by Hadi Fornaji.
Tripoli, 8 June 2015:
Today, in a dramatic, almost Churchillian speech, UNSMIL boss Bernadino Leon told the rival delegates at . . .[restrict]the peace talks in the Moroccan resort of Skirhat that Libya was watching them.
“The eyes of the people of Libya are all on you, full of anticipation, full of hope that your words and actions will silence the guns that have wrought havoc and untold pain on countless lives”.
He continued the Libyan mothers were praying the delegates could bring an end to the suffering of the last year, to an end to the worry that they could feed their children and find the right medicines.
“Today,” said Leon, “many thousands of Libyans displaced from their homes and the many hundreds of thousands more that have sought refuge in neighbouring countries in a desperate bid to escape the fighting in your country, tody their eyes are turned towards you, towards this gathering, in the hope that your words and actions will allow them to return to their homes and country”.
Leon repeated his warning that the increasing attacks from IS were a “wake-up call” for unity in the face of terrorism.
He said that after five months of difficult negotiations, the time had finally come for all sides to make the tough decision for peace and begin national reconciliation.
Speaking before Draft IV had been delivered to the delegates, Leon said that he was full of hope that it represented a fair and reasonable way forward for Libya’s democratic transition until it had adopted a new constitution.
He said that the document gave a vision for the institutional architecture and security arrangements that would underpin the transitional period.
“ It focuses” he said, “ on providing these institutions with the capacity and tools they need to govern effectively while ensuring they remain bound by democratic principles, the separation of powers, and appropriate checks and balances”
While he accepted that no draft would meet all expectations, he said he was confident that it went a long way toward forging common ground for fair and reasonable agreement.
“This is not an agreement of winners or losers, but one in which the only true victors are the people of Libya. The time has now finally come, ” he said, “for you to make the even more difficult decision to make peace and begin the process towards national reconciliation”.
Sharif Al-Wafi, a former GNC member, a delegate who supports the position of the House of Representatives, told the Libya Herald this evening that all the participants would be studying the draft as they prepared to move to Berlin, where on Wednesday, they are due to meet EU foreign ministers and those of UN Security Council members.
It is was reported by Libya Dawn-based Nabaa TV that today’s Dialogue meeting was attended by Egyptian, Qatari, Lebanese, Russian and US diplomats.
Essa Abdalkaoum, the media spokesman for the HoR delegation also posted on his social media page that the mayors of Zintan, Zliten, Sebha, Imsallata, Ghariyan and Misrata were also there.
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