TTHE DEATH OF MUAMMAR GADHAFI MARKS A NEW ERA FOR LIBYA.

With the fall of Sirte, the hometown of the former political strongman and the last stronghold of his loyalists, the victorious interim government now faces new tests leading the peaceful reconstruction of the country.

The immediate challenge for the National Transitional Council (NTC) is to restore social order by providing basic public security in Libya.

The proliferation of armed militias, who answer to no central authority, is a major predicament for the new regime, as the different groups may not lay down their arms before their conflicting political and economic goals are met.

So far, the ruling group has been glued together by their common hatred for Gadhafi. It consists of former government ministers, overseas academic dissidents and longstanding opposition members who represent wide-ranging views including Arab nationalism, Islamists, secularists, socialists and businessmen. Now that Gadhafi is gone, the dangerous prospect of factionalism and ethnic and tribal divisions may surface and hamper any peaceful political transition in the near future.

One prominent issue in sight is the killing of NTC's former military commander, Abdel Fattah Younes, the powerful tribe he belonged to has never dropped their demand for justice from the ruling authority.

It is no surprise then that a power struggle has already erupted among Libya's new leaders. Only one day before the death of Gadhafi, the de facto prime minister Mahmud Jibril publicly warned that politicking among the victorious former rebels risks plunging the country into chaos.

While different tribal forces are vying for larger shares of the political power pie, the Islamists' claim of a religious state could be a nightmare for Libya and the West. But the Islamist armed group is one of the most powerful forces in Tripoli.

So for the incoming political transition period before the formal elections promised by the NTC, the real challenge for Libya is whether a peaceful power sharing process, guided by a common goal of state building, can be achieved.

Avoiding a bitter political battle is going to be a grave test for the new leadership before the establishment of a new state based on the rule of law and a new constitution. And the key to an inclusive government is a compromise among contending groups, with a proper distribution of power and resources.

The international community welcomes the historic transition in Libya. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on all Libyans to come together and realize the promise of the future through national unity and reconciliation. And China hopes to see a new Libya with social stability and happiness for its people.

After seven long months of bloody conflict, it is time for the new regime to prove its ability to win the peace by establishing an inclusive and legitimate authority over the entire country.

(China Daily 10/22/2011 page5)