Erdogan pledges Turkey's support to Libya in transition

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meeting with Libya's interim prime minister Abd al-Rahim al-Keeb in Istanbul on Saturday, said Turkey would continue to extend support to Libya. "We have given full support to the Libyan transition process so far and we will continue our support to the country in the best way we could. I believe Libya will have transparent and fair elections, as it was scheduled to," Erdogan stated, referring to coming elections in June in Libya, during a joint press conference with al-Keeb. Claiming that a successful transition to democracy necessitates maintaining security in the country, Erdogan also said Turkey is ready to provide Libya with the support to restructure its security forces. In January, Turkey started negotiations with Libya to begin training the country's police force, which is being rebuilt after Libya's violent revolution that began in February 2011 and ended the 42-year dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. Civilian militias, which fought to unseat Gaddafi, are now the biggest threat to stability in Libya, clashing regularly with each other in violent turf wars, undermining the authority of Libya's interim government. Al-Keeb, who heads the National Transitional Council, recently allowed former militia members to join the ranks of the military and the police in an effort to bring them to heel. Erdogan also mentioned that more than 20 Turkish companies would construct government buildings free of charge in Libya, whose infrastructure suffered severe damage during the armed uprising against Gaddafi. Meanwhile, al-Keeb called on Turkish companies that left the country amid intense fighting to return to Libya to finish their projects. "We hope Turkish companies return to Libya as soon as possible," al-Keeb said, proposing to set up a joint Libyan-Turkish committee to study problems Turkish companies have faced in Libya. Turkish companies were engaged in big construction projects worth $15 billion in Libya, including the building of hospitals, five-star hotels and shopping malls. However, they evacuated their workers due to the chaos the country plunged into in 2011, leaving the projects unfinished. Responding to claims that some Turkish hospitals charged Libyan patients receiving treatment in Turkey more than normal, Erdogan said: "We [the Turkish government] will not let anyone make such a profit. We will call the hospitals in question to account as soon as possible." Noting that several private hospitals allegedly imposed double standards, Erdogan deplored such an attitude and said it was "breaking with the values of the Turkish nation." Libyan patients were transported for medical treatment in Turkey in 2011 as part of a Turkish aid campaign.