NTC announces new Libyan government

NTC announces new Libyan government  Libya's interim government has named a new cabinet featuring several unexpected appointments that suggested the line-up was meant to calm rivalries between regional factions . "All of Libya is represented," Abdul Rahim El-Keeb, Libya's prime minister, told a news conference on Tuesday night as he unveiled the line-up. "It is hard to say that any area is not represented."
In forming a government, the National Transitional Council (NTC) faced the tricky task of trying to reconcile regional and ideological interests whose rivalry threatens to upset the country's fragile stability, three months after the end of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule.
El-Keeb will head a 24-member government which will include such portfolios as the ministry of martyrs, wounded and missing people, and a ministry of civilian society.
A statement released when the new ministers were announced read: "This provisional government aims to achieve the following: first security, stability and restoration of normal life by providing basic social services, the return of children to their schools and the payment of [overdue] salaries."
The new cabinet will include as defence minister Osama Al-Juwali, commander of the military council in the town of Zintan. Juwali appeared to have staked his claim to the job after his forces captured Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, at the weekend and flew him to their Zintan.
The foreign minister was named as Ashour Bin Hayal, a little-known diplomat originally from Derna, in eastern Libya.
His appointment was unexpected as diplomats had predicted the job would go to Libya's deputy envoy to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who had rallied diplomats to turn against Gaddafi early in the revolt.
The decision to leave out Dabbashi was a "surprise", but was probably motivated by the need to appease representatives of Derna, a big anti-Gaddafi power base, one diplomat told Reuters news agency.
Hassan Ziglam, an oil industry executive, was named as finance minister, and Abdulrahman Ben Yezza, a former executive with Italian oil major ENI, was made oil minister.
The international community has welcomed the formation of the new cabinet.
A spokesman for Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said: "The EU has been and will be steadfast in its support for Libya and its people and is confident that the interim leadership now in place will enable the country to embark on the political transition ahead."
William Hague, the British foreign secretary, went further as he pledged the UK's deep commitment to the fledgling government.
"I look forward to working with the transitional government as it addresses a number of challenges including stabilising the country, ensuring law and order, restarting the economy, preparing for elections and building a state based on human
rights. The UK will be a strong partner for Libya in this work."
Hague continued: "This represents a real opportunity to achieve justice for some of the wrongs committed by the Gaddafi regime, for Britain as well as the people of Libya."
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Campo has reported to have agreed that Libya should be given the chance to put former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son, Seif Al-Islam and Abdullah Al-Senussi on trial in Libya under its judicial system.
 Moreno-Ocampo arrived Tuesday in capital Tripoli with Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to lead a delegation as part of coordination efforts with Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) following the arrest of Seif Al-Islam and yet unconfirmed reports regarding the arrest of former spy chief Abdullah Al-Senussi.
However, the ICC prosecutor pointed out that this should be done with the help of The Hague court and that the ICC's judges must be involved. Further discussions are needed to find the best way for the Libyans to go about informing the judges and how they could involve them. But a concession is to be made by the ICC despite Libya still having to set up a court system.
"Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi must face justice. In resolution 1970, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC and required the Libyan authorities to cooperate with the Court. I will talk to the national authorities and seek information about proposed national proceedings in order to assist us in analysing the admissibility of the case against Seif Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi and to understand their plans moving ahead. Their arrest is a crucial step in bringing to justice those most responsible for crimes committed in Libya.This is not a military or political issue, it is a legal requirement,” said Moreno-Ocampo.
Arrest warrants for Seif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi were issued by ICC judges on 27 June 2011 for crimes against humanity.
In an interesting development, France said on Monday it wanted to try Al-Senussi over a 1989 airliner bombing in Niger that killed 170 people including 54 French nationals.
In 1999 a Paris court convicted six Libyans, including Senussi, and sentenced them in absentia to life imprisonment for the UTA bombing.