Al-Arabiya, Tripoli, 23 Oct 2011 – Libya’s interim National Transitional Council (NTC) declared in a ceremony held in the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday that the country has been ‘liberated,’ three days after the death of former strongman Muammar Qaddafi.

NTC vice chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga announced Libya “liberated,” at a huge rally in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the uprising against Qaddafi was launched eight months ago.
“Declaration of Liberation. Raise your head high. You are a free Libyan,” he said.

Tens of thousands of voices echoed him chanting, “You are a free Libyan.”

Earlier, an official who began the ceremony in Benghazi said, “We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies.”

The ceremony, held by the NTC before thousands of people in Benghazi’s Kish Square, began with the singing of the national anthem and the waving of flags, both of which date back to the monarchy which Qaddafi overthrew in a bloodless coup in 1969.

Libya’s interim leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil paid tribute to the fighters, women, businessmen and tribal chief who stood by the revolution.