Activists on Facebook have created the page “Together Against the Demolition of the House of Arts in Tripoli,” in an attempt to prevent the demolition of the prestigious institution in Tripoli.
A hashtag was launched on social media: #Save_Art House, in an attempt to preserve the house, which has witnessed many artistic activities over the past years.
Social media sites showed great interest on the part of intellectuals and artists, which coincided with an appeal to the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, to intervene to save the house.
Response of World Islamic Dawa Society
On Saturday, the World Islamic Dawa Society issued a statement on what is being circulated regarding the leased headquarters of the House of Arts.
It categorically denied what was circulating on social media about the building that the Arts House has been renting for years.
It also confirmed that it had formed a specialized committee some time ago to review its properties, including the building in which the House of Arts rents a number of apartments.
The World Islamic Dawa Society published the summary of the review prepared by its specialized committee.
It explained, “The House of Arts has not paid the International Islamic Dawa Society the rent value for rented apartments since 1994, as the House of Arts benefits from the first floor + the basement + a workshop in the outer courtyard, and all with a (symbolic) payment of (830) dinars per month, and has not paid any money since 1994, to accumulate debts reaching (221,100,000) dinars.
The Dawa Society added, “Before the year 2011, the House was notified to pay the debts, but they refused and evaded, and they were notified by the City District Court regarding the payment of the rent with a warning to terminate the concluded contract, but they did not pay.”
It also considered that the House officials brought in the Libyan Remote Sensing Association and the Balsam Pharmaceuticals Company for two apartments in the building without right and without taking permission from the Dawa Society in an explicit violation of the terms of the contract, and they also did not pay any dues to the Society for years.
The committee affiliated with the Dawa Society concluded, “The building is structurally dilapidated and unfit for housing and needs to be removed and rebuilt again, based on technical reports prepared by specialized engineers, and everyone who benefits from the apartments has been notified in advance of the building’s status through the Municipal Guard and by official procedures, not as it is rumored in the media.
It also pointed out, “There are many correspondences calling for the House of Arts to pay all the dues and financial obligations accumulated for years, but unfortunately, to no avail, despite the legitimate rights, the World Islamic Dawa Society has provided an alternative to the House of Arts, in order to transfer it to one of the other properties owned by the Society.
It also expressed its readiness to communicate with all media and social media to respond to any comments related to this topic, to take information from the official sources and channels of the Society.
A new activity in the House of Arts
The Libyan Society for Plastic Arts expressed its wishes that the opening of the exhibition of the plastic artist Al-Ajili Al-Obeidi at the House of Arts will not be the last exhibition in the house.
The association invited those interested to attend the exhibition, which will open Sunday at 4.00 pm.
