Part 2: Abd Raba Abdul Majid Albarrasi, head of the Barqa Executive Office of Barqa (Cyrenaica) Region accuses Prime Minister Ali Zeidan of rejecting dialogue with them, and confirms that Barqa will not seize the Libyan oil revenues even if they sell all the oil.

Part 2: Abd Raba Abdul Majid Albarrasi, head of the Barqa Executive Office of Barqa (Cyrenaica) Region accuses Prime Minister Ali Zeidan of rejecting dialogue with them, and confirms that Barqa will not seize the Libyan oil revenues even if they sell all the oil.

In the second part of his interview with Correspondents, Albarrasi said the solution to the security issue in Benghazi and Derna is not impossible, as it depends mainly on stopping financial support provided by the government and the General National Congress (GNC) to armed groups.

Albarrasi stressed that improving the situation of the region requires funds, which will be available when Barqa is able to sell oil. He promised that Barqa would not take over the shares of Tripolitania and Fezzan regions from oil revenues, and that these shares would be distributed according to the Constitution of 1951.

Albarrasi continued to strongly defend the political position of federalists and made several promises and justifications on their behalf.

Mr. Albarrasi, security has deteriorated in Benghazi and Derna. What are you going to do about that?

The security issue in Barqa is very important, especially in Benghazi and Derna. We have contacts with security and tribal leaders as well as youth leaders so as to develop a new security plan, God willing. The main reason for the delay is the lack of financial support, and once we sell oil and allocate budgets for the files in question, our achievements will become noticeable in all sectors, particularly in security, housing, health, and education, God willing.

We do not want to make insincere promises or be caught up in procrastination, and we do not want the people to live in a big false dream. We want the people of Barqa to see improvement in security, housing, infrastructure and we want to rebuild hospitals, which we consider to be urgent matters for citizens. Once the budget is approved and funds distributed, we will start doing all of this. All officials in charge of their respective files have.

Security in Benghazi is complicated as the special security forces and security operations room have made joint efforts, but they did not succeed. The Barqa Defense Force will contribute to these efforts. Do you not need intelligence services and investigations and  so-called undercover services?

There is exaggeration over the issue of security and assassination in Benghazi and Derna. Financial support that goes to armed groups should stop and we need to establish an intelligence service of certain specifications to guarantee more accurate intelligence because what we have at the moment is something like armed gangs operating on the ground.

Also the people have worries. We have information that some people were killed and the perpetrators are known, but no one is reporting them because they fear the consequences. So, if we ensure the security of informants and have authorities in charge of arrests, all manifestations of insecurity will end.

Do you have contacts with the crisis management committee in the GNC?

We have contacts with neither the GNC nor with the government, and the problem with Mr. Zeidan is that he does not want to address the harmed people or the parties to blame. Hence, he and the entire world should know that oil installations were not shut down by militias or gangs, but by oil installation guards who noticed that the oil is being stolen and so they stopped the flow of oil, pending investigations. Their decision was well received by many of the people of Barqa, including elders, rebels, civil society organizations, and the Barqa Youth Movement, hence came the establishment of the Political Bureau.

We the federalists believe that cutting off the flow of oil was meant to be a pressure tool to ensure that our demands are fulfilled. Besides, Mr. Zeidan and the General National Congress did not officially address the Political Bureau or Executive Office. Only the Barqa local councils and their delegations contacted us, and when they came to us they were informed about facts, oil thefts and what is going wrong, so they understood the rationale behind our steps.

Mr. Zeidan does not want to engage in any talks because he believes this will be recognition of our entity or a sign of weakness on his part. Not all of us are federalists, but eventually those demanding federalism are the ones who halted the flow of oil for three months. Besides, how would he hold dialogue with armed militias in Tripoli when they surround the premises General National Congress and ministries, whereas he does not hold talks with oil installation guards in the central region, who amount to 25,000 soldiers.

We hope Mr. Zeidan will hold official talks with us. We consider him our prime minister because we are a federal region within a state, and even our officials within the Executive Office, such as health officials, are ready to cooperate with the minister of health. All what we seek is the Barqa share of oil, and the government may hold us to account.

All we ask is a federal government with administrative and financial services. When this is achieved and Libya turns into three regions, we will agree on sovereignty issues and on how to dispose of the oil. We will continue to have one Libyan foreign ministry, one flag, one anthem, one head of state, and one prime minister. All what we want is an administrative system.

Federalists accused one member of the GNC of bribing them, and they accused the state of offering bribes to convince federalists to give up their demands. Have you received a similar offer?

We in the Executive Office have not been offered anything, and the previous incidents of bribery took place through the Barqa Political Bureau, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Jadran – who is the chairman of the oil installations guards’ establishment, and his brother Salem. This had been officially clarified at a news conference, but the problem is that bribes are being given to certain people in a particular local council, tribe or civil society organization so as to disrupt our endeavors.

We accept dialogue, and those who fear that federalism will result in divisions should refer to the Constitution of 1951. We are also ready to agree on a charter with these parties to the effect that oil shall be for all Libyans. Also, there are fears raised by the minorities of Barqa or those who originally came from the western region, and we offered these groups an agreement to ensure their safety in Barqa.

But we were disturbed to hear officials like Mr. Saleh Makhzoum, the second deputy head of the General National Congress, saying: “Does it make sense to have a federalism that makes a citizen from Tripoli need a visa to enter Barqa?” This is untrue because there are states that do not require entry visas across their borders, let alone within one state.

We are trying to convince the people that all this talk is false and a distortion of facts, and we call on satellite channels, particularly Libyan ones, to give us the opportunity to clarify our position. We accept dialogue and other points of view.

Is there a blackout by the Libyan media on the issue of federalism?

Yes, we are not allowed to give interviews to state-owned channels like Al-Asimah TV, Al-Wataniyah TV, and Al-Rasmiyah TV. Sometimes, however, we are given a platform on Libya First TV, but the channel would become subject to harassment because as a result.

Harassment from official bodies?

Yes, and even when we contact reporters or journalists, they would decline to conduct interviews with us, claiming they need a permission or approval first.

How would you reassure the Libyan people?

The Libyan people should know very well that we only seek to please God and serve the interests of the people of Barqa and Libya as a whole. However, many do not know where the interest of Barqa and Libya lies. During the reign of King Idris, mercy be upon his soul, Libya could not have been in better shape until the situation had improved in Barqa. The king undertook reform in Barqa, which reflected positively on the rest of Libya.

I am surprised to see that the people who participated in the 17 February revolution are satisfied with the farce of the General National Congress, the government, and the false rebels and armed brigades. We could see on satellite channels that the sessions of the Congress crossed red lines of ethics and traditions and its members are accusing one another of theft.

Moreover, how would they say that this is a transitional phase when they approve government budgets? What did they do with these budgets? Ordinary citizens say that budgets are in billions and yet not even post lamps have been installed in the streets. The question is: Where has all of this money gone? The failure of the General National Congress and the government is crystal clear and does not need any proof.