Government of National Accord (GNA)
حكومة الوفاق الوطني

8 October 2015

The UN's envoy to Libya, Mr. Bernardino Leon, had supervised peace talks between the elected government (HoR) and its defunct rival (GNC) in various countries without achieving anything but further discord. To use Richard Galustian's words, "This peace process has drifted into farce as Leon has unveiled draft after draft of a peace plan, each one more complicated and ridiculous than the last" [59, 63] .

The same source adds that in trying to broker a deal between the elected government and the militia that captured Tripoli Mr. Leon has abandoned the commitment to democracy, "forgetting that an elected government cuts its own throat when it agrees to cut a deal with armed militias".

Putting the core violations aside, having brushed the war-crimes under the carpet, the UN (through its envoy) had further violated the signed agreement when it proposed a government of its own accord. Many analysts now agree that ignoring the 4th draft agreement and then continuing with more agreements was a big mistake imposed by the UN, or else, an intentional violation to fail the GNA, others say, as was the fate of the helpless NTC, the GNC and the HoR.

One of the main violations eventually endorsed via the so-called LPA is the UN-imposed PC President Mr. Sarraj. Aljazeera also covered this violation right here [17]. The HoR nominated a list of 14 people for the PC presidency and thus the prime minister of the GNA on the 2nd of September 2015, but unfortunately the UN ignored the entire list and went ahead with imposing its own president - a president that many Libyans consider no more than a "soft spoken" that can easily be manipulated to effect desired objectives (as we shall see across this page). The List presented by the HoR includes the following names (13 men and 1 woman):

1. Mustafa Alsalheen Alhouni
2. Mhemed Abida Attargi
3. Nabeel Hemmadi Alghadamsi
4. Aboubaker B'airah
5. Mhemed Younis Lemnefi
6. Abdurrahman Shelgem
7. Dow Abdullah Bodawya
8. Abdulsalam Abduljalil
9. Fathi Almajberi
10. Almahdi Attabawi
11. Alaref Alnayed
12. Jadalla Azouz Attelhi
13. Othman Albaseer
14. Amal Attaher Alhaj

As you can see the name Fayez Mustafa Alsarraj is not in the list. Similarly, the latest UN's proposed National Accord Government, according to a GNC member [61], was assembled from those who were taking part in the negotiations before the GNC presented its list of candidates. Probably as a disclaimer the website of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya [7] has confirmed this by stating that, "The GNC as you know decided yesterday not to propose names and to ask for more changes in the text."

 

لقاء خاص مع رئيس المؤتمر الوطني العام نوري أبوسهمين

GNC President, Mr. Nuri Abusahmein, reveals how the UN (via Mr. Leon) imposed its PC on the will of the Libyans
without consultation with the GNC (at minute 13:48 of the video.).

This means that neither the HoR's nor the GNC's lists were included, and yet, ironically, media outlets and other obscure websites reported the PC being an agreement struck by the Libyans and mediated by the UN.

Critics also say the UN (via Mr. Leon) imposed council members who are known for their connection with the Brotherhood, and who do not recognise the HoR's fight against terror in Cyrenaica. [Six months later it became apparent, most Libyans say, that the international community is backing the minority Brotherhood in Libya; probably because such minority has no public support in the country and therefore backing it would keep the balance of conflict so that there will be no winner - many Libyans say.]

And the fact that the proposed Presidency Council includes some members reportedly known for their ties to terror groups may even make matters worse – after all the UN has done it before when they helped transform Libya into a "state of disrepair" (as noted by former prime minster Mr. el-Keib in 2012) and, to use Rand Paul words, a "jihadist wonderland" infested with chaos and terror, in the name of protection that allegedly turned out to be no more than "unintentional mistake" - even though they rejected the exit strategy proposed by a British-led team during the so-called Contact Group talks in Istanbul (which automatically excludes the possibility of any mistakes being made).

Speaking to Libya's Channel [56], GNC member Mr. Abdulqader Alhaweili revealed that the GNC had requested from the UN's Secretary to remove Mr. Bernardino Leon from his post. He said they requested this from the UN three times in total, but nothing had happened.

Other GNC members (and some HoR members too) felt that Mr. Leon had acted as if he was the president of Libya, dictating his failed policies "with a stick", when presenting "lists" and dishing intimidation of sanctions are not the way forward, they said. 

One of the proposed members of the national accord government, namely Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli (see below for more), was reported to have turned down the offer, and even stated that they were shocked to hear the proposed names which they never heard before the UN's announcement.

Similarly, one HoR member spoke of being excluded from the talks because his name was among the proposed candidates, but afterwards he discovered that his name was removed. [This is number 4 in the above list proposed by the HoR but ignored by the UN.]

The GNC's refusal to sign the draft agreement and the UN's violation of the draft agreement without the GNC presenting its list of candidates do not tally with the fact that many Libyans believe the UN is drawn towards the Brotherhood? Was there a conspiracy to hijack power from the elected HoR (after having hijacked the capital Tripoli)? In other words is the GNA the same as the GNC but with a slightly different name? [See the HCS tab for more on this question.]

"The Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood . . . held its first public press conference on 17 November 2011, and on 24 December the Brotherhood announced that it would form the Justice and Construction Party (JCP) and contest the General National Congress elections the following year"[41].

Libya Dawn itself, the widely reported [42, 43] Islamist militia group that  backed the (expired and defunct) GNC, has already declared its support for the UN proposed government [20]. Strange but true. Islamist-led Misrata was also said to have approved the proposal, indicating that the Islamist-dominated West of Libya is happy with the proposal even though the GNC claims they did not present any candidates to the UN.

Qatar too was quick to approve the UN-proposed government, as they were widely-reported to be one of the main sponsors of Islamist groups and militant militias in Libya and elsewhere [5, 18, 4].

Finally, according to the HoR member Ahmed Alabani (in his interview with Libya's Channel), the HoR wrote a letter to the UN requesting an explanation of their proposal that included names that were not agreed on the draft agreement, and that the HoR up to that moment (the 11th of October 2015) did not receive a reply. The personal opinion of Mr Alabani is that the UN has exceeded its mandate to violate the agreed draft agreement by proposing names of its own accord, in discord. 

Instead, on the 13th of October (see below) the HoR and the GNC received requests from the UN urging them to endorse the proposal, while on the 17th of October the UN reiterated its readiness to punish those who undermine the stability and peace of Libya [30, 31], before urging both parties, once more, to endorse its controversial proposal that included reported war criminals. The colonial stick is back on the agenda with full legitimacy this time the "emshi emshi" can no longer avoid.

 

11 July 2015:

The signed draft Libyan Political Agreement (photo source:  unsmil.unmissions.org/)

المشاركون في الحوار الليبي يوقعون بالأحرف الأولى على الإتفاق السياسي الليبي في الصخيرات، المغرب

Please click here for a larger image

 

The "final" draft of the Libyan Political Agreement was signed by the members who participated in the signing session on the 11th of July 2015 except the members representing the defunct GNC [1].

In total there were four drafts written and discussed during the course of the year, with the 4th signed draft being referred to by the HoR "the 5th Draft". See Downloads below for downloading a copy of the 4th draft agreement as published by UNSMIL.

This draft agreement, according to the UN envoy, "is not going to change" [2]. Yet in a dramatic announcement (a few months later) the same UN envoy was reported to have said "the peace plan had also been changed, to include not five but six members of a new presidential council, headed by Sarraj" [3].

Many Libyans were quick to denounce what they called "the hypocrisy government", with one HoR member even hinting at "dictatorship" being exercised to endorse who should be the president of the so-called "Presidency Council", which he says is a matter entirely for the members of the council to decide once the council has been agreed on.

Libya's ambassador to the UN, Mr. Ibrahim Aldabbashi (إبراهيم الدباشي) was reported by Libyan media to have criticised the tactics of Mr. Leon (the UN envoy to Libya) saying that they show signs of "panic" where Mr. Leon wanders off the main path and gets lost whenever he encounters an obstacle in an attempt from him to please both governments against "legitimacy"; naming one fatal violation which is changing the signed agreement by himself without consultation in order to please the GNC, as he also insisted to include members from the GNC when the GNC itself refused to attend the session, refused to sign the agreement, and did not present any candidates.

Ambassador Aldabbashi was reported to have said that the HoR has the right to demand from the UN that the GNC should abide by the rules and sign the draft agreement before appointing the government if it wants to be part of such government. On the other hand, the Political Committee of the GNC was reported to have complained to the UN regarding the violations committed by its envoy to Libya. Apparently the GNC was not happy with Mr. Leon's refusal to include the amendments proposed by the GNC while at the same time imposing his own amendments, the Committee said.

Dr. B'airah spoke of strange arrangements made regarding his hotel stay in Morocco where he found himself unable to attend the so-called Skhirat talks, apparently because his name was in the list of the agreed-on candidates and therefore he was told there was no need for him to attend the talks, only to discover (later on) that his name was not in the list proposed by the UN.

Dr. B'airah was reported to have resigned from the dialogue committee on Tuesday the 13th of October 2015, noting that the dialogue committee should stop after the "bad intentions" (النوايا السيئة) of the participating parties became apparent, and because of the inability of the committee to continue against the latest violations and the conflict surrounding the talks.

The same violations were also noted by Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli (عبد الرحمن السويحلي), ironically proposed by the UN to be the President of the Presidential Council. Mr Alsweihli was reported to have turned down the offer, stating his disbelief and shock to hear the proposed names for the first time during the press conference delivered by the UN. [Of course, Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli himself was happy later on to orchestrate a coup against legitimacy when he formed the HCS in total violation of the LPA.]

As another example, Dr. Ashour Ashwayel, whose name is also in the proposed list, told Libya TV (over the telephone on the 10th of October 2015) that he was surprised to hear his name being included in the proposed government without his knowledge and without consulting with the dialogue parties.

Dr. Ashour Ashwayel was the former Interior Minister in one of the governments formed by the GNC. Having been a minister of interior Dr. Ashwayel asked the TV presenter the simple question: who is going to guarantee the security of such proposed government when it commences its duties in the [hijacked] capital Tripoli?

 

Former Interior Minister Dr. Ashour Ashwayel, in his telephone interview with Libya Channel,
has confirmed that he was not aware of his name being in the UN-proposed list.

Another fatal violation is the proposal of Fathi Bashagha as the head of National Security, reportedly in violation of the February Committee regulations which state that the "national security council" must be formed from a number of positions including the prime minister, the minister of defence, the intelligence chief and other ministerial positions whom collectively will work together as a security council and hence the name: "council".  Mr. Fathi Bashagha, according to Libya Herald and other Libyan sources, is the commander of the Halbous militia.

On the following day the UN said its government is only a "proposal"; when their letter  to the GNC (a few days later) clearly contradicts this reply and shows how the UN sought the "endorsement" of its government, and reportedly threatened withdrawal of its support if its proposed government is rejected.

Besides, the Libyans know it is a proposal, but what they are saying is that the UN has no right to propose, or even suppose, a government in violation of the signed agreement.

In conclusion it is indeed bizarre how the UN openly makes such fatal violations and even attempts to justify them afterwards. What is worse is the Western media's silence about these violations, and instead all they report is that the UN and the EU urge the Libyans to accept the proposal to end the violence that erupted in the country after the "fall" of Gaddafi – (when everyone knows he was "toppled" by the UN-authorised bomb).

 

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In a press statement announced on the 17th of October 2015 the so-called UN threatened to punish those who are working to undermine the successful completion of Libya's political transition, and that the UN's Sanctions Committee is ready to identify (or designate) those who threaten stability and peace in Libya [30, 31]. In the same press release the UN urged the Libyans to endorse the [violated] proposal.  So far, neither the HoR nor the GNC has made their final decision regarding the UN's controversial proposal.

On the following day, the 18th of October 2015, the Political Committee of the GNC made a public statement which hinted at the GNC's possible refusal of the proposal (but nothing officially as yet), when it noted that many GNC members are not happy with Mr. Leon's misconduct, stating that Mr. Leon has failed to manage the dialogue and that his wrong approach could trigger a "ragging civil war" in Libya [32]: النهج الخاطئ الذي سلكه السيد ليون في التعاطي مع الوضع الليبي كاد أن يدخل البلاد في حرب أهلية طاحنة 

Many Libyans now fear Libya's imposed tragedy will eventually lead to further bombing missions by the caring international community to protect the 2.4 million Libyan civilians they now say are in need of further protection, and, of course, to protect Europe, having turned Libya into a transit paradise for immigrants, arms and terrorists.

