US: Libya leaders have complex task

2011-10-31 07:41

Washington - Libya's new leaders have "a very complicated political task" ahead of them, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said late Sunday, but she promised comprehensive US assistance.

"They have a very complicated political task ahead of them, and they don’t have a lot of experience in what we consider politics," Clinton said in an interview with The Washington Post.

The Libyan conflict ended this month in controversial fashion when former leader Muammar Gaddafi was shot dead on October 20, a killing criticised even by Western allies of the interim regime, the National Transitional Council.

Nato decided on Friday to end its mission in Libya on October 31 and urged the new regime to build a democracy based on human rights.

Now, said Clinton, the country's new authorities would have to unify the nation.

"That will be a huge challenge," she argued.

"They have to figure out how to reconcile various political and religious beliefs. They have to unify all of the tribes. They have to deal with the rivalry that has existed forever between the west and the east, between Benghazi and Tripoli.

"And they’re going to have to be very clear as to what their agenda is and how it will help meet the needs of all the different groups."

The US secretary of state noted that the new leaders of the country were "really thoughtful people" and that Libya's professional class, despite all the problems, had survived the conflict.

"So we’re going to help them any way we can," Clinton concluded.

- AFP