Senior Libyan politician urges dissolution of NTC

A senior Libyan politician underlined public dissatisfaction with the current situation in the country, and called for the dissolution of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC). "The NTC is not the real representative of the Libyan people," Secretary-General of Libya's National Movement Meftah Lamloum told FNA on Sunday. He referred to the popular rallies held in Libya in recent days to protest at the decisions taken by the NTC, and said, "It is natural for the people to react to the adoption of such decisions and demand a dissolution of the NTC and ask for holding free elections." Libyan protesters in Benghazi, cradle of the uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, have called for the man they helped bring to power in place of the slain dictator to quit over slow reforms. Hundreds of men and women chanted slogans against Mustafa Abdel Jalil in the Eastern city's Shajara Square, complaining of a lack of transparency and his willingness to forgive former Gaddafi fighters. The square, whose name means "Tree" in Arabic, was the place where the first anti-Gaddafi rally was held on February 15, jump-starting the revolution that eventually overthrew the 42-year old regime. "The NTC (National Transitional Council) must quit. Jalil must go out! The people want another revolution!" chanted the crowds as they waved Libya's new flag. The angry demonstrators accused the NTC, the former rebel grouping that now runs Libya after Gaddafi's downfall and subsequent killing on October 20, of not being transparent about its activities. "Abdel Jalil has a lot of questions to answer. The regime has not changed. It is the same which oppresses and marginalizes cities," Tahini al-Sharif, a lawyer from Benghazi, said. She said the protesters were also furious over Abdel Jalil's remarks that the Council was ready to forgive Gaddafi's fighters. "Abdel Jalil is asking us to forgive Gaddafi fighters. Would he say the same thing if his son was killed or wounded in the revolution?" asked Sharif.