By Libya Herald staff.
Tunis, 10 December 2014:
The six members of Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Qatar as well as Saudi Arabia . . .[restrict]and the UAE, issued a unanimous and explicit statement of support for the HoR and the Thinni government at their summit in Doha yesterday. Everyone in Libya should “support the legitimacy” of the HoR, the statement read.
The leaders of the six member states, including the Emir of Qatar, also condemned the militias “and their control over the Libyan arena”.
Stressing “the importance of the security and stability of Libya and its territorial integrity”, they also called for an immediate halt to the violence and called for national reconciliation.
The unequivocal support given to the HoR and Thinni government, in contrast to the position taken by UN Special Representative Bernardino Leon, was unexpected. Qatar has been accused by the Libya government and the HoR, as well as a number of foreign governments of actively backing Libya Dawn.
The GCC played an initial pivotal role in the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime. It was the first international body to call for a no-fly zone over Libya at the beginning of March 2011, a call that was subsequently taken to the Arab League and endorsed by it, and then to the UN Security Council Because the request came from the Arab League, it made it impossible for Russia and China to veto it. [/restrict]