The Board of Directors and employees of the Libyan News Agency denounced the position of the Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs in the National Unity Government, Walid Al-Lafi, who is openly hostile towards the agency, which is considered the most prestigious media institution in Libya and the official spokesman for the Libyan state according to the law of its establishment in 1964.
Al-Lafi claimed in an interview on the air today, Wednesday, broadcast on the private Salam TV, which he personally runs, on the first day of the Libyan Media Forum, saying: (In light of the presence of great weakness in the Libyan News Agency, whose role is almost non-existent in reality, we tried to enter into training programs with them, but they insisted that their affiliation be with Parliament, given that Parliament is a neutral body, according to their expression, and we respected this expression that they follow a neutral body!!, but we could not stand idly by and worked on establishing a newspaper
called Al-Sabah newspaper.
The Council and the staff of (LANA) noted in a statement that the statements of the Minister of State today and in this forum, to which the most prestigious media institution in the country was not invited, like the previous demonstrations that he supervised, carry a punitive, if not hostile, stance towards the Libyan News Agency, which is not born today, but goes back to the beginning of his work in the National Unity Government and was evident in the first event he organized related to the celebration of National Press Day, where he excluded the agency and did not invite it, and it was the subject of comment by its local editor at the time.
The statement added that the Libyan News Agency is today almost one of the limited media outlets in the Libyan media scene that has not been affected by the political division and has not been drawn into hate speech and incitement to violence and fighting. It deals professionally with Libyan news from Amsaad to Ras Jedir and from Bani Walid t
o Tajhari, and is available despite the scarcity. The capabilities include a network of official correspondents and collaborators in all parts of Libya, and it covers Libyan news with credibility and impartiality and broadcasts it to the world through its website on the Internet.
The statement stressed that these unfriendly attitudes towards the Libyan News Agency were not limited to the veto raised in the face of its support for keeping pace with developments in the field of media and communication at the regional and international level, besieging it and harassing its delegates, correspondents and photographers, and in many cases, preventing them from covering occasions and events organized by the Government of National Unity. It was also harassed for a long time in an attempt to seize its fixed assets in several ways, including the agency’s historic building, which contains the Libyan state archive in the field of media, written and photo journalism, which is the only archive that has not been accessed by
tampering hands, as well as an attempt to undermine its structure and the nature of its work by trying to place about 400 employees from other sectors in mostly administrative and service fields, without consulting and coordinating with it, which is in no way compatible with the nature of its journalistic work or its headquarters.
The statement stressed that the Libyan News Agency is the only official channel through which major international media institutions transmit Libyan news and is followed by foreign embassies. It has shed light, through its reports and interviews, on many occasions, on hot issues and files related to Libyan national security, Libyan sovereignty, and national unity, which ‘His Excellency the Minister’ did not see, and the media outlets affiliated with his ministry ignored it and did not even refer to it, even though they are purely national issues that affect the citizen and general Libyan affairs, and do not represent a specific party and do not carry a specific agenda, idea, or spe
cial political or party affiliation, but rather an affiliation to all of Libya in its entirety.
The Council pointed out that the Libyan News Agency will remain the reliable and official source for all events, whether local or international, and it is the main reference for all Libyan state institutions and all countries of the world, as it is the mouthpiece of Libya and a neutral media platform. This is confirmed by daily communication with the agency to cover local and foreign public events, and no solution will be resolved by having another media outlet to be an alternative to it because it will be affiliated with a specific party and carry a special thought or political orientation.
The statement explained that the agency, despite the lack of capabilities and financial support, is keeping pace with development through the efforts of its employees and has now covered local news in all parts of Libya, developed its editorial and technical capabilities, and created an electronic newspaper, the Libyan Newspa
per, which will be printed in print soon, in addition to LANA Radio. on FM in Tripoli and Benghazi, and issuing a cultural magazine to compete with the major news agencies. This is not propaganda, but rather confirms this development that is real and follows the work of the agency, its news production, and its editorial approach, which covers all political, economic, social, and sporting aspects, and everything related to the life of the citizen, wherever he may be, in all aspects. Libya.
The statement affirmed that while we respect the minister’s opinion and observations, the board of directors and the agency’s employees have the right to resort to the Libyan judiciary, plead before it, and file a case against it, for defaming the agency and belittling the efforts and history of its employees in a public media forum, namely the Tripoli Media Days in its second session, in front of the media and social networking sites and in the presence of well-known figures from local and Arab media institutions, who made
frequent phone calls to the agency denouncing what happened.
In conclusion, the Board of Directors of the administration and the employees of (LANA) expressed their regret for such a statement issued by ‘His Excellency’ the Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs, Walid Al-Lafi, which was incorrect and represented an insult to this ancient institution that broadcast the first news cable in 1964 and to its employees, and a denial of its professional role in reporting Libyan news with credibility, transparency and impartiality, stressing that (LANA), which has built a great Libyan journalistic pen, is still present in the Libyan scene to this day, and a group of ministers and ambassadors emerge from its editorial hall, even if it has not reached perfection and does not fail.
It is in need of financial support to develop its human resources and modernize its means and tools. It was born six decades before this unfortunate incident and will continue after it under the rule of law, institutions
, peaceful transfer of power, and freedom of the media.
Source: Libyan News Agency
