By Ashraf Abdulwahab
Tripoli, 18 September 2014:
The Tripoli-based Omar Al-Hassi “government” appointed by the former General National Congress (GNC), which now calls itself . . .[restrict]the “Government of National Salvation,” has condemned a supposed five-year military agreement with Egypt agreed by the House of Representatives (HoR), It says it considers it to be a threat to Libya’s national sovereignty.
In a statement on Tuesday it added that such an agreement would pose a “significant risk” to Libya’s national security and “open the door” for foreign interference. It also claimed that the HoR did not have the authority to make agreements “of this kind”.
Such an agreement was, moreover, a “betrayal of the blood of the martyrs”, and would not serve the common interests of the two nations, it declared.
The House of Representatives had already denied having made any such treaty with Egypt.
Ignoring this, the Hassi government statement insisted the terms of the agreement were contrary to the provisions of the Convention on Joint Arab Defence which created the foundations of military cooperation between the Arab countries. Its terms were also contrary to the provisions of Aricle No. 14 of the Treaty of the Arab Maghreb Union, which states that an attack on one member state is considered to be an attack on all other members.
“The Libyan people have expressed its wishes for no foreign intervention clearly through mass demonstrations in cities throughout Libya,” the statement insisted.
The “Government of National Salvation” told Egypt and its army to stay out of Libya, stressing that the Libyan people would respond to any external aggression.
Libya Dawn and the Ministry of Defence of the Government of National Salvation would be ready to secure all Libyan cities, the statement declared, especially Tripoli and Benghazi. The “government” was also prepared to secure the entire coast in order to prevent illegal migration to Europe, it further promised.
Referring to the recent airstrikes over Tripoli which have been blamed on the UAE with Egyptian support, Hassi said that “we are determined to continue along the path laid out by the revolution, remaining loyal to the blood of the martyrs—defending the national sovereignty of Libyan soil”.
“The penetration of Libyan airspace is an infringement upon Libya’s sovereignty and blatant interference in its internal affairs,” he added.
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