Such terror groups are committing grave atrocities across Libya with the caring world not only watching but also preventing the Libyan government from buying arms to fight terrorism in Libya – the terrorism that never existed before the UN bombing campaign of Libya. Many Libyans, human rights organisations and other Libyan civil society groups are holding the international community directly responsible for allowing such atrocities to take place in the "jihadist wonderland" they helped create – the jihadist wonderland that destroyed the peace and stability of Libya, pessimistically for good!

 

EU Punishes Libyan Officials

Just a few weeks after the UN-imposed government was recognised by the international community the EU imposed its punishment (or sanctions) on three Libyan officials for obstructing the formation of unity government — that is for voicing reservations against the violations committed by the UN. These men are:

1. Nuri Ali Abusahmain (president of defunct GNC)
2. Khalifa Ghweil (prime minister of defunct GNC)
3. Aguila Saleh (president of the elected Libyan Parliament (HoR) and head of Libya’s internationally recognised parliament)

In September 2017 the EU renewed its sanctions by six months, and also said it is prepared to wave the punishment if the Libyan officials stop obstructing the implementation of the UN-imposed LPA [63]. The international community then gradually transferred its support from the elected HoR to the UN-imposed PC.

 

 

Does The UN Proposed Government Include "War Criminals"?

The seriousness of the matter becomes apparent when the Libyan National Commission For Human Rights (اللجنة الوطنية لحقوق الإنسان) said it has rejected all the results coming from the UN-organised dialogue, including the proposed government because some of the members chosen were implicated in war crimes against humanity in the capital Tripoli [10].

This, of course, is a reference to Libya Dawn brigade, the widely reported [12] coalition of various Islamist militia groups allied with the defunct GNC  – the expired GNC whose former Prime Minister Omar Alhassi was reported to have said: "Ansar al-Sharia are "simple, beautiful and amiable"". Ansar al-Sharia "is a Salafist Islamist militia group that . . . has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations" [44].

Hence, according to many Libyans, the HoR has the right to object to the appointment of anyone who does not openly denounce the radical groups that were labeled "terror groups" by the UN security council. This blatant contradiction in international politics begs for explanation.

Libya Dawn began their military operations in Tripoli when they destroyed large sections of the airport in their battle to capture the airport from the Zintani brigades that were guarding the facility [43]; eventually leading to the military takeover of the capital Tripoli and the subsequent installation of the defunct GNC, and thereby creating two governments in Libya: the internationally-recognised and elected HoR (exiled to Tobruk), and the Islamists-backed GNC (operating from hijacked Tripoli).

At the time the Libyans were shocked to see the world (including the UN) keep silent about the military takeover and the level of violence allowed to affect the Libyan civilians – with the exception of Egypt which conducted air raids against both GNC forces and the active terror groups that emerged after the UN bombing campaign of Libya was declared "success"; while Qatar, Sudan and Turkey were openly supporting the radical groups of Tripoli and Cyrenaica [5, 18, 4], seemingly with  international approval, of course, since there was no sanctions against such rouge nations until 2017 when Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and other nations declared Qatar a terror-sponsoring state. 

The Libyans were even more shocked to learn afterwards that the UN is negotiating with (what the Libyans call) "militants" or "radicals" who were reported to be openly in defence of terrorist groups in Cyrenaica. As a result many Libyans have in principle rejected the UN-led talks from the start.

The House of Representatives itself rejected the military takeover of Tripoli, after it was forced to exile itself to Tobruk, and even rejected any form of dialogue with such militia groups that used violence to  install a defunct government against the wishes of the Libyan people.

The international community not only gave blind eye to the military coup but also went on to support it by forcing the HoR to negotiate with outlaw militias. When the HoR voiced its reservations it was then hit with sanctions and punishment. At the end the horrified HoR was forced by imposed circumstances to take part in the dialogue with the expired GNC in order to achieve peace in the country. 

The important question to answer is why should the UN propose names connected with war crimes and in total violation of the signed agreement while at the same time ignore the names proposed by the Libyans taking part in the talks?   Why add wood to fire at such critical stage?

The practical answer that is visible in the real world, according to most Libyans, is to extend the agony and create more divisions and wars in Libya and across the whole region. The theoretical implied answer of the politicians, however, is the morality to protect and affect peace by  bombing peaceful countries to smithereens.

Two years later the international community admitted the failure of the UN-imposed LPA and subsequently the UN imposed another agenda - the 20SRM. Meanwhile, the saga continues while the fire gets bigger and bigger the more firemen are sent to deal with it!

 

It must be noted that although many media outlets had widely reported that the East-based HoR members are opposing the proposal, it remains a fact that so far there is no official response from the HoR (as of the 16th of October 2015). Two sessions were held on Monday the 12th and Tuesday the 13th of October 2015 without reaching a decision.

The HoR postponed its session for next week (Monday the 19th of October 2015) because the UN amended draft (the violated draft) did not reach the HoR until the 12th of October 2015 – five days after their announcement was made public!

In general, according to many HoR members, the proposed ministerial appointments (including that of the prime minister) are not acceptable because they violate both the Constitutional Declaration and the signed agreement.

However, on the 12th of October 2015, some HoR members have noted that the UN's mission in Libya has ended by announcing their National Accord Government – meaning it is time to go home.

They have also stated that the UN proposed government includes war criminals which the UN was considering to sanction for war crimes during the military takeover of Tripoli, specifically naming the UN-proposed president of the Presidency Council, Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli (عبد الرحمن السويحلي), in relation to "Libya Dawn", which has already declared its support for the UN proposed government on the 12th of October 2015 [16].

On the 13 of October 2015 around 40 HoR members made a press announcement in which they rejected what they called the illegal proposal of the UN. The announcement was made from inside the parliament [21]. Faraj Bouhashem, the official spokesman of the HoR said the announcement represents the personal opinion of the members which must be respected, but no official decision has been reached as of today [22]. The personal announcement of the 40 HoR members can be translated as follows:

1. The UN proposal violates the Constitutional Declaration.
2. The proposal gave positions to those who do not deserve and do not own.
3. The proposal is sarcastic and degrading legally and morally.
4. The members uphold and respect the principles agreed on the 4th Draft Agreement.
5. The members shall not accept nor agree to the decrees that violate the law, as follows:
   • the members shall not violate or contradict the Constitutional Declaration nor the political dialogue
   • the members shall not violate or contradict the agreement in relation to choosing the council's president.
   • the members shall not accept the appointment of the third deputy without dialogue.
   • the members shall not accept the appointment of persons who have ties with terrorist groups.
   • the members shall not accept the selection of some ministers in opposition to the agreement.

 

 

The UN was reported to have urged the HoR to build support within the House of Representatives for the proposed government, and stipulated that the response must not be selective. On the other hand, the GNC has published a letter [25] from the UN stating the same request. The UN letter was dated to the 13th of October 2015. The letter goes on about the international support voiced for the proposed government without, of course, mentioning any of the criticism generated in relation to the violations committed by the UN in its proposal.

The following paragraph from the letter contradicts the statement by the UN in that the proposal was only a "proposal", as it clearly seeks the Libyans to "endorse" it:

"I would like to take this opportunity to seek your urgent assistance in mobilising support within the General National Congress to ensure endorsement of the final text of the Libyan Political Agreement. In this connection, I wish to underscore that the text of the Libyan Political Agreement should be treated as a single document inclusive of its various annexes. As such, endorsement of the text cannot be selective, and must be applied to the Agreement as a whole. The same principle also applies to the proposed nominees for the Presidency Council listed in Annex 1 of the Agreement, which can only be endorsed as a whole."

Download the UN letter to the GNC
(original source: http://gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805311502817747.pdf)

 

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The Response of The GNC to The UN Letter

The GNC reply letter [26] starts by thanking the UN for its efforts and for stressing the GNC's desire for the dialogue to succeed, before stating that despite the GNC's dialogue team's flexibility during the process it was regrettable to say that the team was subjected almost to an intentional "wrongdoing" in New York when it was forced to attend a session attended by a foreign minister from a non-existent parliament (in reference to the HoR) and attended by Libya's ambassador to the UN who has been sacked by the Libyan congress, as well as ministers from Egypt and UAE both of which took part in bombing Libyan towns, and also ministers from other countries which smuggle both mercenaries and immigrants into Libya.

A more serious charge states that the GNC was shocked to hear that the UN has consulted 25 GNC members before it announced its government when it became apparent that forgery was committed by some of those who produced the list.

The response letter also noted the tone of intimidation sensed from the various announcements made in that a force will be used to enforce the proposed government. With the GNC lashing out on Misrata's Local Council for urging the GNC to approve the proposal [15], one GNC member, namely Mansour Alhasa, told Aljazeera that the UN representative aims to "ruin" and "fail" the dialogue [17]. 

Download GNC response to the letter
(original source: http://gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805322514410182.pdf)

 

 

Protesters in Benghazi protesting against the "hypocrisy government".
Photo source: Left: libyatv.com Right: Libya's Channel

 

Many HoR members, GNC members, politicians, and ordinary Libyans have openly rejected the UN proposal, with some HoR members stating that the UN has exceeded its authority. Demonstrators took to the streets of Benghazi, Tripoli, Tobruk, Almerj and other Libyan towns protesting against what they called "the hypocrisy government" proposed by the UN. Benghazi's protesters near Keesh Square were hit by random rockets on Friday the 16th of october 2015; there were no serious casualties [29].

But during the next demonstration that took place on the following Friday (the 23rd of october 2015), in the same square, thousands of protesters were hit by a barrage of 8 rockets, injuring around 40 people (some of whom were seriously wounded) and killing 6 protesters [47, 48]. Three more civilians died shortly afterwards, taking the figure of casulties to 9 people [50, 53].

In response to this terror attack on civilian life, the UN condemned the attack, but in its statement [54] it urged the Libyans "to reject violence as a means to settle political differences". This bizarre statement has further angered many Libyans, leading to the National Forces Alliance (NFA) to express their reservation while noting that the UN's mission's statement is not acceptable because it implies that the terror attack was a result of "political differences" when clearly it is an act of terror. 

Of course, the Libyans have by now used-to such malfeasance coming from the UN, but the truth remains that the protesters were not demonstrating to settle their political differences. The protesters were demonstrating against the UN's violation of the signed agreement. One of the slogans was: "no dialogue with those who sponsor terror", while declaring support for the Libyan National Army to fight terror. The commander of the Libyan army gave his orders to pound the terrorists' dens in retaliation of the victims of this heinous attack [51]; the response will be fast and severe, the general said [52].

The city of Benghazi was hit by a barrage of assassinations and bombing campaigns ever since it was declared liberated by the UN and its military allies in 2011, ultimately resulting in utter devastation of the city and nearly 100,000 residents fleeing to other stricken regions of dilapidated Libya. Yet the UN and the so-called international community still are refusing to lift the arms embargo imposed on the Libyan Army, which, according to the HoR's president [8], is unable to equip itself to fight the terror campaign that was effected immediately after the UN's bombing campaign of Libya was declared success "with precision"?

On the other hand it was widely reported that "terror was left to equip itself" with planes loaded with advanced weapons coming from "terror-sponsoring states", like Qatar and Turkey [5, 18, 4], seemingly without visible effort to enforce the arms embargo against the terror groups openly wreaking havoc in Derna, Benghazi, Sirte, Tripoli, Fezzan and other unfortunate Libyan settlements that were perfectly Okay before the UN bombing campaign shattered Libya's infrastructure to smithereens.

Adding insult to injury the UN is now urging the Libyans to "talk" in order to stop the terror campaigns unleashed by its authorised violence when the Libyans then preferred "dialogue" and peace.

The reported reaction of the Libyan Amazigh Congress states that the UN's main concern was "dividing power" between the various Libyan factions for the purpose of creating a government to control the flow of immigrants into Europe and to fight (effected) terrorism; when their main concern should have been [from 2011, and not now] the welfare of Libyans, the end of fighting in Libya, and the creation of national reconciliation.

The Amazigh Congress was spot on to note that the Berbers were not represented in the dialogue (see Berbers tab); while according to one Libyan writer the so-called dialogue groups should represent all the groups and regions of Libya including Cyrenaica and Fezzan and the Berbers and the Tebu and so on.

