Jamal Adel TRIPOLI — Tebu activists held protests this week in Murzuk in solidarity with demonstrators at the Sarir power station. While protesters there have recently suspended their blockade of the power plant, they are still demanding a greater say in framing of the constitution. Juma Al-Senussi, a member of the Tebu youth union and an organizer of the Murzuk protest, told the Libya Herald that the protest was to remind the government and the Congress that the fuel blockade at Sarir power station would resume if demands were not met. The Tebu want greater representation on the 60-member Constitutional Committee. Senussi said it was not enough for the drafting committee to vote on the extent of minority rights. What was needed was a plurality of voices actually involved in making decisions from the start of the drafting process. Abdallah Barka, a Tebu who is standing for election to the committee, told Libya Herald: “I am not completely biased but to rely on only two seats in a committee of 60 to determine minority rights is totally absurd. I won't take it and I will withdraw my candidacy if the GNC doesn't change the draft.” Barka explained that Tebu, Amazigh and Tuareg nominees wished to reach a consensus on how minority rights should be guaranteed. He said that minority groups would not be satisfied with insignificant ceremonial roles. He added that a constitution drafted without the participation of minorities would be both illegal and illegitimate. — Libya Herald
