The broad agreement to get the army on its feet is very encouraging but it's facing big challenges from forces whose interest lie in an unstable Libya. This doesn't only include the known players i.e some brigades and political actors but also dubious characters with hidden agendas. International involvement is at its max and leaves a big space for many to act preserving their own interests that can be very different from the interests of Libya.
Thousand militia vehicles in Tripoli as revolutionaries announce support for new Chief of Staff
The Other Side
All the material is based on my struggle to find the hidden side to every story. The material available here is exclusive and should not be reproduced without written permission/agreement!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Opinion: Corruption – The biggest Problem facing Libya
My latest on the deep seated corruption in Libya. Its acceptance by people is more worrying than any other problem! Number of cases one hears every day is very high....
Opinion: Corruption – The biggest Problem facing Libya
Opinion: Corruption – The biggest Problem facing Libya
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Analysis: Egyptian Coup affecting Libya?
My latest on how coup in Egypt is affecting Libya. Analysis: Egyptian Coup affecting Libya?
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Interview With the Asst. Chairman TLC Adnan El Gherwi
Liberating Tripoli was not as easy as it seemed to many
because it was liberated in almost 2 days when the uprising started from
within. This whole move was very carefully planned months ago with miniscule
details taken into consideration.
One of the revolutionaries who were behind this all planning and the execution of the Operation Mermaid Dawn is Mr. Adnan El Gherwi. He not only played an important role in starting the 17th Feb revolution but also risked his life by organizing and actively participating in the underground meetings.
Of course I’m one of the many individuals who worked really hard to initiate the revolution. We were all talking together, as friends and we had noticed that Facebook was very helpful in Egypt and Tunisia and we started on the social media. I got active on Facebook to make people think about the change. Then the uprising happened, we were very happy but then the whole bloodshed started.
One of the revolutionaries who were behind this all planning and the execution of the Operation Mermaid Dawn is Mr. Adnan El Gherwi. He not only played an important role in starting the 17th Feb revolution but also risked his life by organizing and actively participating in the underground meetings.
His properties served as the safe houses for the
revolutionaries who were on the hit list of the former regime. He also headed
the crisis management committee which was created soon after the liberation of
Tripoli and successfully dealt with all the challenges.
He is currently the Head of the Executive Committee of TLC
and also serves as the Assistant Chairman of the Tripoli Local Council.
U: Thank you very much for your time. We can
start with a small introduction of you.
Dr. Adnan: Hello! My name is Adnan el Gherwi. I’m the head of the executive committee for TLC and I’m also the Assistant to the Chairman TLC Mr. Abu Hajar.
U: What happened on 26-12-2011? Was Mr. Abu Hajar assaulted?
Dr. Adnan: Well, they used indecent language but we have to say that not all of them did. They broke doors and furniture. His mobile phone and wallet are still missing but he was not exactly manhandled.
U: Did you identify the people who were involved?
Dr. Adnan: We asked the police, they came over and took the finger prints. They are investigating the whole case. We are waiting for their report. We have complete faith in our police department.
U: How did he become the chairman of the TLC?
Dr. Adnan: He became the leader when it was still a secretive movement.
Dr. Adnan: Hello! My name is Adnan el Gherwi. I’m the head of the executive committee for TLC and I’m also the Assistant to the Chairman TLC Mr. Abu Hajar.
U: What happened on 26-12-2011? Was Mr. Abu Hajar assaulted?
Dr. Adnan: Well, they used indecent language but we have to say that not all of them did. They broke doors and furniture. His mobile phone and wallet are still missing but he was not exactly manhandled.
U: Did you identify the people who were involved?
Dr. Adnan: We asked the police, they came over and took the finger prints. They are investigating the whole case. We are waiting for their report. We have complete faith in our police department.
U: How did he become the chairman of the TLC?
Dr. Adnan: He became the leader when it was still a secretive movement.
U: Can a council member represent Tripoli on
the NTC?
