Libyan community holds People's Congress

The Libyan community in Malta held its own People's Congress meetings, as part of the exercise which takes place every year all over Libya in preparation for the General People's Congress in March. The Libyan community in Malta is considered by Libyan authorities to be a separate entity and thus has the status of a small town or village in Libya, making it eligible to hold a People's Congress meeting and participate fully in the system of the Authority of the People through which Libya is administered.

Through the Authority of the People, Libyan citizens have a direct say in the running of their country. They meet every year to discuss the progress and administration of their own country. This is done through People's Congresses held in every town and village, where everybody is entitled to speak their mind, to suggest, criticise and propose.

Ideas and suggestions agreed upon by the People's Congresses are carried forward to the regional level where they are discussed in the region's Basic People's Congresses. Proposals accepted by the Basic People's Congresses and agreed upon are forwarded to the General People's Congress which represents all the Basic Congresses.

The General People's Congress meets once a year, in March, the month the Authority of the People was firstly endorsed by the Libyan people in 1977, and it in turn, studies and discusses the main points of the people's proposals as forwarded by the Basic Congresses. Suggestions and proposals agreed upon by the General People's Congress then become law.

The General People's Congress also has the power to choose representatives from the people to act as Secretaries, who head the various Secretariats (equivalent to our ministries) running the country through different departments - Education, Industry, Health, etc. In this way the people have a say in the actual running of their own country.

Through the meetings held in Malta, Libyans living here can forward their ideas and suggestions to the General People's Congress in Libya so they will still be able to have a say in the running of their country of origin. Two delegates from Libya co-ordinated the proceedings of the People's Congress meetings which were held at the Libyan College, Ta' Giorni. The Secretary of the Libyan People's Bureau in Malta (Ambassador) Dr Saad El Shlmani, chaired the meetings.

Former Maltese Prime Minister Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, former Foreign Minister Dr Alex Sceberras Trigona, and the headmistress of the Islamic School at the Paola Mosque, Maria Camilleri were invited to address the opening session last Tuesday.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici spoke on the good relations that have existed between Malta and Libya for a number of years and of the importance of mainting and strengthening these relations.

Dr Sceberras Trigona stressed the importance not only of keeping relations between Malta and Libya on a normal level but also increasing these relations and bringing them up to the excellent level they were after the First of September Revolution of 1969, in Libya. He then called on the congress to take the first step towards increasing the level of these relations.

Dr Sceberras Trigona suggested that as this meeting was so official and influential, it should pass a resolution asking the General People's Congress, that, in view of the staunch friendship and excellent relations which Malta has had with Libya for so many years, Libya should sell oil to Malta at a cheap price, to help the Maltese overcome the hardships resulting from higher international oil prices. He explained that such a gesture would surely be a good step to build up these relations to a very high level.

On her part Ms Camilleri spoke on an experiment they had created at the Islamic school, where Islamic and non-Islamic children attend class together and learn the subjects of a normal school.

After these three short interventions, the meeting continued with its agenda and the Maltese guests had a first-hand view of how the system of the Authority of the People and direct democracy works in Libya.