Libya TV (libyaschannel.com/live) even said that some think the proposed government appears to have been chosen by the EU to suit its interests in the region. This may explain why the EU was quick to approve the government before even it was voted either way and even urged the Libyans to sign it despite the legal violations committed by the UN in changing the draft agreement.

Such foreign approval recalls the mysterious support given by the UN, EU and other dictatorial, Arab states to the rebels including foreign jihadists (whom western leaders now call "moderate militants") during the UN's bombing campaign to implicitly topple Gaddafi when many Libyans and analysts then preferred the use of peace instead; only to turn round a few years later to admit that it was all a mistake – the fatal mistake that transformed Libya into a "Jihadist Wonderland" awash with weapons and infested with terror!

The EU was reported to have said that they have learned the lessons from their Libya foray, while other powers simply scoffed the "Libya expedition" as an "unintended mistake".

But the truth of the matter they were warned before hand; they were warned to implement an exit strategy proposed by a British-led team in Istanbul during the so-called Contact Group propaganda (that included a bunch of dictators) to avoid the mistakes committed in Iraq.

Would they one day say the same about their latest mistake supporting the UN's violations of the signed draft agreement?

Does it really matter if the mistakes were intended or unintended once they have been effected?

Besides how can a mistake be intentional or unintentional when it is a miss-take?

And why should the Libyans allow the same people make more mistakes before fixing their previous mistakes or even worse when they are attempting to fix them with yet more mistakes?

 

 

The HoR's Final Decision Regarding The UN's Government of National Accord

Part 1

The Libyan government was reported to have rejected the UN-proposed government of national accord (GNA) on Monday the 19th of October 2015, and insisted on respecting the signed draft agreement the UN has violated on the 8th of October 2015. The HoR has also dissolved the dialogue committee and agreed to form a new committee.

Reportedly the HoR's president made the announcement in a charged atmosphere and left the hall immediately afterwards, followed by a power cut. No voting took place (see Part 2, below), even though deputy Saleh Fhima was reported to have said that the issue was not open for voting to begin with and instead the decision was expected by "agreement" or "consensus".

This was also confirmed by Mr. Ibrahim Algheryani (a previous HoR member) who added that the agreement was unanimously reached outside the main hall and that the president's decision was merely to officially announce the decision agreed on by the majority of members.

On the other hand, according to the HoR member Musbah Douma, such confusion will damage the reputation of the House of Representatives and may even worsen the situation in the "street" because regardless of what had happened before the session the president should have either allowed the members to agree or else vote for his decision inside the main hall [35].

Mr. Musbah said today has seen the last nail being hammered into the HoR's coffin; in reference to the fact that tomorrow (the 20th of october) is the last day of the HoR's life. Of course, the HoR has voted last week to extend its mission until a proper government is elected.

Another member said this session must not be taken in isolation from the previous two sessions held on Monday the 12th and Tuesday the 13th, and that the members have agreed that the matter must be decided in today's session; while according to Dr. Ali Altekbali today's decision is legal and final and that the majority of the members agreed to reject the UN-proposed government. Regarding voting he said the previous voting session was interrupted by a group of members who created chaos in the house, and to finalise the matter the president then went on to announce the decision agreed on by the majority (without specifying exactly what meant by "majority"), and this, he adds, does not contradict with democracy because voting could take place in various ways, such as "knocking", "voicing" or "in writing", and not just through raising hands [35].

HoR member Ibrahim Zghid has also confirmed the above decisions [35], adding that the agreement was reached in the "external hall" (and not in the main hall); that the proposed president of the Presidency Council should have only two deputies (not three as proposed by Mr. Leon); and that the remaining appointments were rejected. He also said that the dialogue will continue and that the UN needs to know that the current dialogue committee has been dissolved.

Mr. Ibrahim Zghid said Mr. Leon was extending the talks unnecessarily and that if it was another mediator the teams could have reached an agreement long time ago. He also did not understand why the UN was holding meetings with militia leaders and with members from the defunct GNC in Turkey  –  a country which he says is supporting Islamic politics and terrorism in Libya when the UN instead could have held talks with the Libyan people [35]. 

The reason for rejecting the proposal, it seems, is that many HoR members were surprised to receive an amended draft agreement from the UN which they were urged to accept without discussion or study. The fact that the amended draft contained violations is another matter. Instead Ziyad Dghim noted (see video below) that the UN's proposed changes should be first presented to the Dialogue Committee to read, study, discuss and then make a decision to accept or reject it.  According to the HoR member Ahmed Alabani, the threats coming from the UN could only scare what he called "cowards" [38].

 

 

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Part 2

Having noted the various views expressed by the above members, this section adds the views of another group of HoR members who opposed the decision of the HoR, and who appear unhappy with the form of dictatorship exercised in the House of Representatives. The HoR members did not vote for the decision.

In relation to the "agreement" (instead of voting) Mr. Osama Ben Fayed (the former Legal Advisor to the HoR) said the legal way to pass decisions, decrees or manifestos inside the HoR is via "electronic voting" and in case of technical failure the alternative would be "raising hands" [39]; but, he added, any "agreement" reached must be achieved via voting as stated by Article 142 of the Internal Regulations of the House of Representatives. According to this the HoR's decision is illegal.

HoR member Siham Serqiwa told Libya's Channel that the president of the HoR was somewhat "dictatorial" when he made the decision [35]; while other members said they were deceived. According to the judge Mr. Kamal Hadifa, in his interview with Libya's Channel, the chaos and the noise accompanied the embarrassing announcement was undemocratic and somewhat reminiscent of the way matters were conducted inside Gaddafi's people's council [39].

The most important thing he said was that up to this moment no one knows if the announcement of the HoR's president was a "proposal", a "manifesto", or a "decree"; which further confuses the matter when the whole of Libya was promised a "decision" by today (the 19th of October). The fact that the HoR has extended its life span, just as the GNC did, can only complicate the tragedy where two expired governments may battle their way for survival on behalf of Libya's future (if any).

Regardless of the behaviour of the HoR's president and members, according to the HoR member Mr. Belkhir Shea'ab, rejecting the UN proposed government and dissolving the dialogue committee was not necessary at this critical stage, and that there are many members who preferred to accept the UN proposed government with some amendments and changes to the proposed draft. One of the amendments mentioned was to leave the Libyan army as it is, without any changes, with Khalifa Haftar as its chief commander.

Mr. Belkhir was shocked to see how a matter of this importance to the future of Libya can be decided in such manner without voting in the main hall, regardless of whether the "majority" agree or not. He said they represent the Libyan people and as such they should have voted for the matter to avoid such confusion..

More important is that Mr. Belkhir said nearly 70 HoR members have signed a document rejecting the HoR's decision to reject the UN proposal. The first speaker in the above video, Mr. Ziyad Dghim, says the "majority" of the HoR members agreed to the HoR's decision without specifying the exact majority even when the presenter asked him to elaborate; while Mr. Belkhir confirms that nearly 70 members opposed the HoR's decision (proposal or statement).

These 70 HoR members were reported to have said they are in favour of accepting the government proposed by the UN but with certain changes and amendments. This group is in principle willing to accept and amend the violations committed by a foreign entity in a matter that should be decided by Libyans. 

Assuming the report stating that around 120 members attended the session is correct, then the number of members who were reported to have agreed to Mr. Agila's decision cannot be more than 50; thus the majority (according to both views) would seem to accept the UN's proposed government with amendments and changes. According to another report there were 135 members present during the announcement, and if so then the remaining number would be 65 – still less than 70.

The third speaker in the above video, Mr. Ibrahim Aldabbashi, Libya's Ambassador to the UN, said he hopes the HoR does not slip into the same trap that led the GNC to impose the views of the minority on the majority.

Mr. Aldebbashi has reiterated Belkhir's view in that the (violated) draft proposed by the UN does not differ from the signed agreement and in fact, he says, it gives more authority to the HoR than the signed agreement. In response to this the first speaker (Mr. Ziyad Dghim) asked if the UN-emended draft does not differ from the signed agreement why introduce it in the first place!

Mr. Aldebbashi also noted that the HoR needs to tell the Libyans why they rejected the proposal, and that voting should have taken place, while warning that if such obscurity continues then the international community may no longer provide support for the HoR because it would lack the needed legitimacy. This he says may lead to Libya being neglected by the international community [(as if it has not been)] and therefore may lead to more chaos in the [stricken] country.

 

 

Part 3

What is the official version of the event that took place on the 19th of October 2015?

After summarising the views of the two blocks (Part 1 and Part 2), this part will attempt to provide the official picture of what had happened on the 19th of October 2015. This final account is based on what the president of the HoR, Mr. Agila, and what the official spokesman of the HoR, Mr. Faraj Bouhashem, had told Libya's Channel [40, 46].

The spokesman started by saying that after two hours of talking inside the hall, they left for a break to consult each other over the various proposals put forward. After the break they went back and continued the talks; followed by another break. After going back for the third time to prepare the final proposal before putting it to the vote, as agreed,  everyone was surprised to see the president (Mr.Agila) read out some of the points taken from various proposals (without knowing if they were part of a decision, a suggestion or a proposal), then announced that these points should be endorsed, before leaving the hall immediately afterwards.

The spokesman then said he followed the president and just before leaving the hall he informed him that what had happened is mistaken and is not a legal procedure according to the internal regulations of the house because voting is required and because the media are going to ask questions. In relation to this point the spokesman noted that according to the internal regulations any decisions or manifestos must be voted before being endorsed, and therefore the views expressed in Part 1 by some HoR members are incorrect. Finally, the spokesman of the HoR asked the president to return to the hall, before other members stood around them and urged the president to return to vote over the matter. Instead, the president has surprised everyone and left the hall in a hurry, he said [40]

However, in an exclusive interview with Libya's Channel [46], the president of the HoR, Mr. Agila, had confirmed a number of points, summarised as follows:

• The session started at 10AM and continued until 9PM and therefore to say I left the hall immediately is far from true. Apparently he left the hall at the end of the session after the majority of the members, he said, agreed to the proposal to abide by the signed agreement, and therefore he finalised the session by reading the statement before leaving after a long day.
• He confirmed that voting did not take place, and that voting "would have divided the country east and west" because those members from Cyrenaica (east) had different views to those from Tripolitania (west), and therefore the matter was settled by a unanimous consensus instead. That is the congress was deeply divided and if voting took place such division would have been magnified.
• Regarding the confusion of whether what had happened was a "decision", "decree" or just a "proposal", he had confirmed that what the HoR had unanimously agreed on (without the need for voting) is to respect the signed draft agreement and that the UN itself was informed in the past that the signed draft agreement cannot be changed (as confirmed above).
• The president had confirmed that the House is still committed to dialogue and that only dialogue would safeguard Libya. This means that there was no decision, decree or proposal from the HoR regarding the UN proposal because the HoR had mainly insisted on abiding by the signed draft agreement. This could mean that the house could only vote over matters relating to the signed agreement, and that anything else would naturally fall outside its official duty.

