Libyan journalists and residents took the opportunity of World Press Freedom Day to protest on Sunday the ongoing censorship by public company Libya Telecom & Technology (LTT), based in Tripoli, and currently under control of Libya Dawn.
LTT has now been blocking critical newspaper Al-Wasat’s website for around 64 days, among others, drawing condemnation from all levels of civil society, who have accused them of betraying the revolution.
Under the reign of long-time dictator Muammar Al-Gaddafi, LTT was also responsible for media censorship.
The situation for journalists and bloggers, especially in the Libya Dawn-controlled areas, is dangerous, as demonstrated by the murder of social media activist Abdulrauf Al-Zaidi, who was found dead in Tripoli on Thursday according to Libya-based newspaper the Libya Herald. Family members accused militiamen loyal to Libya Dawn of the killing. Al-Zaidi was openly critical of the Libya Dawn government.
The outlook for a possible ceasefire meanwhile does not seem hopeful, with UN special envoy to Libya Bernardino Leon having presented the Libya case to the Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday, sounding less optimistic than he did roughly a month ago.
The UN Support Mission in Libya quoted Leon as saying that “the only sort of hope” is the hard work of the UN mission and the growing support on the ground in Libya. The UNSC however expressed its desire to have an agreement before Ramadan.
