Oil-rich eastern Libya declares itself semi-autonomous
Author: Nehal El-Sherif
March 6, 2012
Cairo (dpa) - Tribal leaders in eastern Libya on Tuesday declared the Cyrenaica region to be semi-autonomous, in a move that could revive old tensions in Libya.
Thousands of major tribal leaders and militiamen attended the ceremony in the city of Benghazi, the birthplace of last year's uprising against former leader Moamer Gaddafi.
"The Libyan people should not accept after today that one person should have all powers alone," one of the pro-federalist leaders told the conference, which was broadcast live on television.
The bid to revive the country's federal system puts regional leaders at odds with the Libya's interim leaders, who back decentralization of the government, but not a federalist system.
The declaration comes despite rejection from the interim ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) and government promises to introduce decentralization in the country.
Senior tribesmen attending the conference denied that the federal system would lead to a break up of Libya, saying that countries like the United States, Germany and Switzerland, are not divided.
"On the contrary, the federal system makes people feel secure against negative phenomena like military coups, which many developing countries witnessed in recent years," one of the tribesmen told the gathering.
Starting in the early 20th century, Libya was divided into three federations: Tripolitania in the north-western part of the country; Fezzan in the south-west; and the eastern Cyrenaica, which is known in Arabic as Barqa. The system was abolished after the 1967 coup led Gaddafi.
Cyrenaica is the first region to investigate reviving the federal system. But there have also been street protests to rally against the move.
Hundreds demonstrated Tuesday in Benghazi and the capital Tripoli in support for the central government, chanting slogans including: "No to tribalism, no to centralization, yes to civilized Libya."
The pro-federalists chose Ahmed al-Senussi, a former founding member of the NTC, to be the head of Cyrenaica's local council. Al-Senussi was a prominent opponent to Gaddafi and was a long-time political prisoner.
Libya's interim Prime Minister, Abdul-Rahim al-Kieb, urged Monday for solidarity between the government and the people, and that the nation's “silent majority” should protect the state against what he called “pseudo-revolutionaries.”
"We do not need federalism, because we are heading towards decentralization and we do not want to go back 50 years," he said on state television.
Gaddafi, who ruled the North African country for 42 years, was captured and killed in his hometown Sirte in October.
Since then, the interim government has been facing demands to speed up implementation of economic, social and security reforms.
