Dozens of Libyan religious leaders Monday urged authorities to disarm former rebels and form a national army, backing the transitional government’s struggle to exert control over the militias that overthrew dictator Moammar Khadafy.
The fighters are widely admired for their role in bringing down Khadafy, but the clerics’ statement reflected concern over the militias’ refusal to submit to the central authority. Dozens of militias have held on to arsenals of heavy weapons and sometimes clash among themselves.
Also Monday, a U.N. report said former Libyan revolutionaries still hold about 7,000 people, and some reportedly have been subjected to torture and ill treatment. The report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says that many of the inmates have no access to due process in the absence of a functioning police and judiciary.
TUNISIA: Former dictator’s military trial begins.
The first military tribunal for Tunisia’s deposed dictator and 22 of his top associates has begun. Col. Marouane Bouguerra, the military general prosecutor, said Monday’s trial before a military court in Kef is over the fatal shootings of 22 demonstrators in the towns of Thala and Kasserine during the uprising. The charges carry a death penalty.
YEMEN: Nobel laureate seeks probe of crackdown.
Nobel peace laureate Tawakkul Karman urged the International Criminal Court prosecutorinvestigate the crackdown on protesters by Yemen’s outgoing president. Karman lamented that her request stands little chance of success because Yemen is not a member of the court. She called for a stronger mechanism for bringing to account dictators who turn against their own people to cling to power. Denver Post wire services
