(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Tribal and political leaders in the oil-rich region of Cyrenaica declared autonomy on Tuesday during a conference in Benghazi.
The meeting, attended by about 3,000 people, also heard the leaders call for a return to federalism in Libya, amid fears of the country’s breakup following the downfall of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011.
"A federal system is the choice of the region," Cyrenaica’s leaders said in a joint statement posted on the internet.
"The interim council of Cyrenaica was established under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed Zubair al-Senussi to manage the region's affairs and defend the rights of its population," the statement further read, referring to a member of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) elected leader of the region.
Cyrenaica, where the popular uprising against Gaddafi’s four-decade rule erupted, stretches from the central city of Sirte to the Egyptian border in the east.
It is also one of the three states Libya was divided into under the 1951 constitution adopted at the time of late King Idris, a document the autonomy supporters draw on for the legitimacy of their autonomy initiative.
Advocates of federalism argue that the move will prevent further marginalization of the east, while opponents express fear that it will split the country and mar reconciliation efforts.
However, Interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil and interim Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kiband and other senior officials in Tripoli have rejected the federalist project and introduced a decentralization program instead.
On Monday, Abdel Jalil said that calls for a federal system did not represent a major source of concern to his government, reminding that "Libyans fought for a united Libya."
"We do not need federalism because we are heading towards decentralization and we don't want to go back 50 years," he stressed.
On Tuesday, interim Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelal also said the interim government saw "no reason" for federalism in Libya as the country "does not group different peoples or religions."
Meanwhile, Libyans in several major cities, including Benghazi, have taken to the streets to reject the federal system of government. They were carrying banners and shouting slogans emphasizing national unity and reconstruction in the country while highlighting Tripoli as the only capital.
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