 

• The Signed Draft Agreement by the first letters
• UN 4th Libya Draft Agreement in Arabic 
• UN 5th Libya Draft Agreement in English
• HNO Libya Final Report (2015): documenting the latest results of the UN's bombing campaign of Libya
• Download the UN letter to the GNC (original source: http://gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805311502817747.pdf)
• Download GNC response to the UN letter (original source: http://gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805322514410182.pdf

 

References

[0] the signed agreement: unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5120&ctl=Details&mid=8563&ItemID=2098467
[1] aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/events/2015/7/12/أهم-بنود-الاتفاق-الليبي-بالصخيرات
[2] https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/10/08/leon-loses-patience-with-the-gnc-going-ahead-without-them/
[3] https://www.libyaherald.com/2015/10/08/leon-names-new-government/
[4] libya24.tv/news/13399
[5] theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq
[7] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3543&ctl=Details&mid=6187&ItemID=2099277
[8] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3543&ctl=Details&mid=6187&ItemID=2099277
[9] https://www.temehu.com/GNA/HNO-libya-final-report-2015.pdf
[10] libyaschannel.com/2015/10/10/الوطنية-لحقوق-الإنسان-ترفض-الاعتراف-ب/
[12] polgeonow.com/2015/08/war-in-libya-map-of-control-in-august.html
[15] pm.gov.ly/news/item/3271.html
[16] lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/87499/ (فجر ليبيا تعلن دعمها لمرشح حكومة الوفاق الوطنى فايز السراج)
[17] aljazeera.net/news/reportsandinterviews/2015/10/12/إعلان-ليون-يقسم-الليبيين
[18] libya24.tv/news/14165
[19] 5th draft agreement in English:  en.libyaschannel.com/2015/06/29/the-libyan-political-agreement-draft-5/
[20] lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/87499/ (فجر ليبيا تعلن دعمها لمرشح حكومة الوفاق الوطنى فايز السراج)
[21] libyaschannel.com/2015/10/13/عدد-من-أعضاء-مجلس-النواب-يرفضون-مقترح-ل/
[22] libyaschannel.com/2015/10/13/27685/
[25] gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805311502817747.pdf
[26] gnc.gov.ly/legislation_files/635805322514410182.pdf
[29] libyaschannel.com/2015/10/16/مظاهرة-حاشدة-في-بنغازي-وعدة-مدن-رفضا-لح/
[30] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3543&ctl=Details&mid=6187&ItemID=2099291 (in English)
[31] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=5120&ctl=Details&mid=8563&ItemID=2099292 (in Arabic)
[32] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11319
[35] libyaschannel.com/live/ (19/10/2015, 11:07 PM)
[38] libya-alrasmeya.com/ (20/10/2015, 5 pm news)
[39] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0e91JiTwtOY
[40] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8iIrmzaeOt0
[41] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Brotherhood
[42] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_General_National_Congress
[43] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_(2014–present)
[44] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansar_al-Sharia_%28Libya%29
[45] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_and_Construction_Party
[46] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8iIrmzaeOt0
[49] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/j9JMU682oHo
[50] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/31WsyyKUVV8
[51] LANA: lananews.com/ar/2015/10/القائد-العام-يصدر-أوامره-بدك-معاقل-الخ/
[52] LANA: lananews.com/ar/2015/10/الفريق-أول-ركن-خليفة-بلقاسم-حفتر-يتوعد/
[53] LANA lananews.com/ar/2015/10/ارتفاع-عدد-قتلى-قصف-مظاهرة-الكيش-ببنغا/
[54] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3543&ctl=Details&mid=6187&ItemID=2099299
[56] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gfifbfXsLIk
[57] redstate.com/2015/10/25/hillary-says-libyans-just-dumb-govern/
[58] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VJ40K0_lzHk&spfreload=10
[59] en.alwasat.ly/en/news/opinion/1124/Who-is-supporting-the-expansion-of-terrorism-in-Libya-and-why.htm
[60] nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html
[61] http://www.presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/116099-العماري_يستغرب_إعلان_ليون_قائمة_مقترحة_لحكومة_التوافق/
[62] http://www.presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/123210/
[63] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/36BiHwn21xU

 

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The (Illegal) Signing of The Libyan Political Agreement in Skhirat

After repeated failures and disagreements the UN-imposed Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) was signed by 21 members in Skhirat, Morocco, on the 17th of December 2015. It was reported that the talks were attended by 15 GNC members [62] and some 88 HoR members. Berber and Tebu representatives have condemned the UN's exclusion of the Berbers and the Tebu from the so-called Libyan Political Dialogue [48] –  presumably the "Arab Spring" is for Arabs only. 

The UN's decision was outlined by its resolution 2259; stating that the presidency council is expected to form a Government of National Accord within 30 days. The UN did not publish the LPA until the 18th of January 2016 [36]  –  that is 31 days after the agreement was signed, and a day before the presidency council announced their GNA government from Tunisia.

The agreement imposes a "Presidency Council" on the Libyan people – more or less the same presidency council the UN initially proposed before it urged the Libyans to accept it in order to avoid sanctions. In doing so the UN is urging the Libyans to abandon the democratically-elected HoR for which the whole country was destroyed by its bombing campaign in 2011.

The Guardian said the UN's "appointed government" is a "calculated risk" [37] taken by the UN after turning its back on the elected government. But the reality, of course, according to many Libyans including congressmen, is a calculated "dictatorship" in violation of the signed draft agreement and in violation of the UN's mandate which stipulates only "mediation" between the two parties.

Seven months later, the Libyan prime minister, Mr. Althni, called for the UN to sack Mr. Kobler for his lack of neutrality and forceful attitude to impose the GNA without achieving the alleged "national accord".

Such UN-imposed dictatorship had effectively forced the elected government of Tobruk to "cut its own throat" by cutting a deal with the armed militias that hijacked Tripoli [39]; while the world was still boasting about the democratic success that barred the Berbers from taking part in party elections in 2012.

 

Download UNSC Resolution 2259

Download The Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - English

Download The Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) - Arabic

 

The signatures of those who signed the Libyan Political Agreement. Please click here for a larger image

 

The immediate response of the HoR and the GNC was outright rejection of the LPA on the basis that none of the members who signed the agreement were authorised to do so. For example, Saleh Makhzoum (of the GNC) has resigned from the GNC a few months before he signed the agreement in Morocco.

And even though initially the HoR declared the agreement can only be legal and constitutional if made beneath the dome of the parliament in Tobruk, and then two weeks later the HoR's president was reported to have "come on board", we still do not have an official confirmation if the HoR members who signed the LPA were authorised by the HoR or not.

However, according to one source [46] it was the HoR's self-appointed "Bloc 92" that gave permission to the HoR members to sign the Skhirat LPA. Bloc 92 is a group of HoR members who split from the HoR after the UN's violation of the signed draft agreement, as opposed to the remaining HoR members who went on to form the so-called "Sovereignty Bloc". Another source said the HoR members were not authorised to sign the LPA (التوقيع على الاتفاق تم من اطراف غير مخولة من مجلس النواب) [51].

The GNC's rejection of the signed agreement was clarified in a statement by the president of the GNC's dialogue committee [23] to have been based on the fact that those who signed the agreement represent only themselves; while according to GNC member Abdulqader Hweili the GNA will not have a place in Tripoli and that no one will accept it [38]. He also stated that the UN's envoy was repeatedly refused permission to visit Tripoli, and that the HoR's president will soon arrive in Tripoli to continue the Libyan-Libyan dialogue to form a unity government. On the 2nd of February 2016 GNC's first deputy president, Mr. Awad Abdulsadiq, was reported to have sacked 10 GNC members for signing the LPA without authorisation [50].

However, after the arrival of the GNA in Tripoli (a few months later) the GNC disappeared into oblivion, leaving the GNA to assume full control, with most of the GNC members ending up members of the so-called HCS. Some HoR members were reported to have said that the GNA is largely controlled by the same Brotherhood that was controlling the GNC (see HCS and Updates).

This makes the agreement illegal, and yet the international community was not only urging the Libyans to accept it (despite the noted violations) but also face punishment (sanctions) if they reject it. Therefore to impose such government on the will of the Libyan people is a foreign irony the Libyans accustomed-to for centuries; but to call such a government a "government of consensus" or "agreement" or "national accord" is definitely a "sick joke".

Also of great importance is the fact that the PC (the government resulting from the LPA) is also illegal because it still lacks the required constitutional amendment from the elected parliament

Many Libyan analysts and some human rights organisations have pointed out that the hastiness of the UN to impose a solution in this manner could only lead to further discord in Libya simply because the imposed government (that is the imposed PC) is not a government of national accord. In fact without the UN's violent bombing campaign of 2011 (without an exit strategy and based on misguided social media reports) Libya would not be in this mess to begin with.

Therefore the same question pops up: why would the UN openly encourage a handful of members to illegally sign a government in a foreign land without authorisation when the Libyans have already elected the HoR on Libyan soil? The answer is: look at Libya.

 

UN-Imposed Presidency Council (PC)

The Presidency Council members: prime minister (centre), five deputy prime ministers, and three ministers: 9 in total.

Mr. Algatrani and Mr. Alaswad (second and third from right) have later boycotted the PC. In August 2016 the PC gave the two boycotting members one week to join the council or else be replaced [51]. Mr. Algatrani said the PC's call to replace them is illegal because according to Article 5 of the LPA only the HoR and the HCS can make such a decision [52].

 

1. Fayez Alsarraj: prime minister
2. Ali Algatrani: deputy prime minister
3. Ahmed Meitig: deputy prime minister
4. Fathi Almajberi: deputy prime minister
5. Musa Alkouni: deputy prime minister
6. Abdulsalam Kajman: deputy prime minister
7. Omar Alaswad: minister
8. Mhemed Alammari: minister
9. Ahmed Hamza: minister

 

 

The Presidency Council in Disagreement

After the previous UN envoy succeeded in dividing the two governments of Libya into four (by splitting the GNC and the HoR, as noted in the previous section), the UN-imposed council (the PC) was also reported to have began showing signs of disagreement over the fate of Khalifa Haftar (the commander of the Libyan Army). Some council members say the general must stay the head of the army, while other members say the political agreement stipulates that all the army positions must be vacated [24].

To resolve the disagreement the GNA issued a statement praising the Libyan army in its fight against terror. However the press statement was ambiguous because it did not mention the HoR nor the name of Khalifa Haftar, and all it said is that "they recognise the heroic role of the Libyan Armed Forces in challenging terror" [33]. The statement refers to the Libyan Army in general without naming Haftar in person, which technically could refer to any Libyan army regardless of  leadership. It could also indicate that Haftar may well be excused of his duties in the forthcoming GNA government.

Many HoR members have been for months calling for specific guarantees that the leadership of the Libyan army remains as it is, but so far no specific response was made public. On the 17th of January 2016 Libya Observer reported [35] that according to the HoR member Issa Alaraibi the Cyrenaican members of the presidency council may suspend their membership from the council due to lack of guarantees to leave the Libyan Army's leadership as it is (under the command of Khalifa Haftar).

Nonetheless, the repeated requests of the elected government of Libya, the democratically-elected HoR, from the UN to help the Libyan army fight the imposed terror groups were openly rejected by the caring international community because they kept saying there can be no military solution to the crisis in Libya. Even the installed GNC refused to recognise the existence of terror groups that Haftar was left to confront all alone. Many Libyans were convinced then that this was evidence for the conspiracy to fail Libya, or to use the words of some Western opposition leaders, to "destabilise Libya".

Yet a few years later, after destabilised Libya was turned into a "jihadist wonderland" (as a direct result of the UN's violent bombing campaign), media outlets began reporting confusing views regarding the international community's military intervention to halt the expansion (and not to eradicate) the radical groups that were earlier left to roam free across stricken Libya [30, 31, 32].

Some members of the UN-imposed council (the so-called PC) have also made confusing statements regarding such intervention, with some Libyan sources confirming the arrival of some foreign forces to begin reconnaissance of the nurtured, foreign-sponsored terror groups that the world is watching for five years so far. Ladies and gentlemen, Libya has now been fully *Iraqised, allegedly disinfected of tyranny, and ironically infected with terror.

 

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The Presidency Council Under Attack

After the massacre of Zliten on the 7th of January 2016 the members of the presidency council including Mr. Sarraj were reported to have arrived in Zliten to pay their condolence. This was their first visit to Libya since they were appointed by the UN on the 17th of December 2015. In their return to Misrata airport the presidency council was reported to have come under fire by angry protesters and armed militia [26].

However, according to another source [27], the convoy was advised to return to Zliten by the security team because there was a roadblock by a group of people who were opposed to the convoy passing through to Misrata. This latter view was later confirmed by Libyaschannel when it reported that the Hatein Militia (member of the Misrata brigade coalition) had expelled one of its members, namely Abdulhamid Qawasim, and that the Zawiya Martyrs Brigade had condemned the leader of one of its member militias, namely Abdullatif Alkriek, apparently for blocking the road at the Dafniya/Misrata checkpoint [30].

Still worse, some religious sources speaking via Libya's Channel have warned immediately after the Zliten disaster that if the UN-imposed council is accepted Libya will be turned into Iraq. Regarding the question of how such an appointed government would be able to operate from hijacked Tripoli, the spokesperson of GNC Air Force, Colonel Mustafa Alsharksi, was reported to have said: "Fayaz Sirraj government will enter Tripoli over our dead bodies" [25]. 

