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          Gunmen Maintain Grip on Libyan Ministries Even After New Law

   by Reuters

   Gunmen refused to give up control Monday of two ministries in Libya's
   capital, even after Libya's parliament caved in to their demand and
   banned any senior official under dictator Moammar Gadhafi from holding
   government posts.
   The new law, passed with an overwhelming majority on Sunday, could
   embolden the armed groups to further flex their military muscle and
   undermine the already weak transitional government set up in the wake
   of the 2011 civil war that toppled Gadhafi.
   It also could unseat the prime minister and the leader of the
   parliament, both of whom helped rally the exiled opposition to Gaddafi
   from the 1980s. Other top administrators could also be removed from
   office leading to a significant skills gap.
   "If members of the High Electoral Commission are forced to resign as a
   result of the political isolation law, finding their replacements will
   take time, as will the eventual drafting of electoral laws," said Geoff
   Porter, head of North Africa Risk Consulting.
   "All of which will cumulatively delay the election of a constitutional
   committee and thereby prolong the transition government way beyond its
   intended mandate," he said.
   Nearly two years after Gadhafi was overthrown, the gunmen who fought to
   end his 42-year dictatorship are refusing to lay down their arms and go
   back to civilian life - militiamen are more visible than Libyan state
   forces in the capital.
   The cabinet and Libya's official armed forces are so weak that swathes
   of the oil-producing desert country long have been outside central
   government control.
   Gunmen then seized the Foreign Ministry more than a week ago and the
   Justice Ministry last Tuesday.
   Parliament is due to form a commission to decide how to implement the
   sweeping law; the list of jobs held under Gadhafi that would lead to
   disqualification from politics and executive roles in state firms still
   leaves room for debate in some cases.
   Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, a diplomat under Gadhafi until he defected
   to the exiled opposition in 1980, could be among those barred from
   office.
   Fearing the commission was a ruse to persuade the militias to
   relinquish control of the ministries and then not implement the law,
   gunmen said they would stay in place till the measure was put into
   practice.
   "A couple of the groups have left, but we are going to stay until the
   law is applied because we don't trust them to implement the measures,"
   said one of the gunmen at the Justice Ministry.
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   ies-even-after-ban/1655717.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-maintain-grip-on-libya-ministries-even-after-ban/1655717.html