Most Libyans hung their heads in shame after US Ambassador Christopher Steven was murdered along with three colleagues during the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Stevens, who spoke fluent Arabic, was also a good friend to Libya and had been in Benghazi during the revolution, acting at the time as Washington's special representative. Then came Friday's massive demonstrations by ordinary inhabitants of the eastern city demanding the end of gun-toting militias, one of whom, the radical Ansar Al-Shariah brigade, is accused of mounting the US consulate assault. The protestors, calling themselves the “Save Benghazi” movement, said that they would not have the revolution betrayed by armed thugs. Ansar Al-Shariah called a counter-demonstration but on Friday their handful of armed supporters were swept from the streets by upwards of 30,000 demonstrators, who went on to overrun Ansar Al-Shariah's main headquarters, as well as a hospital it controlled and a base at a farm outside the city. The following day Ansar Al-Shariah announced, perhaps dubiously, that it was disbanding itself in Derna, the main town in its east Libyan heartland. All of this was an undoubted triumph for the voice of moderation in this scarred and troubled country. However, it would be wrong to think that the militias are going to go away. Gun law is still prevalent. Militias that have accepted nominal control by the government, remain very much laws unto themselves. The initiative to train militiamen for the regular police and army is not taking enough of the gunmen off the streets. The Supreme Security Committee, set up in the early days of the revolution, has also demonstrated alarming independence in recent months. The new government of Prime Minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur, which should be presented to the National Congress for approval within two weeks, has to move quickly to capitalize on the victory won over the militias in Benghazi. In the last 48 hours, at the urging of the Congress President Mohammed Magarief, two militias in Tripoli have been disarmed. Further action is expected. However, there will come a point when the new Libyan army and police meet determined resistance among the militiamen. There will inevitably be more of the negotiations that have been going on fitfully for the last nine months, designed to persuade the gunmen to go home or join the official security forces. Large financial inducements will be offered. However, in the end, Libyans are going to have to brace themselves for the awful reality, that it is probable that only main force will stop the hardcore of militias and that the bloodshed involved could be extensive. Most Libyans just want to get on with rebuilding their country and live in a freedom that many still cannot quite believe that they enjoy. Nevertheless, they must also know that their security and prosperity depend on the removal of all the armed thugs that still threaten the country's future. It is going to be a tough and dangerous task, but it should be tackled and tackled immediately, while the anger at the murder of the US ambassador is still driving the general longing for the establishment of law and order.