Given the current and democratically-elected HoR was forced by the defunct GNC to exile itself to Tobruk (near the Libyan-Egyptian border), and given the UN-imposed government (the PC) has been so far conducting its meetings in Tunisia, the forthcoming government of Libya may well find itself operating from within Mars – the God of War in classical mythology, once Libya becomes a battlefield for international terrorists and international governments to settle the invisible score.

 

 

Update 1: (18 January 2016):

Ali Algatrani Suspends His GNA Membership

 

 

Mr. Ali Algatrani, Cyrenaica's representative at the presidency council of the GNA, had suspended his membership from the presidency council due to lack of seriousness in dealing with the demands of the eastern region in regard to supporting the armed forces, the police and all the security institutions of the state and the preservation of the leadership of the army. He also stressed the need for equal representation in the new government with no less than a third of the ministerial positions be assigned to Cyrenaica, as well as the establishment of the Benghazi Reconstruction Fund as stated by the political agreement. Mr. Algatrani said his suspension will continue until the presidency council suspends  Article (8) of the Additional Provisions of the Libyan Political Agreement.

According to the website of the Libyan parliament a number of HoR members from the "Sovereignty Bloc" (كتلة السيادة) had rejected Article (8) because the Libyan Army is a "red line", they said [40]. They had also rejected any foreign intervention in Libya, specifically denouncing any foreign military force to protect the UN-appointed government, and hence the name of the bloc.

To clarify the matter it must be noted that there are two Article (8) in the same agreement. The second is Article (8) of the "Additional Provisions" (found in page 20 of the agreement), which states that: "All powers of the senior military, civil and security posts stipulated in the Libyan legislations and laws in force shall be transferred to the Presidency Council of the Council of Ministers immediately upon signing this Agreement".

It is understandable to object to this article especially knowing that it was added to the draft agreement after it was re-opened for changes in violation of the signed draft agreement. Hover it is unclear why the Cyrenaican members of the council were still asking for guarantees to keep the army and its leadership as it is when the first Article (8) of the main agreement (found in page 8) clearly states that the presidency council shall assume "the functions of the Supreme Commander of the Libyan army". Surely the only way to guarantee the army's integrity to remain untouched is to not agree to Article (8) in the first place. 

 

Update 2: (25 January 2016):

The HoR Conditionally-Approves The Libyan Political Agreement While Rejecting Article (8)

The House of Representatives had conditionally-approved the Libyan Political Agreement by 96 votes (out of 104) [44]. The HoR had also "canceled" (إلغاء) Article (8) of the same Libyan Political Agreement by 86 votes [44], and "rejected" the proposed GNA government of 32 ministers by 89 votes [42].

As noted earlier Article (8) grants all the powers of the military and security to the UN-imposed Presidency Council (PC). The HoR had insisted from the start of the dialogue that the Libyan army and its leadership is a red line; while according to the GNC Haftar's war against terror in Benghazi is a war against "revolutionaries".

However, according to the Libyan political analyst, Mr. Ashraf Alshah, it is illegal to cancel any part of the agreement because the LPA was a complete agreement that does not allow any changes after it was signed by the members who signed it [45]. In other words the HoR can only accept or reject the LPA in its entirety. Sources aligned with the Tripoli government also stated that the HoR has no right to make such decisions without constitutional amendment. The HoR said they will discuss amending the constitutional declaration on the following day (the 26th of January 2015).

The LPA itself (signed on the 17th of December 2015) is according to the GNC "illegal" because it was not signed by any authorised GNC members, as noted above; while the HoR members who signed the agreement apparently did so according to their own accord after forming what they called "Bloc 92"  –  in reference to the number of HoR members who went on to sign the violated LPA without objecting to Article 8 [46].

 

 

Update 3: (10 August 2016):

54  LPA Violations Committed By The PC And The HCS

The head of the HoR's Sovereignty Bloc, Mr Khalifa Aldaghari, was reported to have discussed with the dialogue committee the LPA violations committed so far. In his 23-page report Mr. Aldaghari listed 54 violations committed by the HCS and the PC. The PC, for example, commenced its duties without constitutional approval (as stated by Article 12 of the CD), and established more militias against the agreement including the illegal formation of the so-called "presidential guard" [53]. The violations also include the illegal formation of the HCS (as reported at the start of this page).

 

Update 4: (29 May 2018):

The LPA is Dead

After a few years of violations imposed by the UN on the will of the Libyan people the UN-imposed LPA was abandoned after the failure of the latest UN-imposed initiative known as the 20th of September 2017 Road Map (20RM). However, officially speaking, the LPA came to a dead end on the 29th of May 2018 after the so-called Paris Conference in which Libyan leaders agreed to hold election on the 10th of December 2018; thereby abandoning the process of amending the so-called LPA. Ironically the LPA resulted in the formation of the illegal HCS, yet another political body imposed on the will of the Libyan people by the international community, which was involved in the Paris agreement. This means that the Libyan saga continues to be complicated by foreign interventions that ultimately turn out to be nothing but un-intentional mistakes.

 

References

[23] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11367
[24] libyaobserver.ly/news/khalifa-haftars-fate-threatens-skhirat-agreement
[25] libyaobserver.ly/news/un-imposed-government-statement-angers-gnc
[26] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8Rm2JZjwCcs
[27] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DqCL8ntghqI
[28] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/123210-الحويلي___للتضامن___الأعضاء_الموقعون_علي_إتفاق_اليوم_لا_يمثلون_المؤتمر_الوطني_العام_/
[30] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hXLBNdLB5YQ
[31] akhbarelyoum.dz/ar/200235/167734
[33] https://www.temehu.com/GNA/GNA-supports-Libyan-army-to-fight-terror.avif
[34] https://www.albawabhnews.com/1718172
[35] libyaobserver.ly/news/khalifa-haftar-or-no-concord-government-eastern-region-officials-tell-unsmil
[36] unsmil.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=miXuJYkQAQg=&tabid=3543&mid=6187
[37] theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/19/libya-unveils-un-backed-government-but-divisions-remain
[38] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/126386-الحويلي_:__عقيلة_صالح__سيزور_طرابلس_قريبا،_وحكومة__السراج__لا_مكان_لها_في_العاصمة/
[39] https://www.temehu.com/pictures3/lib3/alsature-seat-translated-3.jpg
(original source: en.alwasat.ly/en/news/opinion/1124/Who-is-supporting-the-expansion-of-terrorism-in-Libya-and-why.htm)
[40] libyan-parliament.org/كتلة-السيادة-الوطنية-بمجلس-النواب-لا-ي/
[41] lananews.com/ar/2016/01/عاجل-مجلس-النواب-يصادق-على-الاتفاق-الس/
[42] lananews.com/ar/2016/01/مجلس-النواب-يرفض-مقترح-حكومة-الوفاق-وي/
[43] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/odd9MkISIRA
[44] libyan-parliament.org/مجلس-النواب-يرفض-تشكيلة-الحكومة-الوزا/
[45] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_VLvU2VdiIc
[46] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/j6ywwTfH244
[48] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Lein-zbTotM
[50] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/127719-المؤتمر_الوطني:_إقالة_10_أعضاء_موقعين_على_اتفاق_الصخيرات/
[51] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oRZdYie2rlM
[52] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BgUXXXdtrSE
[53] libyan-parliament.org/كتلة-السيادة-الوطنية-بمجلس-النواب-توض/
 

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19 January 2016:

The LPA stipulated that the council form the GNA government within 30 days starting from the 17th of December 2015. On the 30th day the council made an announcement apologising for asking for a further 48 hours before they can announce their government. The disagreement over the government is noted elsewhere in this page (see Decrees and LPA).

On the 19th of January 2016 the council had finally published its cabinet of 32 ministers under Decree (3) of 2016 (see Decrees for more on this). This decree was signed by seven members of the council. The other two members who did not sign the decree are deputy prime minister Ali Algatrani (who had previously protested against decree 1) and Mr. Omar Alaswad (see LPA for more on this issue).

The council has forwarded a copy of the proposed government to the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk for the HoR members to decided whether to grant it the required vote of confidence or not.

Download a copy of the proposed ministers of the GNA:

• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 1
• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 2
• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 3

 

 

 

 

  وزارات حكومة الوفاق الوطني  

 

 

 

 

The Proposed Ministers of The GNA

The following government is still pending approval by the House of Representatives (HoR). The HoR has ten days to either approve or reject the government. The list is a translation of the Arabic list provided by the Presidency Council's official webpage [1].

Groups representing Libyan women have already rejected the government which they said is formed by a council made entirely of men. Only two ministries (out of 32) were assigned to women: the "Labour" and the Culture ministries. According to Layla Benkhlifa [2] the proposed government is unacceptable because the percentage of women is only 6%, which is far less than the expected 30%.  "We worked very hard", she said, during the political dialogue only to be disappointed.

Some Libyans believe countries would perform better were women in charge of the Defence, Justice, Interior and Foreign ministries; at least that way it would be unlikely for them to bomb a sovereign state to smithereens and then turn round and say it was "unintended mistake". Strangely enough, many Libyan websites (including Libya's Channel TV) reported that Fadi Mansour Alshafai (the minister of Labour) is a man when in fact she is a Berber-Tuareg woman from the oasis of Awinat in the Sahara.

On the other hand Mr. Omar Alaswad [2], a member of the Presidency Council (who had also suspended his membership in protest), said that the announcement of the government is illegal because not all the members of the council were present when the list was decided – a reference to the absence of deputy prime minister Ali Algatrani. Mr. Alaswad even said the posts were divided without consideration of competency.

Mr. Alaswad also revealed that the agreement was to form only 10 ministries, but then the council had extended this number to 24 ministries, after which he complained to the president regarding the sudden change. He then added that for some reason and without consultation with all the members of the council the president revealed a government of 32 ministers in the last night before the announcement.

In response to this violation the council's president, Mr. Sarraj, said the expanded cabinet came in response to the sensitive period current in the country [3]. The following is a list of the proposed 32 ministries:

1. Minister of Defence: Mahdi Ibrahim Alberghathi (commander of Militia 204 Tanks, Benghazi)
2. Minister of  Justice: Abdulsalam Mhemed Aljalidi
3. Minister of Interior: Alaref Saleh Alkhouja
4. Minister of Foreign Affairs: Merwan Ali Abousriwil
5. Minister of Finance: Althaher Mhemed Serkez
6. Minister of Local Government: Bedad Qenso Masoud
7. Minister of Health: Mhemed Sliman Bouzqiyah
8. Minister of Discipline & Education: Khayr Milad Aboubeker  
9. Minister of Higher Education & Scientific Research: Mahmoud Jumaa Alawjli
10. Minister of Economy: Abdulmatloub Ahmed Boufrwah 
11. Minister of Planning: Khalid Muftah Abdulqader 
12. Minister of International Cooperation: Mahmoud Faraj Almahjoub  
13. Minister of Communications: Atef Miloud Albahri
14. Minister of Transport: Hisham Abdullah Aboushkiwat
15. Minister of Industry: Faraj Althaher Alsanousi
16. Minister of Petroleum: Khalifa Faraj Abdulsadiq
17. Minister of Electricity: Osama Saad Hamad
18. Minister of Agriculture: Adel Mhemed Solthan
19. Minister of Labour: Fadi Mansour Alshafai
20. Minister of Apprenticeship & Training: Mukhtar Abdullah Aljwili
21. Minister of Social Affairs: Ahmed Khalifa Bridan
22. Minister of Water Resources: Osama Mhemed Abdulhadi
23. Minister of Housing & Amenities: Ali Koso Ardi
24. Minister of Youth & Sport: Noreddin Ahmed Altriki
25. Minister of Culture: Asmae Musthafa Alostha
26. Minister of Islamic Affairs: Mhemed Ahmed Alwalid
27. Minister of Aviation: Said Mhemed Aldeib
28. Minister of National Reconciliation: Yousef Aboubeker Jalala
29. Minister of Media: Khalid Abdulhamid Najem
30. Minister of Arabic & African Affairs: Nasser Salem Hemmed
31. State-Minister of Parliamentary Affairs: Said Ahmed Alleghenies
32. State-Minister of Human Rights & Refugees: Saleh Alghazal Aljannab

 

 

 

 

Update 1: (25 January 2016):

HoR Rejects The Proposed GNA Government of 32 Ministers

Image source: lananews.com [4]

The House of Representatives had rejected the proposed GNA government of 32 ministers by 89 votes (out of 104 votes) [4]. In the same session the HoR had also rejected Article (8) of the LPA. The main reason was that the government is too large. The HoR said the Presidency Council has ten days to come up with a smaller government [6].

