By Sami Zaptia.
London, 9 October 2018:
Libya’s House of Representatives’ (HoR) National Defence and Security Committee has condemned the appointment of Ali Al- Issawi as the new Minister of Economy in Tripoli’s Faiez Serraj-led Government of National Accord.
It called the move provocative and unacceptable.
The chairman of the HoR’s National Defense and Security committee, Talal Abdullah al-Mayhob, said in a statement released yesterday that Al-Issawi was listed as a terrorist by his committee, and is accused of being complicit in the assassination of Major General Abdelfattah Younis Al-Obaidi. He said that the listing and accusation are still valid.
In the statement, Al-Mayhob said that the appointment of Al-Issawi by the unconstitutional Presidential Council was unacceptable and deepened further division in the country and threatened its unity.
Meanwhile, in a second statement by the HoR leadership yesterday, the HoR said that it was surprised by the swift welcoming of the Serraj ministerial reshuffle.
It referred to the wide HoR consensus on reshuffling the Presidency Council in the form of the statement signed by 134 members – consisting of supporters and opponents of the Presidency Council.
It called the Serraj reshuffle unilateral without consultation and contrary to the accord of the 2015 Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement.
It was notable, however, that the HoR made no comment on the appointment of former Libya Dawn supporter Fathi Bashagha as Interior Minister.
