Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 21:54:30 +0200
Libya FM: Libya has become a regional battleground
Mohamed Al-Dairi told Asharq Al-Awsat his country has become an arena for
proxy struggles
Friday 17th October 2014
Paris, Asharq Al-Awsat-The overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in
2011 was heralded as a new beginning for Libya, a chance to start afresh and
use its considerable oil wealth to build a modern, stable, democratic state.
As ever, reality has been more complicated, and the destruction of Gaddafi's
regime created instead a vacuum that has destabilized the country ever
since, with Libya's transitional governments unable to assert their
authority over the country's squabbling militias and factions, with deadly
results.
Although the country continues to be rocked by violence, Libya successfully
carried out elections for a new government in June, though powerful militias
based in the west of the country refused to accept the result, expelling the
new government from Tripoli and seizing the capital.
As Libya's neighbors, both near and far, grow increasingly alarmed at the
chaos, Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to Mohamed Al-Dairi, the foreign minister of
Libya's internationally recognized government, now sheltering in Tobruk
after the fall of the capital, about the dire security situation in Libya,
and attempts by the UN to mediate between its different warring factions.
Asharq Al-Awsat: You have held a number of meetings in Paris recently, not
least your meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and US
Secretary of State John Kerry. What assistance has Libya requested from
France and the US?
Mohamed Al-Dairi: Our first demand is, naturally, [for them] to support the
legitimacy of the government. In our view, this comes through finding a
political solution and so via the provision of strong and vigorous support
to the efforts of Bernadino Leon, head of the United Nations Support Mission
in Libya (UNSMIL). The fact is that the UNSMIL-backed Libyan Dialogue in
Ghadames which began on 29 September has given us hope that we can reach a
political solution with those Libyans who are, first and foremost, our
brothers, even though we disagree with them politically and they have
unfortunately resorted to violence to express their political disagreement
with us.
The reality is that we are now following a political course which is seeking
to overcome what happened after the parliament was elected on June 25 and
after the results of these elections were announced on July 21. In the first
place, the solution in Libya must be a political solution. Let me also say
that there are other Arab and African states that suffered from the scourge
of protracted wars, but at the end of the road, and after all of this
violence and destruction, these wars ended with political solutions. We are
seeking to put an end to the pains and suffering of the Libyan people.
Q: But what practical measures do you want the international community and
the UN Security Council to take, particularly as the former government has
requested assistance from them?
What we want from them primarily is to neutralize the opponents of the
political process.
Q: Who are these opponents of the political process?
They know who they are, whether at home or abroad. We believe that Libya is
the victim of a regional war following the radical changes that took place
in the region, from Tunisia, to Egypt, to other states. The truth is that
Libya has become the battleground for regional conflict and score-settling.
In fact, Libya has become an arena where some parties are seeking to make
new gains.
I do not hide the fact that there are challenges to the political course.
After Ghadames, statements were issued labeling even those that are
participating in this process as traitors. Domestically, there are those who
are continuing on the path of violence in order to make political and
military gains. In our view, this is shortsighted because you could make a
military gain today only to lose this in one week or ten days. The cycle of
violence in Libya will not result in anything. After we freed ourselves from
the clutches of dictatorship in 2011, we want to establish a state of laws
and institutions and lead our country just like other transitioning Arab
states, whether those in the Mashreq or the Maghreb. The issue is crystal
clear for us: we want to establish a modern Libyan state together. However,
we are facing great challenges [in achieving this].
Q: What is the political "road map" that has been drawn up by the Libyan
government to help the country emerge from this crisis?
The road map supports the efforts of ambassador Bernadino Leon to reach an
accord within the legitimate and elected parliament . . . and then return
the government to Tripoli, its natural place, to exercise its functions from
there as soon as possible.
Q: Where is the government exercising its functions today?
>From the city of Al-Bayda, which is the current administrative capital,
while Tobruk is the temporary seat of parliament.
Q: The former government called for international intervention in order to
address the deteriorating situation in Libya. Is this request still on the
table?
What happened today is that the international intervention is present via
the mediation being carried out by ambassador Bernadino Leon. He talked
about there being a political aspect (parliament and government) and a
security aspect (a ceasefire) in order to stop this destruction and address
the presence of militias in the country.
Q: Do you intend to disarm the militias in Libya?
We want to take the first steps [towards achieving this]. The UN envoy has
mechanisms to achieve this and he is discussing them with the relevant
committees at the UN. There are other countries that will assist him and
back his efforts to disarm the militias, given the important political and
geographic position that Libya occupies. But in the beginning, what we need
to reach is a ceasefire and then to disarm and disband the militias.
Bernadino Leon discussed all of these issues at the Ghadames meeting.
Q: A ceasefire would require for a monitoring force on the ground. Who would
undertake this task?