Regarding the 120 votes required for approving or rejecting the government, HoR member Saleh Abdulnabi said the 120 votes are needed only to grant the vote of confidence which they did not do, adding that rejecting the government does not require such majority [5].

While according to the same source [5] Dr. Alabani said the Constitutional Declaration (CD) requires half the congress members (in the case of the HoR half of 188) plus one, and thus 104 (the number of HoR members who attended today's session) is more than the legal number required by the CD.

 

 

Update 2

(15 February 2016)

Presidency Council Proposes A Second Ministerial Government

Unlike the previously-proposed government, this second government does not appear, so far, in the social webpage of the GNA. Therefore the following list of ministers and the notes are collected from various Libyan sources including LANA. From the transparency principle the presidency council ought to have a website detailing all their meetings and decrees to inform the Libyans and the world of their activities in order to avoid confusion and unconfirmed information being circulated by rouge sites. Or maybe they are, like the ousted NTC, have no intention of sharing their activities with the people they claim they represent.

The president of the presidency council has proposed his second government on Sunday the 14th of February 2016. However, the HoR's president told Libya's Channel [9] that the HoR did not receive the list until the 15th of February 2016, which is a day after the stipulated deadline.

The first proposal was rejected by the HoR on the 25th of January 2016. This second attempt was trimmed down to 18 ministers (13 ministers and 5 state ministers); three of whom are women (numbered 9, 14, 16 in the following list). The proposed ministerial government is defined by Decree 4 of 2016 (see Decrees tab, above).

Deputy prime minister, Mr. Ali Algatrani, was reported by LANA to have said that the reason he suspended his membership from the presidency council (for the second time) is that the "Brotherhood" is in complete charge of what is going on [7] and that the "brotherhood kitchen" is currently in Skhirat preparing the government:

قال عضو المجلس الرئاسي لحكومة الوفاق الوطني علي القطراني، إن سبب انسحابه من اجتماعات المجلس الرئاسي ، هي أن الإخوان يسيطرون على الوقائع بالكامل ، والمطبخ الإخواني موجود الآن في الصخيرات لتشكيل الحكومة

The second problem is that the proposed government, or Decree 4 of 2016, shows that three council members did not sign the proposal:  deputy prime minster Ali Algatrani (who has suspend his membership from the council for the second time); minister Omar Alaswad (who had also suspended his membership); and deputy prime minister Musa Alkuni (who was later reported to have signed the document even though his signature does not appear on  the document). 

Mr. Algatrani and Mr. Alaswad both did not sign the previously rejected government either. It is not known what this means in relation to the legality of the decree. Mr. Alaswad said (according to the same source [7]) that one proposed minister is implicated in (or accused of) financial corruption, and that the list was shown to them without discussing any of the CV's; concluding that the PC (the presidency council) will not be able to survive.

There are three women in the second government: Fadi Mansour Alshafai (minister of Social Affairs, who was a minister of Labour in the first, rejected government); Iman Mehmed Ben Younis  (minister of Institutional Reforms); and Asmae Mustafa Alusta (minister of Women's Affairs, whose title in Decree 4 of 2016 was the masculine "Mr.").

Minister of Planning, Dr. Altaher Alhadi Aljuhaimy, was also a minister of Planning in Gaddafi's government in 2003: the Secretary GPC for Planning [11].

Minister of Finance, Mr. Fakher Muftah Buferna, was reported by Libyaschannel [10] to have declined to accept the offer, while stating his surprise when he saw his name in the list, noting that he was never told about his name being included in the proposed government. This indeed is a bizarre behaviour from the presidency council  –  the exact behaviour exercised by the UN when they first proposed their list of the presidency council on the 17th of December 2015.

It was reported that the HoR has on Monday invited the president of the presidency council to Tobruk to discuss the proposed government on Tuesday the 16th of February 2016. Some HoR members were reported by Libyan media to have said that the HoR intends to pass the second proposal for the sake of Libya but with reservation regarding some ministers, and hence the reason for the invitation to Mr. Sarraj.

However, as of today the 16th of February, Mr. Sarraj requested from the HoR to postpone his appearance before the HoR for one week [8]. The HoR has postponed the session until next Tuesday (23 February 2016) because Mr. Sarraj did not attend the session [12]. Instead Mr. Sarraj was reported by LANA to have arrived in Cairo to discuss "the latest political developments" with Egyptian officials [13].

 

The Proposed Second Ministerial Government:

 

 

Download Decree 4 of 206 (second proposed GNA government of 18 ministers) - part 1

Download Decree 4 of 206 (second proposed GNA government of 18 ministers) - part 2

 

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Update 3

4 June 2016

As of today the HoR is yet to approve or reject the above proposed government. Meanwhile the GNA is seemingly operating in the capital Tripoli without approval, and is even recognised by the (mostly-dictatorial) Arab League to be the only legitimate government in Libya. On the other hand, the spokesman of the Libyan Army, Col. Almesmari, was reported to have warned that the Libyan Army will not allow any GNA ministry to operate from Benghazi without securing the approval from the HoR [14].

 

 

Update 4

(26 July 2016)

The PC Authorises The GNA To Commence Work Without HoR's Approval

It has been five months since the PC proposed its second government and yet the HoR had failed to approve or disapprove the proposed government. It is obvious the HoR had no intention of doing so, citing excuse after another, including HoR members not turning up for work (but still get paid). 

As a result the president of the PC, Mt. Sarraj, announced today the 26th of July 2016 that:

وأوضح السيد الرئيس بأنه وبسبب عدم قدرة مجلس النواب على عقد جلسة للتصويت على حكومة الوفاق، فقد أصدر المجلس الرئاسي تفويضا لوزراء الحكومة وذلك لمواجهة الأزمات حيث " لم يعد هناك وقت لنضيعه

Temehu's translation: "because of the HoR's inability to convene a session to vote on the accord government, the Presidential Council has issued a mandate to authorise the proposed government of ministers [to commence work] in order to respond to the crises because there is no more time to waste".

The president had also called for the HoR to fulfil its duty and make a decision on the matter.

Source: http://www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/3619-كلمة-رئيس-المجلس-الرئاسي-لحكومة-الوفاق-الوطني-أمام-القمة-العربية-بنواكشوط.html

 

 

Update 5

(22 August 2016)

HoR Rejects Proposed Government of National Accord

مجلس النواب يصوت على حكومة الوفاق الوطني المقترحة بالرفض

In a chaotic and live session the HoR had rejected the proposed government of national accord [15]. The HoR had granted the PC ten days to propose its third and final government.  The HoR's website says 101 MPs attended the session and therefore reaching the required quorum (النصاب القانوني) - the so-called quorum that delayed the decision by nearly eight months. Sixty one (61) MPs voted not to give confidence to the proposed GNA; one (1) MP gave confidence; and thirty nine (39) MPs abstained [16].

 

 

Live broadcast of the HoR rejecting the proposed Government of National Accord (GNA)

 

Many HoR members were angry about the way the voting was suddenly announced and felt they were cheated. Apparently the disagreement revolves around the HoR's agenda, جدول الأعمال , or the internal program which lists the topics to be discussed in any given session. As far as many MPs are concerned the agenda for today's session contains only two topics:

• amending the internal regulations (تعديل اللائحة الداخلية)
• discussing the referendum on the draft constitution (مناقشة الاستفتاء على مشروع الدستور).

However, according to the HoR the agenda for the session is the same agenda laid out months ago and that this session is merely an extension to the previously suspended sessions. Libyas Channel said the agenda is the same as the suspended agenda of the 25th of January 2016 (هو نفس الجدول المعلق من آخر جلسة في 25/01/2016), which includes the following topics:

• discussing amending the constitutional declaration in regard to the GNA (مناقشة واعتماد الاعلان الدستوري), which was postponed again for lack of quorum (134+1)
• voting over the proposed GNA (اعتماد حكومة الوفاق), which was rejected by 61 votes today (22/8/2016).

This does not make sense since the HoR had repeatedly announced (for the last 8 months) several agendas for the various sessions taken place since January 2016, and in each of these agendas the topics are different, and therefore to say that the agenda is the same since January is incorrect. Just watch the above video and you will understand the resulting farce initially imposed on Libya by UN bombs

Second Deputy President Says Voting Is Illegal

Even the second deputy president of the HoR was reported to have said that the voting is illegal because the session agenda was changed suddenly (جدول الأعمال تمّ تغييره بشكل مفاجئ). He also said that the fact that the HoR's president had ordered the PC to form a third government shows that he has no intention of removing the PC itself. The second deputy agreed that the PC has failed and that a new government is required, but he was not happy with the manner in which the HoR conducted this session, which he says would deepen the divide [18]. Other HoR members, however, were reported to have said that the PC has no legitimacy to form a third a government because according to Article 180 the PC has failed twice to form a government [19]. This indicates that the PC itself must be replaced. Many Libyan analysts say the PC's failure to implement the LPA in relation to removing outlaw militias from the capital and instead forming new militias (like the Presidential Guard and the Bunyan Marsous) was the final nail in the PC's coffin.

Final Ultimatum

The twist however is that according to the controversial (and NTC-imposed) constitutional declaration (CD), if the proposed government is rejected twice then the acting president of Libya (currently represented by the HoR's president) has the right to form a new government.

But instead the HoR had granted the UN-imposed PC a third and final chance to come up with a smaller government (some say of 8 ministers) within 10 days. The HoR had also instructed the boycotting members to return to the PC and assist with forming the third GNA.

وفق الاعلان الدستوري سقوط الحكومة مرتين يمنح رئيس الدولة (ما يمثله مجلس النواب حالياً) الحق لتكليف رئيس حكومة جديد لاقتراح تشكيلة حكومية , غير أن المجلس اقترح منح الرئاسي فرصة أخيرة لتشكيل حكومة مصغرة مطالباً النائبين الأسود والقطراني الالتحاق بالرئاسي للمشاركة في اختيار الحكومة [17]

Nonetheless, this third government must secure the approval of ALL the PC's members including the boycotting members (as stated by Article 3 of the LPA). Finally the HoR had also declared all decisions coming from the PC to be illegal and ineffective (إلغاء قرارات المجلس الرئاسي), which according to some members is an illegal decision in itself because the HoR is part of the LPA and therefore cannot by itself cancel the LPA. This sounds like trouble ahead, once more. The farce continues.

 

 

Update 6

(24 August 2016)

The response of the Presidency Council to the HoR's rejection of the GNA

The GNA's PC has responded to the HoR's rejection by stating that the PC will respect all the decisions coming from the HoR so long as they adhere to the correct legal procedures. According to this the PC said it will look forward to the HoR's decision over the GNA the PC is intending to present to the HoR after completing the formation of the government in accordance with the LPA. The PC also said that the PC and the GNA will continue to function as the only executive authority in Libya until the HoR endorses the proposed government (meaning the forthcoming government the PC is intending to form).

Critics said the response was ambiguous and did not address the HoR's rejection with open transparency and clear wording the people they represent can understand. Writing dodgy statements, like the UN's resolutions to bomb Libya that contained hidden agendas (the so-called implied objectives deduced by reading two resolutions together), is best avoided. One thing for sure, neither the UN nor any Libyan government is, so far, seem interested in the well being of the impoverished Libyan civilians whose suffering and miseries continues to worsen by the day.

Read the full response of the Presidency Council to the HoR's rejection of the GNA

 

 

Dazzling Puzzle

To speak the language of people in the stricken streets, and send the jargon of politicians to the waste bin, one is compelled to say that there is one thing that is puzzling the dizzy minds of Libyans: the number of violations committed by all the governments of Libya and by the UN and other international powers dealing with Libya is truly astronomical.

The Odyssey continues to spew out one violation after another while the people continue to suffer the miseries of sick morality. Almost every single entity involved had violated one rule or another, right from day one: the imaginary massacre of Benghazi - the WMD of Libya. The UN, the EU, the AL, the NTC, the GNC, the CDA, the HoR, the PC, the HCS, and the illegal GNA had all indulged themselves with violation after another.

What does that tell you? Is it a "mistake"? Or is it a hidden agenda to divide Libya (on bad terms)? Or maybe a bigger agenda to unleash a big war that will consume the poor.

