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Turkey handed out $100 million to Libyan rebels since July
The payments were all made in cash, bypassing possible bureaucratic complications that would have arisen had the transaction been carried out through other methods, officials told Today's Zaman. Turkey first sent $10 million directly to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in late July and three $30-million cash handouts have been given to the rebel delegations that have subsequently visited Ankara.
The visits took place on Aug. 8, 10, 21 and the money was flown to Libya by the visiting rebel delegations. The money was used by the rebel National Transitional Council to pay salaries.
The $100-million grant is part of a $300-million aid package Turkey promised the rebel administration in early July, when Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu first visited Benghazi.
Davutoğlu paid a second visit to Benghazi on Aug. 23, where he said Turkey's $300-million aid package includes $100 million in cash, another $100 million as “a gift” and humanitarian projects valued at $100 million.
But in a sign that these plans may have been slightly modified, officials told Today's Zaman later this week that Turkey is to fund projects worth $200 million in Libya, meaning that there will be no money transfer to the rebel leadership.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Davutoğlu in Benghazi on Aug. 23, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of the National Transitional Council said the council would have been unable to pay salaries if it had not received the cash handouts from Turkey. “The Turkish government has overcome bureaucracy and transferred the funds they had promised the Libyan people in cash and directly. It's a new method for transferring money called the Turkish method,” said Abdul Jalil.
While in Benghazi, Davutoğlu also called for an immediate release of Libyan assets so that the Libyan people could benefit from them. Officials said there are frozen Libyan assets worth $11 million in Turkey.
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