By Ashraf Abdul-Wahab.
Tripoli 22 July 2014:
The President of Congress, Nuri Abu Sahmain, plans to convene an emergency session today to debate . . .[restrict]the request by the government to the UN for support in dealing with the security situation in Libya.
Abu Sahmain has issued a statement saying that foreign intervention is unacceptable to the Libyan people and a major issue of contention between him and Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni.
For its part, however, the government has said that it is not asking for foreign forces to head to Libya to deal with the security situation. Last week, Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulaziz told the United Nations Security Council in New York that what the government wanted was a UN team to train the country’s defence and police forces so that they could protect the oil fields and terminals, airports and other important locations. It did not want foreign troops, he stressed.
Given that clarification, Abu Sahmain’ summoning of Congress is being seen as simply a disingenuous attempt to attack a government that it tried but failed to remove. Despite the clashes in Tripoli between Qaqaa and Sawaq Brigades from Zintan and forces from Misrata led by former Congressman Salah Badi, Congress was not summonsed to debate them. Likewise, it has said little about the two months of fighting in Benghazi between the Operation Dignity forces led by retired Major General Khalifa Haftar and Ansar Al-Sharia and its allies.
It is thought unlikely there will enough members present today to constitute a quorum. Although there are flights between Labraq and the capital’s Mitiga airbase, a month ago, when some members tired to fly to Tripoi, they were physically prevented from doing so at Labraq.
The session will therefore probably end up as being merely consultative.
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