 

 

References

[1] https://www.facebook.com/Libya.NAG
[2] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/F_hT4MU0XXk
[3] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iC7bQ2H560U
[4] lananews.com/ar/2016/01/مجلس-النواب-يرفض-مقترح-حكومة-الوفاق-وي/
[5] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/odd9MkISIRA
[6] libyan-parliament.org/مجلس-النواب-يرفض-تشكيلة-الحكومة-الوزا/
[7] lananews.com/ar/2016/02/القطراني-والأسود-يشككان-في-امتلاك-الم/  (copy of this article is saved here)
[8] lananews.com/ar/2016/02/السراج-يطلب-تأجيل-جلسة-منح-الثقة-للحكو/
[9] libyaschannel.com/2016/02/15/عقيلة-صالح-المجلس-استلم-التشكيلة-الوز/
[10] libyaschannel.com/2016/02/15/المرشح-لمنصب-وزير-المالية-في-حكومة-الو/
[11] libya-watanona.com/news/n2003/june/0603nwsc.htm (see under: Saturday, 14 June, 2003, No. 6)
[12] lananews.com/ar/2016/02/البرلمان-يؤجل-التصويت-على-حكومة-الوفا/
[13] lananews.com/ar/2016/02/السراج-يصل-إلى-القاهرة-لبحث-آخر-تطورات/
[14] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EtXXu4y2jdU
[15] libyan-parliament.org/مجلس-النواب-يصوت-على-حكومة-الوفاق-الوط/
[16] libyan-parliament.org/مجلس-النواب-يصوت-على-حكومة-الوفاق-الوط-2/
[17] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qWaeM5C6vyM
[18] alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/115556/
[19] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/TIEbMN57vYI

 

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المجلس الأعلى للدولة
المجلس الاستشاري للدولة

 

The Arrival of The PC In The Capital Tripoli

The GNA's Presidency Council (PC) had surprised the Libyans, once more, by entering the capital via the sea on the 30th of March 2016 [1]. For security reasons, they said, they have stationed themselves in a protected military base (Bu Setta Naval Base) near the seaport. A few months later, the UN-imposed government was still hiding in the base, with rumours speaking of foreign military protection (or/and intervention) on the way – for the installed government, of course, and not for the impoverished Libyans left to suffer the dire consequences of foreign intervention without exit strategy.

Apparently, the UN envoy, Mr. Kobler, was reported to have said that the government can commence work in the capital without any approval from the HoR, and to illustrate his point he further added that an ambulance vehicle can be driven (or moved) without asking for the driver's driving licence [10, 11]. Presumably, extending this UN logic, anyone can fly a helicopter through a civilian area without a licence so long as the air ambulance is carrying a sick man!

 

 

 

The PC Arrive in the capital Tripoli

 

 

The High Council of State (المجلس الأعلى للدولة) Holds Its First Meeting In Violation of The LPA

A few days after the PC's arrival in the capital Tripoli the HCS held its first meeting in Tripoli in open violation of the LPA; thereby reflecting the same chaotic start that eventually ruined the NTC, the GNC and the HoR: repeated governments, countless councils, childish reactions, and endless disagreements and foreign interferences that turned Libya into hell.

 

GNC Versus GNA

5 April 2016:

On the 5th of April 2016 some members of the HCS (said to be 73 members) held their first meeting in the capital Tripoli without approval from the parliament. It was reported that the session was chaired by Abdurhman Alshater – the oldest member in the group [8].

 

6 April 2016:

On the following day pro-GNA GNC members (who are confusingly also being reported as members of the HCS) met in  Almahari Hotel in Tripoli and agreed to make a constitutional amendment to the CD; yet again in open violation of the LPA and the NTC-imposed CD.

According to this amendment they disbanded the GNC (more-like they renamed it GNA), as well as appointed Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli the president of the HCS (with 53 votes), and Salah Almakhzoum as his first deputy (with 43 votes) [7].

 

       

Left: the President of the HCS, Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli.
Right: First Deputy of the President of the HCS, Mr. Saleh Mohammed Almakhzoum (previously the Second Vice President of the GNC, from the Justice & Construction party, Fezzan).

 

To add insult to injury, foreign diplomats, as usual, welcomed the violation by stating that the HCS had amended the Constitutional Declaration  (CD) without authority from the sole legislator in the country (the HoR) because the HoR had failed to hold a meeting regarding amending the CD in relation to approving the UN-proposed GNA [12].

But then blaming the HoR, which appears to have been infiltrated (from the start) by some members whose main focus is to fail the HoR, should not be an excuse to justify the popular metaphor: "two wrongs do not make a right". EU leaders, here, have abandoned the principles for which the whole of Libya was destroyed.

One GNC member said the meeting is a "joke" because the required number of attendees is 134 members for any GNC decision to be legal [6]. The number of attendees was said to be 93 members.

Other GNC members say the constitutional amendment is illegal and contradicts the Constitutional Declaration (the CD). The HoR also stated the move to be in contradiction to Article (64) of the Libyan Political Agreement.

On the following day former prime minister Mahmoud Jibril called for the UN's envoy to urgently address the violations committed by the GNC members who amended the CD and elected a president for the HCS in violation of the so-called Libyan Political Agreement [11].

Ironically, Mr. Alsweihli told Libya TV [11] that he was surprised to see his name voted the president of the HCS without his knowledge, just as the UN did when they included his name in the violated LPA without his knowledge. Why him in particular and why this happened to him twice remains a mystery only the UN and the GNC can explain. It is obvious that there is some sort of attempt, or a foreign agenda, to yet again derail the whole process of reconciliation and farther drag the country into unspeakable miseries.

 

 

A meeting of the HCS, chaired by Mr. Abdulrahman Alsweihli

 

Has The GNC Swapped The C For A?

In addition to the above-noted shoddy activity and violations of GNC members, some HoR members and other political analysts have already noted that the GNA is controlled by the "Brotherhood" and that they were protected and escorted into the capital Tripoli by the same militias and outlaws who hijacked the capital Tripoli from the HoR in 2014. Even Mr. Ali Algatrani, a member of the GNA's Presidency Council itself, said the Presidential Council (PC) is controlled by the Brotherhood [2].

A few weeks later, the spokesman of the Libyan Army, Col. Ahmed Mesmari, said the Presidential Guard is just a new name for the outlaw militias (or the Shields) that previously formed by the GNC [13]. The presidential guard is a military unit created by the PC to protect itself while leaving the Libyans wide open to kidnapping and murder. Col. Mesmari also stated that "the international camp and specifically Britain were sponsoring terror groups in Benghazi, Tripoli and other Libyan cities" [13] [Temehu's translation from Arabic].

The more disturbing news however is that according to Ahmed Alisawi the terror State of Sirte was created by the Brotherhood and the LIFG [18]. The international support for the so-called "moderate rebels" (or "moderate opposition",  or "moderate militants") as well as their wide support for the Muslim Brotherhood was openly announced by a number of world leaders. The fact that the GNC (up to this moment and for a period afterwards) still denies the existence of ISIL in Libya while the HoR battling ISIL in Derna, Benghazi, Ejdabiyah and elsewhere is more than enough to lend credit to such disturbing reports. In fact in 2018 the former president of the GNC, Mr. Nuri Abusahmain, admitted his support for the terror groups currently destroying Benghazi and Darna and even named other GNC members whom he implicated in the program.

In 2018, after the international community let Sirte be occupied by ISIL militants, the arrested leader of the group in Sirte (named Fawzi Alayyath) was reported by Libyan media to have said that they share common goals with the LIFG and the Muslim Brotherhood at the GNC [23, 24, 25, 26]; and that according to 218tv.net [25] the same leader was reported to have said that they were in contact with the GNC regarding fighting the Libyan army and police as well as regarding the GNC elections themselves [25].

 

برنامج_آراء
ISIL leader reveals cooperation with LIFG and GNC.

One speaker in the above video [at minute 31] names USA, UK, France, Qatar and other countries that supported the UN bombing campaign of Libya as countries supporting ISIL.

[Seemingly providing international support for the unpopular movement would ensure balance of power that ultimately would keep the war going without any winners; and hence the Brotherhood seems to be unaware of the tragedy they are effecting across the whole region in order to achieve their goal: The State with one flag and one nation. Seemingly it is a bait they swallowed to destroy everything in the long run, of course, without knowing. There is still time to turn round if they and their masters in Istanbul and Qatar see the light. The fact that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries including Libya's HoR cut relations with Qatar in 2017 because of Qatar's support of terror shows that some of them are beginning to see the light, even though their responses are not what is expected because the tragedy seems to involve dividing the State into two blocks fighting each other (government fighting ISIL and Brotherhood), and this seems to have been accomplished by the Saudis and the Egyptians (who are currently bombing their follow countries in Yemen, Libya, Syria, etc.), as well as by Turkey, Qatar and Sudan (who had swallowed the bait of the State that left them supporting the Brotherhood across the region); while still-standing Algeria was reported to have had already rejected (twice) the American request to mobilise troops along the Algerian border with Libya allegedly to protect Algeria from Libyan ISIL. Violence including fighting terror is not the answer.]

And to further inflame the volatile tragedy, the acting-President of Libya, Mr. Agila Salah (the HoR's president), had recently revealed that the conspiracy of "starving Libyans" was created by some Libyans inside Libya with foreign supervision to starve the Libyans in order to impose a particular situation on the Libyan people in which the destiny of Libya would be in the hands of a minority supported by foreign forces. That is more-or-less the same thing.

The acting-President of Libya was also reported to have said that the same people who created the crisis are the ones who are talking about "solving" it in return for imposing themselves as governors of Libya [19; click here for a copy of the statement ].

Nonetheless, the HoR was expecting the PC to recognise the status of the Libyan Army (LNA, as led by Haftar), but instead the PC assembled its force from the same militias that orchestrated the military coup against the HoR in 2014 by reinstating the GNC to power. In relation to this, Libya Herald [15] noted that:

"Relations between Haftar and Kobler have been strained recently as Kobler is seen as siding with the militias instead of the LNA. Haftar refused to meet the UNSMIL man earlier this month. A few days later Zintan turned away Kobler’s military advisor Paolo Serra when his plane landed in Zintan for a visit. Kobler is now seen as being aligned with Misrata and its militias propping up the Tripoli GNA."

In relation to the above revelations one can recall a number of discrepancies that may lend support to the above claims. To start with the PC entered Tripoli with such ease even before securing approval from the parliament – an achievement the parliament itself (the HoR) had failed to secure from its exile in Tobruk.

The GNC was reported (as noted earlier) to have said that the PC will enter Tripoli over their "dead bodies", yet when the moment arrived the GNC leadership vanished into thin air, and the majority of GNC members have re-appeared as members of the so-called High Council of State, المجلس الأعلى للدولة, (imposed by the UN through the Skhirat illegal agreement). It was initially reported that one day after the HCS held its first meeting in Tripoli the GNC's government, led by Prime Minister Ghweil, had resigned. The reason was to avoid "bloodshed" and guard the national unity, it said [4]. However, according to the PMO's website the PM of the salvation government denied the move and warned the PC to stay clear of all the government's official headquarters, as he also instructed his ministers to continue their duties as usual. The Announcement stated that the PC should wait until a political agreement has been reached between all parties [5,6].

In reality however the GNC had vanished, and the PC resumed power without the approval of the elected parliament (the HoR). The PMO's website (see Website tab) stated on the 7th of April 2016 that the PC's media department has taken over the website. The PMO's website now lists the names of seven members of the Presidency Council in its home page (http://www.pm.gov.ly)  –  the names of the boycotting members are yet to be listed. The last news published by the GNC in its official website was dated to the 13 of April 2016  –  just one week after the formation of the HCS!

The fact that many GNC members turned against the HoR (after the election of the HoR) and resumed their work in the GNC against the wishes of the Libyan people is more than enough to exclude them from any future government, simply because one would presume the right thing to do is to give full support to the government elected by the Libyan people (that is the HoR). But they did not; they were quite happy to join the militias in their coup against legitimacy.

The closing of Libya's air space by the GNC a few days before the arrival of the PC, and the arrival of the PC via the sea, and the reported enquiry by PM Ghweil regarding whether the PC will be secular or in support of sharia law [9] appear to be no more than distractions to give the impression that the GNA and the GNC differ in more ways than the last letter (A or C).

