To press home their demand for the re-opening of ports and oil fields, shut by armed groups, members of the Libyan Oil Workers’ Union Monday organized a sit-in outside the General National Congress (parliament).
PANA reports that hundreds of oil workers gathered outside the Parliament building, displaying placards with inscriptions denouncing the closure of oil fields by armed groups.
They asked the provisional government to take any regulatory action against those who closed the ports and fields.
The Spokesman for the union, Sassan Kalfad, said oil workers had condemned the continued closure of the facilities, adding that the development was denying the country billions of dollars in oil revenue.
“The government must take its responsibilities vis-à-vis the armed protesters (…) , because people will not accept the continuation of these irresponsible practices,” he warned.
In july, armed groups and security guards at oil facilities shut the al-Barika, al-Zawaytina , al-Sadra and Ras-Lanuf ports in protest against the non-payment of their financial rights.
They are also protesting against the way oil is sold to international companies by the government, alleging that government officials were corrupt in their dealings with such companies.
Oil production in Libya has recorded a significant decline following the protests, falling from a production of 1.6 million barrels per day to 300,000 barrels/day.
