OTTAWA – Canada’s Libyan community is urging the federal government to release the desperately needed frozen assets held in Canada and to spearhead efforts to rebuild the country.
“Canada has done everything right, but always waiting for the big geographical powers,” Sal Gheriani, chair of the Canadian Libyan Council (CLC), told reporters in Ottawa on Thursday, adding that he would like to see Canada take the lead in the next phase of Libya’s future.
The calls come as Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in Paris meeting with more than 60 other international leaders who make up a group dubbed “The Friends of Libya.” They are trying to come up with a unified way to move forward.
Most important, says Gheriani, is unfreezing the $3.5 billion in Libyan assets currently held in Canada.
The money has been frozen under a U.N. sanction as part of international sanctions against Libya’s embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi.
The National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya as well as the CLC say the money is desperately needed for rebuilding the country.
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Countries like the U.S. and the U.K. have applied to the U.N. for permission to release some of the funds frozen within their borders, but Canada has yet to do so.
“I don’t know why Canada would be delaying or waiting on its request to the United Nations and we are asking today that that be done as quickly as possible,” said Liberal leader Bob Rae, who was also at the press conference.
With Libyan rebels now holding the capital city of Tripoli, Gadhafi is on the run. As rebels search him out, the political focus is turning to rebuilding the country.
Water, medical supplies and food have been in scarce in the nation’s capital and the forty years of dictatorial rule have left much to do in terms of building public services, a health care system, democratic institutions and security forces.
The head of the NTC, Mahmoud Jibril, has said that countries that help Libya now at this time of need will have the first chance to help them rebuild – a potentially lucrative opportunity.
The medical system is a good place to start given the work already started, according to the Canadian Libyan Council.
There are 600 Libyan-Canadian doctors in Canada right now, many of whom have travelled to Libya to help provide emergency care. The community has already raised $4 million for rebuilding efforts.
“Health care and the whole, entire underlying structure of the system in Libya is in shambles. Gadhafi has ruined the country in the last forty years,” said Gheriani. “The Libyan government will be making huge investments in health care over the next few years. The way I see it is an opportunity for Canadians to provide better or a first-class health care system in Libya.”
The focus of support, says Gheriani, should be advisory, using expertise to help build a health care system designed by the Libyan authorities.
Leaders of NATO countries, including Harper, are expected to make a statement about their next steps in Libya later on Thursday.
The U.N.-backed NATO mission is set to end on Sept. 27 and there has yet to be an announcement about whether it will be extended.
Rae said he is open to having a discussion on extending the mission, but would like to see what will be proposed by NATO first.
The NTC has said it does not want to see international troops on the ground, but is looking for support for policing and security from its allies.
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