By Libya Herald reporters.
Tripoli, 12 September 2016:
A putative national dialogue held today in Jikharra turned out to be a largely eastern affair after the State Council said it would not be coming and invited Presidency Council members Ahmed Maetig and Omar Al-Aswad failed to show up.
The State Council sent its apologies but said that it did not think the Jikharra forum was the place to discuss forming a government. The SC said in a statement that while it valued any efforts to curb tension and bring unity to Libya, under the Libyan Political Agreement, the job of forming the new government rested with the Presidency Council.
This organisers of the Jikharra gathering protested that the meeting had never been about forming a government but rather to focus on how best to achieve unity, It insisted that it had been left to participants to form the exact agenda,
The meeting included non-boycotting members of the House of Representatives and tribal elders but it does not appear that anyone representing Misratan and Tripoli interests was present.
