Free at last!
Libyan rebels finally freed Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan after he was kidnapped for six hours Thursday.
The Libyan leader reportedly returned unharmed to government headquarters in Tripoli Thursday.
Reports say unidentified rebels abducted Zeidan early Thursday at a Tripoli hotel.
After his release, Prime Minister Zeidan made a statement saying that he hoped the incident may not cause alarm in Libya.
Ali Zeidan was appointed by the General National Congress and took office on 31st October when Congress approved his cabinet proposal.
Zeidan was formerly a Geneva-based human rights lawyer.
Who is responsible for the abduction?
Reports say a rebel group known as the Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries claimed responsibility.
The group reportedly accused Zeidan’s administration as accomplice for the captured of senior al-Qaida operative Abu Anas al-Libi by US Security forces.
US welcomes the release of the Libyan leader
In a press statement in Washington DC, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US is glad for the release of Prime Minister Zeidan.
However, Secretary Kerry expressed condemnation of the events of the twenty four hours that captured the attention of the world.
“Libyans did not risk their lives in their 2011 revolution to tolerate a return to thuggery.” – Secretary Kerry
Secretary Kerry said if a free people are going to succeed in forging a democratic, secure, and prosperous country with a government based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, then there is no place for this kind of violence in the new Libya.
Looking back
In February 2012, the citizens of Libya marked its first anniversary of the country’s uprising against Muammar Gaddafi with spontaneous celebrations nationwide.
Citizens in all ages went out on the streets of Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and other towns to begin the celebrations by setting off firecrackers and chanting slogans.
The celebrations were led by residents of Benghazi, the city which first rose against Gaddafi and his 42-year-old regime.
Libya has been engulfed by fighting since a pro-democracy movement opposed to the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi emerged in February 2011 following similar protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries across North Africa and the Middle East.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting and hundreds of thousands of others have been internally displaced or forced to flee to neighbouring countries.
The United States has played a central role in marshalling the international response to the crisis in Libya. Together with its partners, they have saved thousands of lives and helped confront a ruthless, erratic dictator who was poised to slaughter his own people in order to hold on to power.
Muammar Gaddafi was killed at his home town of Sirte on October 2011 when he was overrun by fighters seeking to complete the eight-month uprising.
Gaddafi’s demise marked the end of a 42 year rule of a dysfunctional brutal regime that was ruled by fear, torture and executions. Its mismanagement of the economy brought ruin to Libya and impoverished the Libyan people despite the huge oil and gas wealth.
Unfortunately, Libya is a long way from being considered stable. Just last month, on the anniversary of 9/11, Christopher Stevens, The U.S. Ambassador and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi, in an organized attack on a poorly protected safe house acting as a consulate. Many questions remain, including why the consulate was so poorly protected, why the security contingent had recently been withdrawn by the Administration, and why, when the Administration saw the attack, and the Ambassador was still alive, assistance was withheld.
