Mohammed Sawan, head of Justice and Construction Party (JCP), refused to be the Muslim Brotherhood’s spokesperson, but he has also not denied being a member. He stressed that he speaks on behalf of “all the honest people who believe in the democratic path in the world” and who believe that what happened in Egypt was a full-fledged military coup.

Sawan denied that his party supports Libya’s Shield Forces, which were formed by the government and against which the people of Benghazi have demonstrated and evacuated their headquarters in early July.

Mohammed Sawan, head of Justice and Construction Party (JCP), refused to be the Muslim Brotherhood’s spokesperson, but he has also not denied being a member. He stressed that he speaks on behalf of “all the honest people who believe in the democratic path in the world” and who believe that what happened in Egypt was a full-fledged military coup.

Sawan denied that his party supports Libya’s Shield Forces, which were formed by the government and against which the people of Benghazi have demonstrated and evacuated their headquarters in early July.

He also blames the government for the worsening oil crisis and criticizes Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

Mr. Sawan, your position on what happened in Egypt is well-known, but what are its repercussions on your party and the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya?

First of all, I do not want to speak on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood since it is a licensed reformist movement that has its own headquarters and officials and it can speak for itself.

But are you a member of the Muslim Brotherhood?

I am now answering as Head of JCP. There is nothing wrong in being a doctor and a member of the Doctor’s Association, or a member of a Sports Association and then becoming the head of a certain company. Being affiliated to many bodies is a feature of a civil society.

The Muslim Brotherhood is an idea whose embracers believe that Islam is not limited to mosques, prayers, fasting and worshiping. They believe that Islam is a comprehensive religion, which covers all aspects of life. Under Gaddafi, the movement was banned. Its members, including me, were working in secret and I was one of those who were imprisoned. Now, I am honored to be affiliated to the movement since I believe it is a very mature, intellectual school.

The JCP, rather than the Muslim Brotherhood, has participated in the elections. The party includes about 10,000 members. Are they all affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood? Definitely not.

Egypt is an instrumental country and the events there have affected all of the Arab World. What is happening in Egypt is far more dangerous than what is happening in Libya and Tunisia and will absolutely have an impact, whether negative or positive. We, as well as all other honest people, patriots and believers in the democratic path in the world believe that what happened in Egypt is a full-fledged military coup. We believe it is a military coup whether it happened in Egypt, South Africa or China. It has no other name. Our position has nothing to do with our ideology or preference of the Freedom and Justice Party and the Muslim Brotherhood.

We have denounced killing and assaulting the people who took to the streets and squares to demonstrate peacefully, but some people tried to use the pretext that the JCP has criticized the Prime Minister upon visiting Egypt. The Prime Minister’s step was a mistake since people are still influenced by the media. He was trying to cover up his internal failure by visiting Egypt.

What is the JCP’s connection to the conflict which erupted a while ago between the Thunder Forces and Libya’s Shields Forces as you are said to have supported the latter financially and morally?

It has been misleadingly rumoured by the media that the JCP has a presence among all the Shields Forces, rebels and Libyan cities. It is even circulated that all Shields Forces and armed brigades are affiliated with the JCP and that Misrata is under its control.

In Libya, the conflict is not among political parties, but rather between two forces; one of them is keen on making February Revolution an inciting force for true change and this includes the JCP, the Front and Unity for Libya Party and all the honest people and patriots – we object to the NFA’s ideas , but it definitely embraces honest people and patriots as all other parties just as the JCP includes nasty people – and the other force stands for the financial and administrative corruption, which was linked to Gaddafi’s regime. The latter wants a calculated change, which retains their interests and influence and thus keeps us on square one and wastes the revolution’s achievements.

This group may resort to defaming the honest patriots, exploiting the media for its own aims and blaming the current situation on the Muslim Brotherhood. They would claim that the mufti, JCP, rebels and Misrata’s people are all Muslim Brothers so that people would watch out.

Do you think people are cautious?

The media, which is backed by corrupt money, plays a major role in instigating chaos in Libya. Such media, unfortunately, financed by money stolen from the Libyans, feeds tribalism, causes sedition and defames the national symbols.  I could say that media have managed to defame all of the revolution’s symbols including politicians such as Mustafa Abul Jalil. We were imprisoned, spent all of our lives in Libya and have always struggled for change to be accused in the end of seeking power.

You are accused of having external allegiances, what do you say?

These are major misconceptions. What allegiances are they talking about? If the JCP is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, it is because the latter is an independent institution.  Anyone who wants to join the party can read its documents and if convinced will be a member with the same rights as me. Being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood is not a requirement for joining the party. These are all fallacies which are spread by biased media.

Have you intervened in the oil crisis?

I believe the crisis was caused by the government’s incompetence. It is not a technical crisis. The JCP-backed oil minister is not facing any technical problems. He said the companies and engineers are functioning and oil is being pumped, but the problem is that armed people are hindering oil export. The minister stated that it is the responsibility of the Interior Minister to find proper solutions for this crisis.

Likewise, the Minister of Electricity complained that the stations are targeted with RBJs and hundreds of kilometres of cables are stolen. There is a lack of security and no one is protecting the power stations. The government should live up to its responsibilities. The government has indeed formulated a committee to solve the oil crisis, but the question to be asked is whether the Prime Minister’s travel from one country to another is appropriate while the production of oil, which is the Libyans’ main source of income, is stopped.

Would any government be able to solve the security problem? Do you not think that any government would be helpless in such a situation especially since its causes are well-known?

When anybody runs for the office of prime minister, they should have a program to follow or else they should quit. They should confess out aloud that they could not implement their program. It is apparent that the government has virtually achieved nothing.  Even the slogans, which were written on walls, are still there and the people have not gotten out of the war mood. It did not manage even to build sidewalks. Nothing has been achieved in terms of security, judiciary system or the national reconciliation. The local governance has still not been regulated and no local and governorate councils have been established.

It is obvious to say that the government is to blame. It owns budgets, human resources and capabilities and hence it should have had a plan to manage the crisis. The prime minister should be questioned about his plan and achievements and should be held accountable.