By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 27 July 2014:
A House of Representatives member confirmed today to Libya Herald that an unofficial consultative meeting was . . .[restrict]held by over 50 House of Representatives members from the west, centre and south of Libya in Tripoli yesterday. These included members from the city of Misrata.
For security reasons the meeting was not publicized in advance and its location kept a secret.
The main aim of the meeting, the Representative confirmed, was to discuss logistics and mechanics of the official handover between the outgoing GNC and the incoming House of Representatives scheduled for 4 August in Benghazi.
The Representative, who spoke to this paper on a condition of anonymity, said that there were concerns expressed by Representatives from all sides of the political divide about security for the House of Representatives – in whichever city the House was going to be located in.
This was especially the case in view of the current escalated fighting in both Benghazi and Tripoli.
“We discussed how to start the new democratic phase in the current unstable situation and the security and logistics issues”, the House of Representative member told Libya Herald.
The Representative said that there were real concerns about logistics and the ability for Representatives to arrive in Benghazi safely and in a timely manner.
A working committee was formed by the House of Representatives group to liaise with the GNC Committee which is officially in charge of the handover process.
The Representatives also discussed the current clashes between the so-called pro-Islamist militias, led by but not exclusively from Misrata, and so-called liberal militias led by Zintani forces.
“A verbal report about the efforts of Tripoli House of Representatives members to solve the current security crisis and attempts to achieve a ceasefire”, was presented to the group, the Representative said.
The Representative also confirmed that negotiations for a ceasefire were taking place and that contact with both sides have been made. However, due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations the Representative preferred not to reveal any details.
On a positive note, the Representative felt that, although it was early impressions, the majority of the 50 or so members that attended this meeting looked as if they could be relied upon to do a good job on behalf of their electorate. [/restrict]
