By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 24 April, 2017:
House of Representatives (HoR) leader Ageela Saleh has insisted his Rome meeting with State Council head Abdulrahman Sewehli was nothing more than two Libyans sitting down for a discussion.
“My meeting with Sewehli was in his capacity as a Libyan citizen,” said the HoR president in an interview with Libya Channel TV. He added that the encounter had nothing to do with Sewehli’s position in the State Council.
He pointed out that until the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) had been approved by the parliament, the HC had no legal standing.
He also complained that he felt victimised for his support of the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the armed forces commander-in-chief Khalifa Hafter.
Saleh said that the leader of the army, whoever that may be, must be in the Presidency Council, and that the army had to represent ordinary Libyans, not a specific political party.
The HoR leader’s comments came as Libya’s National Human Rights Commission welcomed his Rome talks with Sewehli.
“This meeting is a positive step that will contribute to accelerating the end of the state of social fragmentation and political conflict,” the commission said.
A peaceful and political solution would only be aided by the dialogue, the commission added. It called for further discussions to speed up a deal that could include amending the LPA.
