TRIPOLI: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed Libyan forces who ousted Moamer Kadhafi and vowed support for a democratic transition, on a surprise visit to Tripoli on Tuesday.
She flew in via Malta as Libya's new rulers try to crush the last pockets of resistance by fighters loyal to Kadhafi in his hometown of Sirte.
“This is Libya's moment. This is Libya's victory. The future belongs to you,” she said, eight months after Libyans rose up against the four-decade rule of Kadhafi, sparking a conflict that has killed thousands.
Addressing National Transition Council chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil and interim premier Mahmud Jibril, she said: “In crowded squares and mountain passes, you stood up against a dictator's aggression and claimed the rights and dignity of a free people ...
“The United States was proud to stand beside you in your fight for freedom and we will continue to stand with you as you continue this journey, respecting your sovereignty and honouring our friendship.”But she also warned against the perils of civil war.
“One factor we know must be confronted is unifying the various militias into a single military that represents the Libyan people,” Clinton told a press conference.
“Putting a national army and a police force under civilian command is essential,” she said. Clinton, asked if Washington would cooperate with Libyan Islamic parties, said:
“We will support a process of democratisation that respects the rule of law, that respects the rights of minority and women” and allows for a free media.”
She became the first US cabinet official to visit Libya since September 2008, when her predecessor Condoleezza Rice met Kadhafi in what was a new stage in Washington's reconciliation with a former enemy state.
Rice's visit came five years after Kadhafi's dramatic announcement he was renouncing efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
“We recognise the bloody fighting continues ... Nato and the international coalition... will continue to protect Libyan civilians until the threat from Kadhafi and those who hang to the past is ended,” Clinton said.
She said that securing the large stocks of weaponry that had ended up in private hands during the uprising remained a primary concern.
“Even as the Nato mission continues to protect civilians, we are also responding to Libyan concerns about terrorism and loose weapons.”
She said Washington already has more than a dozen expert advisers on the ground, helping Libya secure and destroy dangerous stockpiles of weapons and that the administration is working with Congress to provide $40 million to support that effort.
The United States is also looking into helping the Libyan government to secure and destroy chemical weapons stocks, said Clinton.
She urged a new Libya, where the rule of law prevails. “You deserve a government that represents all Libyans, from all parts of the country, and all backgrounds, including women and young people.
“You deserve a transparent and fair judicial system. Revenge attacks and vigilantism have no place in the new Libya,” she said.
Clinton's visit follows trips by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign ministers from Britain, Italy, and Canada.
Speaking on the flight from Washington, a senior US State Department official said the United States aimed to forge new civilian ties with the Libyan people.
In the short term, he said the United States wants to provide assistance in caring for the thousands of war wounded.
It also wants to expand educational programmes for Libyans and offer grants for developing archaeological sites that could help spur the development of the tourism sector.
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