The tyrant from the south, Muammar Gaddafi, has died. With his death, Libya is finally a free country.

Our neighbours from the south no longer have to fear the madman who killed their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. And no longer do we, just a stone’s throw away, have to fear Gaddafi’s whims in terms of oil exploration and a tide of boat people. In fact, the whole world is free of Gaddafi.

But more than anyone, it is the people of Libya, a people who have hardly any political infrastructure, who will have cause for celebration. This man made the lives of millions of Libyans a misery. As he and his mad sons tortured people for fun and put away millions into bank accounts, ordinary Libyans lived in poverty, despite the riches of the land.

But now, all that can change. Gaddafi was killed on the same day that Libyan fighters liberated Sirte, the city which the Transitional National Council said held the key to final victory. In somewhat of a re-run of the Saddam Hussein attempt at hiding, the tyrant is said to have been found injured, cowering in a hole. The strongman then lost his veneer of arrogance and bullishness: “Don’t shoot!”, he was alleged to have told those who caught him.

Whether it was Libyans who killed him, or whether it was Nato which delivered the final blow, one thing is clear, the hard work for Libyans starts now. The TNC has been credible, moderate and committed to bringing stability and normalcy to Libya. The two figureheads pledged to hold elections as soon as Libya was freed of Gaddafi. We have no doubt that they will stick to this promise. But, as we have mentioned, there is much to do.

The first problem is reconciliation. We have already heard that atrocities were committed by both sides – pro-Gaddafi and those from the TNC. This will only continue. We hope that the chaos and finger pointing will stop soon. But having such a situation, coupled with such an amount of weapons in the hands of young angry men, could be a recipe for disaster. Libya’s police force is largely defunct and people are relying on each other to keep the peace and allow things to run as near to normal as could be hoped for.

The country will also need to build up its infrastructure. Gaddafi’s ridiculous Jamahiriya concept kept him in power for four decades, but in doing so, it stripped all Libyans of any representation or voice, or concept of democracy. They literally have to start from scratch. Libya will need a Constitution, it will need court houses, police officers, councils and so much more. It must also get to grips with the concept of voting for one’s candidate and accepting the outcome, peacefully. It is indeed a new dawn for one of the most oppressed countries in the world. EU President Herman Van Rompuy and EC President José Manuel Barroso have called for a broad-based reconciliation process, and will no doubt be echoed by others. But when the horns have stopped beeping and the street parties have stopped, the real hard work begins; building up a country with no experience of democracy, into a modern, secular and democratic North African state.

Libya has already said it wishes to emulate Turkey. Turkey is not perfect, just like Western European democracies aren’t. But we wish them all the success in the world. They deserve it. Today, the world is a better place than it was yesterday.