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| Africa North | |
| Tripoli police overcome fears and return to work | |
| 2011-08-30 | |
| TRIPOLI: Police in Tripoli are overcoming fears they would not be welcomed by Libya's new masters and are slowly returning to work, taking pains to distance themselves from ousted leader Muammar Qaddafi and win the public's trust. The district's policemen on Monday spent their first day in uniform since Qaddafi's overthrow. Senior officers had for days urged colleagues to return to work, through announcements at mosques and word of mouth.
"The reaction has been good. In the beginning there was some aggression because for six months people felt fear and intimidation from the security services," he added. The National Transitional Council, Libya's new governing body, is hoping to avoid the same kind of lawlessness seen after the fall of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and want to co-opt Qaddafi-era policemen, not dismiss them. But the police will have to tread carefully as they try to ease control of the city from thousands of zealous, gun-toting youths who now man checkpoints across Tripoli, and who are quick to turn on those they suspect as Qaddafi sympathisers. The former Libyan leader had a formidable security apparatus that was notorious for its brutality. Zawya and other policemen insist they did not oppress the Libyan people, and were sidelined by Qaddafi's administration, which preferred to confer real power on feared military and security brigades. Outside, policeman Abdul Hakim Al-Sayyah, dressed in a crisp blue shirt and pressed trousers, worked with some young anti-Qaddafi fighters to man a checkpoint, part of a plan for police to mix both forces until police take over completely. "They have accepted us 100 percent. It was a warm welcome, they're brothers," Sayyah said. Anti-Qaddafi fighters currently manning Tripoli's checkpoints -- most little more than furniture arranged in the street to slow traffic -- said they had no qualms about eventually handing in their weapons and giving police security responsibility. "It's a good thing that the police are coming back, it's their job. Of course I'm suspicious of some of them, but not all of them," said Jumah Rashid, 30. Members of the public also welcomed the police's return. "It's great, this is what we expected. It's better for them to return. Whoever was not involved in killings is welcome," said Abdul Razik Talib, 36, who had just left a police checkpoint after driving over a poster of Qaddafi's face. At nearby Furnaj police station, policemen had also just recently returned to work. They hoped Libya's new management meant an end to years on the sidelines. "We want to be like police abroad. We were far below international standards. Hopefully with the NTC's help we'll be up to European standards," said policeman Salem Oraibi, 48. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Sure, boys. All is forgiven. You keep thinkin that...it probably helps. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-08-30 16:54 |
| #1 "They have accepted us 100 percent. It was a warm welcome, they're brothers" Just wait until they invite you and your fellow cops to a picnic in the desert... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-08-30 11:21 |