stipulated by a UN Security Council resolution last week that ended the alliance’s mandate. “At midnight tonight, a successful chapter in NATO’s history is coming to an end. But you have also started writing a new chapter in Libya’s history,” Rasmussen told a joint news conference with Abdel Jalil. Earlier, he said the military alliance stood ready to help the new Libya in areas such as defence and security reform. “(But with) no NATO troops on the ground, I don’t foresee a major NATO role,” he added. After a visit that lasted around five hours, Rasmussen was whisked off to his C-130 military transport plane to return to Brussels, with Danish fighter jets escorting him part of the way. Hours later, NATO’s planes left the skies of Libya.
