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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 1 April 2015:
Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni has called on foreign diplomats not to press for Islamists, rejected by . . .[restrict]the Libyan people at the polls, to be included in a national unity government.
Thinni met in Tunis this week with 32 ambassadors to Libya, many of whom are now based in Tunisia. In the meeting, Thinni asked the international community to “pursue the language of neutrality”. He also said that Libya “does not interfere in the politics of other countries” and, thus, hopes that the countries represented by the ambassadors will support “legitimacy” – meaning the legitimately elected government in Libya.
Thinni firmly stated that Libya Dawn cannot rule Libya “in any way” and that political Islam cannot be the system in Libya.
The solution to Libya’s problems had to be two-pronged, he said: political dialogue that leads to a national unity government and military operations to defeat terrorism and armed groups that rose up against the state.
Thinni expressed hope that countries such as Russia and China would be able to convince the UN Security Council to lift the ban on arms to Libya so that the Libyan Army can be appropriately equipped to fight terrorism within its borders.
The Prime Minister met individually on the sidelines of the general meeting with various ambassadors, including the ambassadors of Russia, France, Canada, China, and Egypt.
With the Russian ambassador he discussed the potential for future cooperation in military training and arms deals, while the meeting with the Chinese ambassador included looking at possible business opportunities.
The French ambassador expressed his country’s support for the dialogue process and for Libya in its fight against terrorism. He asserted that all sides in the dialogue will have to make concessions in order for the process to be successful.
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