The Libya Contact Group is putting more support behind Libya's opposition governing council and urging the United Nations to unlock frozen Libyan assets.
After meeting in Istanbul Thursday, the nearly 30 countries and organizations of the Contact Group called for an expedited process to unfreeze Libyan assets for use by the rebels' Transitional National Council.
The Libyan assets were frozen in February by a U.N. resolution imposing tough sanctions on leader Moammar Gadhafi in response to his use of violence against protesters.
The U.N. Security Council might vote Thursday on a draft resolution, introduced by the United States, that would unfreeze about $1.5 billion in Libyan assets for urgent humanitarian needs.
In Italy, a senior figure in Libya's opposition governing council appealed for financial help, warning there will be grave destabilization if the council cannot pay people's salaries and provide services in the post-Gadhafi era.
Mahmoud Jibril spoke in Milan as he received Italy's pledge to start unfreezing about $500 million held in Italian banks. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called it a first payment toward unfreezing all of Libya's assets in Italy.
Jibril is on a mission to secure the release of billions of dollars in frozen Libyan assets. He met with French leaders Wednesday.
The Libyan opposition envoy said Thursday he is telling friendly nations that the biggest destabilization factor in the coming weeks will be for the TNC not to be able to deliver salaries that have gone unpaid for months.
Meanwhile, the Arab League has accepted the Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan state. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby says Libya will resume its membership in the pan-Arab organization Saturday, represented by the TNC.
Jibril listed some of the priorities for the TNC in coming weeks. They include establishing order and stability, starting transitional justice, collecting weapons from the streets and starting to build a national army. He said the council needs to prepare for the school year, which should start next month, and provide urgent care for the wounded, both in Libya and in hospitals in other countries. He said Libya needs to repair its power stations and other infrastructure destroyed in fighting with pro-Gadhafi forces. But he said these priorities cannot be carried out without the financial means to do so.
The United States introduced the assets resolution in the Security Council late Wednesday. It proposes releasing up to $500 million for international humanitarian organizations and to help fund a U.N. humanitarian appeal. Another $500 million would be used for the purchase of fuel for electricity, water plants and hospitals, and the rest for the provision of social services, including education, health care, food subsidies and other humanitarian needs.