Dr. Adnan: No! No member of any city council could
become a member of the NTC. The philosophy is to keep the interim rulers away
from the political ambition. We are doing this for the country. We just want to
lead the people to the ballot box. All the NGOS and the civil society should
keep a check on all the councils and the NTC by observing them. To see if they
divert from their targets, this of course is the transitional period till the
elections are held! They should not involve themselves in any kind of politics,
ideologies; they should leave it to the ballot boxes. If we meddle with these
institutions now, we will not be able to go to the elections in time.
U: When are we going to see the elections for
the TLC? Are you going to run in the elections?
Dr. Adnan: Me myself, No! Actually, I asked the
NTC’s committee responsible for the national elections that if it is possible
to hold both elections in the same time. I just want to tell it to the
people of Libya that NTC is responsible for elections not the local city
councils. People often ask us to hold the local elections, which is not
possible. We are here to lead the city in to the elections where people can
elect whoever they want!
U: It means TLC has no intention to prolong
their tenure?
Dr. Adnan: No! We want to have elections as
soon as possible.
U: What type of auditing system is in place at
the TLC? Who is authorizing the payments?
Dr. Adnan: It’s being governed by the law. We have
the head of finance, our chairman and a superintendent from the ministry of the
treasury. Two signatures are required to issue the cheques and if somebody does
any corruption it will instantly show up. Another thing I want to emphasize
upon is that we, the Tripoli Local Council, are functional for almost 4 months
which is not a long time and that too in crisis. We didn’t find any staff
working in the offices so people need to consider that fact before judging our
performance. Secondly, we received money from the NTC only after the 15th
October which means we are just 3 months from the day we received the money.
And all the money we received after that is also recorded properly. We all are
doing this voluntarily, from our chairman to the very last member.
Dr. Adnan: Yes!
U: Are you aware about the leaked documents? Did
you launch any inquiry into it?
Dr. Adnan: I am very much aware of it. But those
documents show that no abuse of power was done by the TLC. As a general answer, those documents are not
offensive to us and show no corruption at all. Some documents show that we went
ahead of our authority, as of these days but at the time there was no executive
office in Tripoli, no NTC or anything. We were the government at that time. So
we had to take those decisions. It is like just after the liberation, all the
revolutionaries had guns and putting up check points but we couldn’t ask them
for the permit letter because it was required of them. But gradually as the
things were in full control and the government took over, they superseded many
of our authorities. This is how it works.
U: Alright! There was another document that showed
that somebody was sanctioned $500,000? Doesn’t it count as abuse of power?
Dr. Adnan: There is more to it. Actually the money
was found in one of the banks but it didn’t belong to the bank and the bank authorities
told us that it is not ours and we want to hand it over to the TLC as it was
the only authority at that time. So we authorized one person to go there
and deposit it in the TLC account for “el Waddaiya” (Safe Account). We
kept it in a safe account and it is still there! But only one letter was leaked
where he takes the money and not the other letter where he deposits it in the TLC’s
safe account.
U: So that money is safe?
Dr. Adnan: Not only that but we have millions! All the money that we found this way; it was
deposited in our safe account! We didn’t use it at all but we are saving it for
the elected government.
U: How are you dealing with normal issues like
garbage collection and other municipality problems?
Dr. Adnan: We are running on day-to-day
operations. We are not doing any new projects but we are trying to
improve the maintenance of the manholes and garbage collection. At the moment
we are not doing any future plans at TLC, as we are only an interim authority.
U: Now, some personal questions. What were you doing before the 17th February revolution?
U: Now, some personal questions. What were you doing before the 17th February revolution?
Dr. Adnan: I am a businessman. I have invested in few
companies.
U: Were you related to the previous regime?
Dr. Adnan: No! In fact when I was 19, I joined the
Libyan National Movement which was against Gaddafi. I was in U.K for about 6-7
years where I tried to make the free students union. I stayed active in the
organizations like this beside the study.
U: When did you return to Libya?
