Alhurra’s Mohamed Al-Yahyai, host of Eye on Democracy, interviewed Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zaidan, who was a Geneva-based human-rights lawyer before the revolution, to discuss major issues facing the new interim government. During the hour-long interview, Prime Minister Zaidan talked about the achievements of the Libyan revolution characterizing them as truly significant. He noted “injustice and the state of tyranny and totalitarianism are over and the public will is realized.” He went on to say that calls for protest against the government’s policies are limited. He said that 90 percent of Libyans support the government.
When asked about the security chaos in Libya and the proliferation of arms across the country, Prime Minister Zaidan stated that the revolution was like an earthquake that shook the country, resulting in the spread of arms. But, he noted, according to government monitoring, the situation had improved by 70 percent over the past five months. He added that there is an ongoing effort by security personnel to improve the security situation and stop those who are involved in criminal activities.
Prime Minister Zaidan also highlighted the efforts the government has undertaken to achieve national reconciliation and implement a transitional justice strategy in post-conflict Libya. He cited, as an example, a meeting “with southern tribes such as the Toubou tribe to discuss arrangements for reconciliation” as well as the Alkufra tribe. The government “also established an office in the prime ministry called the Office of Displaced Persons…This office will operate in coordination with reconciliation committees.”
