By Sami Zaptia.
London, 19 July 2018:
Head of Libya’s Presidency Council, Faiez Serraj, called on the international community to present a unified stance towards Libya, to push for early elections and to push the House of Representatives to stop obstructing the political process.
Speaking in Tunis yesterday, Serraj presented what he saw as his demands for resolving Libya’s current political crisis at a meeting with ambassadors of the major powers, the UN envoy and the EU representative.
These included ambassadors and representatives of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, China, the UN envoy and the EU representative.
Serraj presented his requirements for resolving the Libyan crisis and the pivotal role of the major powers in stabilizing Libya, which he said was essential for the stability of the region and the world.
Serraj gave a brief account of the political, security and economic outlines of the Libyan crisis and the political and institutional division of the country, which have adversely affected the livelihood of the citizens.
He also summarised the efforts that have been made to reach reconciliation in Libya, saying that, “Whenever we step towards reconciliation we find a way backwards “. He noted how the Paris conference in May this year had been the latest attempt at consensus, with divergent international positions, saying that some of those attending the conference had exploited that disparity to sift through its decisions and renege on their commitments. He pointed out that there were also serious breaches of what was agreed in Paris, as was the case in the recent oil ports (the handing over of the eastern oil ports by Hafter and his LNA to the NOC in eastern Libya).
Serraj said that the political divide in Libya would not have continued if the obstructionists found a decisive, resolute and unified international stance. He added that negative interventions from regional and international states were extending the life of Libya’s current situation, where the spoilers relied on the contradiction of international positions, noting that there were states that are biased in favour of some parties to the conflict, and some even provide arms to some of those parties – despite embargoes.
He reiterated that a resolute and unified international stance was required to cut-off the road to the divisive scenario.
Serraj said that patience was beginning to wear thin in Libya towards the inaction of the international community, which had lost much of its credibility on the Libyan street, often deliberately pursuing a policy of double standards.
Serraj went on to reiterate the need for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held concurrently and as soon as possible, with an emphasis on the establishment of a valid and expeditious constitutional rule. He also said that now was the time to think of “out of the box” solutions to end the continuing and growing obstruction by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives.
