The representative of the Presidential Council, “Musa al-Koni”, pledged to deal with the required seriousness with the demands of the families of the victims of the mass graves in the city of Tarhuna, to arrest the perpetrators, in coordination with the security authorities at home, and to communicate with the countries that have agreements with Libya to extradite criminals for their appearance before the competent courts.
And “Al-Koni” renewed – during his visit today, Sunday, to the city of Tarhuna, his meeting with the families of the victims of criminal gangs, and his stand on the severity of the tragedy and the suffering of the people of the mass graves – that the Presidential Council will support their demands in achieving justice, and will work in coordination with the Public Prosecutor to advance the agencies related to the arrest of criminals, and the continuation of Examination of the identity of the missing by the competent authority, and work to overcome the difficulties that impede the provision of services to citizens in many fields.
In their turn, the families of the victims of criminal gangs welcomed the initiative of Presidential Representative Musa al-Koni to visit the city of Tarhuna to find out about the suffocations in which they live, and to alleviate their suffering, calling on the Presidency Council to adopt the transitional justice project, to hold the perpetrators involved in the cases of murder, kidnapping, forced disappearance, and those responsible for the assault accountable.
During their meeting with Al-Koni, the families of the victims pointed out that the mass graves are the biggest witness and evidence of murders and torture against civilians, stressing their adherence to the continuation of the relevant authorities in revealing the fate of the missing, arresting criminals at home and abroad, and the need to form a prosecution and court. It is concerned with the crimes to which the city of Tarhuna was subjected to retribution from criminals by applying justice that will contribute to the success of the national reconciliation project.
It is noteworthy that “Al-Koni” had considered, in a press conference held in the office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in Abu Sitta on October 25, 2012, that the city of Tarhuna had turned into something like a mass grave, and that the massacres that occurred there were similar to the crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda. He stressed that the Libyan authorities will work to achieve justice for the families of the victims.
He stressed that the city of Tarhuna “has been subjected to what resembles genocide with criminal acts devoid of humanity and has turned into something like a mass grave. Everywhere that is excavated, many corpses of men, women, elderly, children and entire families are discovered.”
He said that this bleeding wound would have generated feelings of desire for revenge among the people of Tarhuna, but they were patient with their pain and waited for the state to achieve justice for them and punish the perpetrators, expressing his thanks to the people of Tarhuna “who did not take revenge against those who targeted them” and set a significant precedent in Libya.
In the press conference, Al-Koni described these crimes as a catastrophe that befell the nation and the state did not have any experience in dealing with them, and that the matter needs greater support from all international parties who have previously experienced or witnessed such disasters and crimes against humanity, indicating that the Presidential Council communicated with some international bodies to seek help from them because of their experience in following up on Bosnian crimes.
Al-Koni stressed that “the bleeding of Tarhuna is responsible for all of them,” but that these crimes should not be exploited politically or electorally.
Source: Libyan News Agency