Bashagha: Continued power by force of arms is a form of ‘terrorism’
Fathi Bashagha, the Libyan prime minister-designate from the House of Representatives, said continuing to hold power by force of arms is a form of “terrorism”.
This came in a video speech by Bashagha, on Sunday evening, to the Libyan people.
“Holding on to power by force of arms is a form of tyranny and dictatorship – the use of force to continue in power is a form of terrorism and repression that we have never accepted and will never accept”, Bashagha said.
Since it was appointed by the Council of Representatives in early March, the government of Fathi Bashagha has not been able to take over because of the rejection of the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, whose extradition period ended. This is what prompted the former to use the city of Sirte as the headquarters of his government.
In his speech, Bashagha added, “Continuing in power by force of arms is not something we accepted upon ourselves when we were in power and handed over voluntarily. We will not accept anyone who imposed himself on Libyans by force of arms or by buying libel with money.” He was referring to his tenure as Minister of the Interior in the government of Fayez el-Sarraj, which was handed over to the government of Dbeibeh nearly two years ago.
Bashagha added: “As the Libyan government, we have not and will not allow the country to be divided. We have been very careful to bring its divisions together.
He continued: “We have never used force, never closed roads, never stormed houses or houses, and we have not issued arrest warrants against those who oppose us. On the contrary, we have opened all channels of communication with the opposition.”
Bashagha said his government “will work strongly to create all the necessary requirements for holding the elections, foremost among which are national reconciliation, the rejection of division and extremism, the promotion of social justice and the enhancement of the national spirit”.
During his speech, Fathi Bashagha sent a message to the opposition saying: “You are an integral part of Libya as we are an integral part of Libya – Libya will only be for all of us without exclusion, without tyranny and without treason and we will start from the future and we will not start from the past.”
In this regard he also added: “We will not waste our time holding each other to account because the country is in danger and cannot endure more conflicts.”
He emphasized: “We extend our hands to everyone and to those who wanted the homeland, security, stability and reconciliation, as we are with them and support each other.”
He continued to write to others whom he did not name: “We came to collect information about this country, whose wealth, sovereignty and dignity have been lost. We came to rehabilitate the Libyan citizen who suffers from poverty, disease, poor services, electricity cuts and fuel shortages.”
He went on to say: “Our state will be built by all of us with the help of supporters and with the cooperation of the opposition. We have a national challenge before us and we must have the courage and responsibility to uplift our country and secure its existence and future.”
Bashagha also said: “Whoever is loyal to individuals or to his personal interests or has sold the country for dinars and dollars, this is his decision, and this is his choice. We will not give it up in Libya, and we will leave it to the brokers and the corrupt who believe they can rule by arms and buy disbelief in illicit money.”
He concluded by saying: “Libya will be a respectable civil, democratic and independent country despite the hatred of the haters.”