I spoke with Bernadino Leon yesterday and he has yet to reach this stage in
his discussions [with the UN] . . . But there is international support to
achieve this plan. When we say "international support," that is exactly what
we mean. Both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Bernadino Leon were
welcomed in Tripoli when they visited last week, while we welcomed them in
Tobruk as well. I want to say that such intervention is legitimate and is
something the Libyan people, who want their country to emerge safely and
move away from the cycle of violence, are calling for.
Q: A lot has been said recently about Egypt's involvement in Libya. What
does the Libyan government want from Cairo?
The issue is very complex, even within Egypt itself. I would like to begin
by saying that the visit to Egypt [by Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah
Al-Thani on October 7] took place following an official invitation from
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, and that is important to note.
Egypt is also a neighboring state and we share historic links with the
country. What we requested from all states after July 13 [when Libyan
militias seized Tripoli] is what we requested previously as the General
National Congress and government, namely military cooperation with a group
of states, including France, the US, the UK, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE,
and Jordan. A team from the Libyan army visited these states to receive
training and we hope that this continues. Everybody is aware that we are
facing massive security challenges, while the Americans have yet to launch
their military program with us due to difficult obstacles that remain in
place. We also want to see the continuation of military cooperation,
particularly as we now have a national army that is led by Gen. Abdul Razzaq
Al-Nazoori, who has been appointed by the parliament. We have the nucleus
for a Libyan army today. What is happening today in terms of cooperation
with Arab and European states is a continuation of previous policies that
were launched and adhered to by the former government. However, we are
absolutely not asking for the intervention of the Egyptian or French armies
[in Libya].
Q: What about requests to Egypt for security cooperation to protect your
shared border?
We have requested this from all neighboring states, including Chad and
Niger. This is something that began in 2012, and we want to secure all the
borders that we share with neighboring countries. However, we also need to
develop the Libyan army's capabilities. We need to dispel all this confusion
regarding alleged Libyan calls for international intervention.
Q: Egyptian security sources have informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Cairo is
ready and willing to assist the Libyan government as much as possible,
including providing political, security and military aid. What specific
requests do you have for Egypt and other neighboring states?
What we are currently requesting from neighboring states is to adhere to the
results of the Hamamat Conference that took place in July 2014, where Libya
was represented by [former foreign minister] Mohamed Abdelaziz. The meeting
resulted in Egypt heading the political aspect, while the security aspect
was left for Algeria in its position as head of the security committee. We
are seeking to implement the decisions of this conference and we would
welcome Algeria providing us with this security and military assistance
sooner rather than later. Algeria is a sisterly state, as is Tunisia, and
their issues are Egypt's issues. However, in the past, the training of the
Libyan army took place in Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, France and Italy . . . and
so there is continuity in this regard.
Q: What action has the European mission to assist Libya taken on the issue
of border control?
It has provided technical assistance to develop the Libyan border control's
capabilities. Unfortunately, this mission is no longer present on Libyan
territory. It left Libya like the majority of foreign embassies, which have
now departed Tripoli.
Q: What is the most important step that must be taken to ensure that Libya
is moving forward on the right path? General Haftar continues to besiege
Benghazi, Zintani militias are seeking to gain control of Misratra, while
conflict is ongoing in the capital Tripoli. What is the biggest threat? The
political dispute may be improving but the domestic situation continues to
deteriorate . . .
This is true; the situation on the ground is giving the opposite impression
to the [political] reality. However, the path to the Ghadames meeting only
began on September 29, 2013. Yesterday, I met with Bernadino Leon and I can
honestly say that hopes are high regarding the success of this process.
There are positive signs from both sides that attended Ghadames, and we must
continue on this path in order to see the initial positive results of this.
After the preliminary stage is over, Bernadino Leon will enter into the
heart of the matter until we reach the preliminary results of this. We hope
that this will take place within the next two months, securing the return of
the government to Tripoli, because the natural thing is for the government
to operate from the capital Tripoli, not Al-Bayda.
Q: Are you in contact with the "other" government in Tripoli?
We are only in contact with elected members of the parliament. There is only
one legitimate government in Libya, so one cannot say that there are two
governments. The legitimate government is the one that emerged from the
parliament that began its work on August 4 and which was sworn in on
September 28, 2014.
Q: Have you reached specific agreements with the French and Americans
regarding the rebuilding of the Libyan army?
There are some things that were previously taking place, and we are
continuing this. We want to activate the agreements that have been signed
but have yet to see the light of day.
Q: Such as?
Training [of the Libyan army], as well as receiving arms that we requested
previously. We did not come to Paris to request new things, but to activate
agreements that were previously signed.
Q: Would you say that the countries that helped Libya overthrow Gaddafi have
failed to complete their mission?
We had truly hoped for assistance during the transitional period, and they
acknowledge that this has been insufficient. What happened in Iraq may have
prompted these countries not to repeat the experience.
<http://www.aawsat.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Mohamed-Al-Dairi.jpg>
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Al-Dairi. (Asharq Al-Awsat) Libyan Foreign
Minister Mohamed Al-Dairi. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)