By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 21 January 2018:
A group of Libyan diplomats, political activists and media specialists have condemned the Italian decision to send more troops to Misrata.
They denounced any presence of Italian troops on Libyan soil and said Italy’s government had exploited Libya’s “institutional chaos” and the UN’s lack of authority over the country.
In a particularly charged excerpt the 77-strong group said “the Libyan people would not accept the colonization entering from the window after being expelled from the door.”
The House of Representatives Defence Committee had also rebuked the decision by the Italian parliament. Italy’s embassy in Tripoli has insisted that there is inaccurate information circulating around the media and it said nothing had changed.
The full statement read:
The signatories of this statement recall the sacrifices of our fathers and ancestors in liberating our precious homeland Libya from the Italian fascist colonization, and we are grateful for those who lost their lives fighting against Italian colonization as well as the victims of fascist Italy’s crimes, especially those who died in concentration camps, prisons and exile.
We strongly denounce all Italian military presence on Libyan soil, regardless of its justifications.
The Italian government has exploited the state of institutional chaos and the weakness of the authority imposed by the UN Security Council to send its forces to be based on part of Libyan territory.
This act violates the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national security of Libya, which is contrary to the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations and any silence or acquiescence by any Libyan authority on this violation is considered a great betrayal punishable by law.
The Libyan people would not accept the colonization entering from the window after being expelled from the door.
The signatories draw the attention of the UN Security Council that the Italian troops entered Libya with all its equipment and weapons, which are banned by the Council’s resolutions and without any exceptions from the sanctions committee which is in clear violation of the embargo. The Security Council must condemn and demand that Italy complies with the Council’s resolutions and withdraw its troops from Libya.
The signatories call on the Libyan House of Representatives, as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, to meet in a full session quorum as soon as possible and demand that Italy withdraw its troops immediately from Libyan territory.
We warn that the Libyan people may deal with the Italian military presence directly to preserve the dignity and restore the sovereignty of their country.
We also warn the Italian authorities about the consequences of ignoring the opinions of the Libyan people on Italian interests in Libya and relations between the two countries in the future.
The signatories call upon the Libyan people to express their position on the illegal foreign military presence in Libya by all available peaceful means.
May Allah save Libya.
Signatories (77)
Muftah. A. Nasib Alhorer
Abdulghani Hassan Al Araybi
Layla Abusayf Yassin
Nasser Hassan Maegal
Mustafa M. Ali Kambaraki
Ebtisam Altahir Alqusbi
Almabruk Sultan
Mohamed Al Madani Al Azhari
Adel Mabruk Ajaj
Farida Mohamed Ezletni
Feras A Bosalum
Esam Saleh Al Tajouri
Ibrahim H. Elmajbri
Taher Al Taieb Al Sharif
Khaled Omran Al Mansuri
Abdulhadi M. Shamata
Nasrin Elmajdob Alearibi
Mohamed Ibrahim Alagi
Fouad Mohamed Sultan
Adil Ali Al Muqasbi
Ahmad E. Alobiedi
Abubakar Mohamed Armela
Abdullah Mohamed Al Rabu
Ali Mohamed Al Rag’i
Faraj Al Suwai’i Al Sahi
Marwan Ehtushani
Khalid Bozneen Elsakt
Mohamed Al Feyturi
Mohamed Abdulgasem
Fawzi T. A. Abdulali
Ali M. Kshir
Suleiman Asshuhumi
Abdualslam Abdullah Nasia
Salama Ibrahim Al Ghwell
Ashraf M. El Burki
Ibrahim Omar Dabashi
Omran Ashur Zweit
Mohamed M. Bugnah
Ahmed Nuri Queri
Fawzi Mohamed Al Ghanay
Ibrahim Ramadan Blqasm
Khaled Musa Sakran
Yosef Khalifa Alaib
Abdulhamid Abdullah Hwaidi
Mohamed Ahmed Deara
Mohamed Mukhtar Al Ghanay
Abdulrahem Z. B. Janjan
Wael Hamda Barkah
Mohamed Ali Sakah
Amira Abdurrahman Jumuah
Issa Abdel Majeed Mansour
Tarik Abdussalam Elhuni
Salah Mohamed Mghell
Mohamed Alsa’ya Altef
Ali Hassan Mohamed Al Abani
Mahmoud Al Misrati
Mohamed Ali Hamza
Aref Ali Nayed
Khaled Abulgasem Khebrish
Labib M. Elramli
Ghayt Hamid Bushful
Abdul Salam R. Filfil
Mohamed Marei Alomari
Fayruz Mansour Albarju
Ahmad Hamad Miftah
Ali Hamuda Masoud
Farhat Omar Bengdara
Tariq Mohamed Al Kish
Ali Al Tahir Bin Salah
Farida Abulgassem Al Allaghi
Shokri Almabruok Shwia
Mohamed Allafi Abu Gnasha
Abdulbsit Ibrahim Almnfay
Fawsi Amar Allawlaqi
Abdalbaset Abdalssalam Embarek
Sumayya Al Misrati
Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Entir