Dr. Adnan: I came back in 1990. I worked in a
government company but soon found out that it is not suitable for me so I
started a private business. I started my engineering bureau and started
building it slowly. Then the situation improved here and people were allowed to
make companies and then I formed my own company.
U: How did you become a member of the TLC?
Dr. Adnan: I joined the TLC because I was one of the
Tripoli revolutionaries working in secrecy when the Tripoli was under the
control of Gaddafi. We did a lot of work here in Tripoli both before and after
the 17th Feb. After the revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt we thought
this is the chance for Libya.
Of course I’m one of the many individuals who worked really hard to initiate the revolution. We were all talking together, as friends and we had noticed that Facebook was very helpful in Egypt and Tunisia and we started on the social media. I got active on Facebook to make people think about the change. Then the uprising happened, we were very happy but then the whole bloodshed started.
We went underground and the whole movement started, we
worked in small groups. We started by supplying material, then we progressed a
little and we were supplying ammunitions and guns. We also sent medical
supplies to the field hospitals. Then we started organizing together to build
the Tripoli Military Chamber which was in my house. It was the first step.
But when one of us was arrested we shifted it to another
place. I have another office which was used as a safe house (some friends who
were wanted by the former regime were staying there). Then we made an
information center and succeeded to get in contact with many of the local
groups here starting from Tajoura up till Janzour.
U: How was the date of 20th August agreed?
Dr. Adnan: We made a decision that any group who will
decide to go out against the Gaddafi forces will inform in advance as we have
to rise together. We were in contact with the military chambers of Misrata,
Western Mountains and the one in Tunisia to contact NATO.
Initially the plan was that NATO will hit some targets and
our forces coming from Western Mountains and Misrata will move in and we will
up rise from within. But then we thought of the destruction and damage to the
city and humans and Of course we changed the plan. They gave us some targets
like communications center in Tripoli which we refused and gave them the
coordinates to the manholes of fiber optics instead. We gave them
different ideas to minimize the destruction.
Then some people from souk el Jummah gave us a deadline that
we cannot miss the 20th of Ramadan. They pushed us in the corner. In
the past we had tested our capability when the Tajoura came out and then we
calmed them down and decided not to rush things. Then we said “Twakkalna el
Allah” (Lets Trust in ALLAH) and we went ahead with it. In the past we did
a lot of work like workshops for girls on how to deal with rape.
We also made a lot of leaflets and workshops for FF’s on how
to minimize the friendly fire so that they don’t kill innocent people. At that
time as there was no petrol and electricity, we all had to work very hard and
everybody did his part to achieve the common goal. I was involved to my best;
we supplied radios, satellite phones as we were thinking that the
communications system will drop but ALHUMDULILLAH we used our mobile phones to
communicate on the night of 20th Aug.
It all went very smooth. Then the military chamber
chose me as their spokesperson and after the uprising had started at 8:20pm, I
made the first speech at 8:30pm announcing the commencement of the Operation:
Mermaid Dawn. A lot of people in
charge, they all did a great job, many did much more than me. This is how I got
to TLC. When the TLC was established, they chose me as the head of the crisis
committee. That time, Tripoli had no water, no petrol, no food supply and
security was a concern too! When I was put in charge, of course we wanted the
city to start again.
As it was my area of expertise, I identified where the
problem was and how to overcome it. Specially the water, it was a big problem.
We found out that the all the power was shut down from the source. I also spoke
to the UN as it was their responsibility to protect all sources of water and we
succeeded in bringing back the running water in a very short time.
U: Any message you would like to give to our
readers?
Dr. Adnan:
Don’t concentrate too much on the city councils, these institutes will
take us to the elections. If we start competing on the chairs or the head of
the councils or anything like this, it will delay the process. We should leave
the competition to the ballot box. Let the ballot box decide on the ideologies
and competition. Just focus on the democracy itself. I ask all of them to
please avoid competition on the city councils and wait for elections to choose their
representatives.
U: Thank you very much!
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