Hence, the first thing the president of the Presidency Council, Mr. Alsarraj, said when he entered Tripoli is that "sharia law" will be the source of all legislations [3]. This matter should be debated and voted for by the Libyan people.

A few years after the NTC was installed by the UN in 2011 former rebel-prime-minister Mahmoud Jibril was reported to have said that the NTC was heavily infiltrated by the Brotherhood from the start; even though it is not known why he did not say that at the start of the UN bombing campaign when he was a prime minister (running between Paris and Benghazi securing the bombing of Libya)!

 

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Disappointment

Protesters took to the streets of Benghazi and Tripoli condemning the latest violations by defunct GNC members, just as they previously did in regard to the UN violations of the signed agreement on the 17th of December 2015. For some reason the Presidency Council is, so far, completely silent over the latest violations. All in all the same back and forth policy, the "tit for tat" politics that plighted Libya since the UN's bombing campaign was ignited with vengeance, still dominates the Libyan tragedy.

Nothing seems mutual; after all, this supposed to be an accord government agreed by all parties, yet it has created more discord and divisions than any other ousted government. Crime has reportedly increased since the arrival of the PC, including kidnapping and murder, with more power cuts and less cash and far more confusion; ultimately leading to more Libyans being diagnosed with "depression" and "PTSD".

In his latest appearance in the Arab League prime minister Alsarraj declared Libya an Arab country [14], thereby widening the discord (popularised by Gaddafi and further endorsed by the NTC, the GNC and the HoR) between the native inhabitants of Libya (the Berbers and the Tebu) and the Arabs (who invaded Libya in the 7th century AD). 

As of May 2016 the HoR is yet to approve the proposed government; practically resulting in three governments in UN-destroyed Libya. Yet the Arab League urged its members (including tyrant dictators) to recognise no Libyan government but the unapproved GNA. This Arab [League] behaviour was condemned by the HoR's president as illegal and unacceptable [16]. According to LANA the HoR's president said the Arab League's decision to grant the Libyan Presidential Council a seat in the Arab League is illegal, unconstitutional and contradicts the will of the Libyan people [17]. The farce continues, while the Libyans starve in the name of foreign protection.

 

 

Update:

August 2016:

It has been five months now since the HCS self-appointed itself, and still there is no official opposition to the illegal appointment - except of course from the exiled HoR.

 

 

Update: Tripoli's Third Coup Against Legitimacy

21 September 2016:

The self-appointed HCS has today rebelled against legitimacy for the second time and granted itself full power to assume Libya's legislative authority in violation of the so-called Skhirat agreement. Its first coup was on the 5th of April 2016 when they met and amended the CD without approval from the parliament. The third coup was the first coup orchestrated by the GNC and its Libya Dawn militias on August 2014 when they took over Tripoli and re-installed the GNC.

The Skhirat agreement clearly states that the HoR is the only legislative authority in Libya, and that the HCS is only an  advisory council. Ironically the HCS, likewise the GNA, legally-speaking does not exist.

Apparently the reason, according to the statement made by the president of the HCS [21], is the HoR's failure to hold a session to amend the constitutional declaration and endorse the LPA.

According to the HoR's president [20] the move is a "coup against legitimacy". This coup took place after the HoR refused to approve the second proposed GNA.

The HoR granted the PC 10 days to propose its third (and last) government. This took place on the 22 of August 2016 - that is 30 days ago, and yet there is no sign the PC is proposing another government. It was said by many analysts that the if the HoR refuses the third proposal the PC (and its GNA) would cease to exist).

This could explain the latest coup by the HCS to grant itself legitimacy so that it can approve the forthcoming GNA. If this takes place, then this coup would complement the 2014 coup (of the GNC) to hijack power from the elected HoR.

Many HoR members and political analysts say this coup has finally killed the Skhirat LPA for good [22].

 

 

Update: HCS Elects New President

8 April 2018:

The illegal HCS has elected a new president. The new president, Mr. Khalid Almeshri (خالد المشري), was elected by 64 votes, while his closest opponent, the current president, won 45 votes in the second round. Mr. Almeshri was said to be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and Justice and Construction Party [28].

Khalid Almeshri

Other results:

First Deputy: Naji Mokhtar (ناجي مختار)
Second Deputy: Fawzi Aiqab (فوزي عقاب)
Rapporteur of the Council: Mhemmed Alsnini (محمد السنيني)

 

Controversy Surrounds The Election of The New President

انتخابات ما يعرف بمجلس الدولة خلط للأوراق وتبادل للأدوار
The "94 Bloc" excluded from voting

 

References

[1] lananews.com/ar/2016/03/وصول-المجلس-الرئاسي-بقيادة-فايز-السرا/
[2] lananews.com/ar/2016/03/القطراني-حكومة-الوفاق-لا-تصلح-لقيادة-ل/
[3] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Lp3G9EhUUuI
[4] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Nin9iqQqcDg
[5] pm.gov.ly/news/item/3482-بيان-حكومة-الإنقاذ-الوطني.html
[6] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mO6HmJeIhVw
[7] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Rag9bseZk4A
[8] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dQ7ljcif6dM
[9] libyaobserver.ly/news/al-ghweil-un-imposed-government-conducting-policies-against-libyans-benefit
[10] alarabyanews.com/184747
[11] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QurkXJH9abk
[12] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-hRkElpXfQk (minute 10 of the video)
[13] lananews.com/ar/2016/05/المسماري-العُثور-عَلى-مُعدات-عَسكرية/
[14] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/9vW09idX0j0
[15] https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/05/30/two-months-on-from-serrajs-tripoli-arrival-libyans-still-live-in-fear-and-little-hope/
[16] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oOD0GrCQJHQ
[17] lananews.com/ar/2016/05/رئيس-مجلس-النواب-قرار-الجامعة-غير-مقبو/
[18] lananews.com/ar/2016/05/العيساوي-تنظيمُ-الدّولة-في-ليبيا-ولد-م/
[19] alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/108076/  - click here for a copy of the statement]
[20] libyan-parliament.org/بيان-مجلس-النواب-بشأن-محاولة-السويحلي/
[21] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/zrIjH3W2TLg
[22] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qZWnKu0y15A
[23] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GzcWTCYJ0hk
[24] https://www.218tv.net/اعترافات-القيادي-في-تنظيم-داعش-فوزي-ال/
[25] https://www.facebook.com/218news/videos/973529419464565/
[26] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pDKQBzTq-l8
[27] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q8foEVzs4U
[28] https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/khalid-al-mishri-elected-replace-al-swahili-head-libya-high-council-state
[29] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-_zRAKsCHU

 

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"Putting the carriage before the horse", the Presidential Council of the GNA began issuing decrees before returning to Libya and before securing the vote of confidence from the current authority. Running dilapidated Libya by remote control without legal approval has already generated a great deal of criticism, and even a criminal investigation by the GNC.

On the other hand some analysts say the HoR is only required to grant the vote of confidence to the whole package (the actual government of national accord that will be formed by the presidential council). Others however say the council itself requires a voted approval by the HoR before it can consider itself legal. All in all, no one knows how many violations, years and governments are needed in order to implement the illusive and promised "protection of civilians" initially imposed by the UN in 2011?

Note One: according to the LPA all the following decrees are illegal because non were agreed upon by all the members of the PC. As noted earlier two members have boycotted the PC right from the start and therefore did not agree to any of the passed decrees. The decrees regarding the military are also illegal because the PC has no constitutional approval and because of Article 8.

Note Two: for some reason the PC's official website (http://www.pm.gov.ly/ ) does not publish all the decrees and laws passed by the presidency council. As of October 2016 only fifteen (15) decrees have been published out of 195 decrees issued by the PC to date. The Libyan people should have the right to know what these decrees are about and the PC should publish every one of them in its website. In fact according the first note they should not issue any decrees at all without unanimous agreement.

 

Decree (1) of 2016

On the formation of a temporary committee to facilitate the implementation of security arrangements:

قرار مجلس رئاسة الوزراء لحكومة الوفاق الوطني رقم ( 1 ) لسنة 2016 بشأن تشكيل لجنة مؤقتة لتيسير تنفيذ الترتيبات الأمنية

• Decree (1) of 2016 - part 1
• Decree (1) of 2016 - part 2
• Decree (1) of 2016 - part 3

The so-called salvation government of defunct GNC had already condemned the first decree issued by the GNA on the basis that the GNA has no legitimacy to issue any decrees or laws because the presidential council itself is illegal. In its strong statement the GNC warned that such actions may lead to civil war [1]. On the other hand the Defence Ministry of the GNC had warned that the GNA's announcement is a criminal offence punishable by law for destabilising the security of the country and accordingly the members involved my be questioned by the relevant authorities. This sounds far worse than when the HoR won the elections and fled to Tobruk.

Decree (1) of 2016 was also condemned by the GNA'a Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Ali Algatrani [2, 3] who was reported to have said that no voting took place over the committee created by Decree (1) and therefore he complained to the president of  the council that he is not happy with the committee that contains members of armed militias; some of whom (according to other sources) were implicated in war crimes against the Libyan people during the takeover of Tripoli by the "Libya Dawn" militia. Mr. Algatrani said that according to Article (3) of Annex (6) regarding security preparations the committee should be formed from army and police officers [3].

According to Esam Altajouri it is strange that violations of legal matters continue to take place in relation to any solution presented to the crisis in Libya, and that whoever proposed the names of the security committee does not wish the stability of Libya [4] because many of these names are listed by the UN Security Council for violating human rights. In other words why does the UN continue to create more problems and more visitations that create more discord and more disagreements amongst the Libyans?

The committee's job according to Decree (1) is to:

• Begin preparations to implement article 32 of the Libyan Political Agreement
• Design and implement plans for the security and structural commissions including those of leadership and control
• Supervise a plan to secure all Libyan towns starting with the capital Tripoli
• Agreement on work methods regarding the police, the army and armed groups
• Documenting and follow up of the aforementioned duties
• Any other duties requested by the GNA regarding security
• Reporting back to the presidency council every three days

[1] www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/3368-بيان-حكومة-الإنقاذ-الوطني-بشأن-تشكيل-لجنة-مؤقتة-لتسيير-تنفيذ-ترتيبات-أمنية-مما-يسمى-المجلس-الرئاسي-لحكومة-الوفاق-الوطني.html
[2] libyaobserver.ly/news/division-growing-un-imposed-government-over-decision-making
[3] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/125963-نائب_حكومة_الوفاق_يعترض_علي_تشكيل_لجنة_الترتيبات_الامنية/
[4] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/bzZiSG2brWc


GNC statement condemning Decree 1


GNA's Deputy Prime Minister's objection to Decree 1


GNC's Defence Ministry's investigation of Decree 1

 

 

Decree (2) of 2016

On a temporary control to regulate the functioning of public sector institutions:

قرار مجلس رئاسة الوزراء لحكومة الوفاق الوطني رقم ( 2 ) لسنة 2016 بشأن ضبط مؤقت لسير عمل مؤسسات القطاع العام

• Decree (2) of 2016 - part 1
• Decree (2) of 2016 - part 2

The decree prohibits all executive and public administrative bodies including ministries, agencies, institutions, boards and commissions from making any changes to the structure or systems or management or its affiliate departments or arrange any financial obligations for the state. Any such measures will be void  after the date of the signing of the political agreement. The decree stresses that the regulatory agencies and the banks of Libya should adhere to the provisions of this decree and reject any requests in violation of this decree.

 

 

Decree (3) of 2016

On naming the ministerial members of the government of national accord comprising 32 ministries (see Ministries [above] for more on this).

قرار رقم “3” لعام 2016 بشأن تشكيل حكومة الوفاق الوطني بواقع “32” وزارة

• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 1
• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 2
• Decree (3) of 2016 - part 3

This decree was signed by seven members of the council. The other two members who did not sign the decree are deputy prime minister Ali Algatrani (who had previously protested against decree 1, as noted above) and Mr. Omar Alaswad.

 

Please click here for a larger copy.

 

 

 

Decree 4 of 2016

The presidency council proposed its second government on Sunday the 14th of February 2015. However, the HoR's president told Libya's Channel that the HoR did not receive the list until the 15th of February 2016, which is a day after the stipulated deadline. This second attempt was trimmed down from 32 ministers to 18 ministers (13 ministers and 5 state ministers); three of whom are women. The proposed ministerial government is defined by Decree 4 of 2016.

 

Please click here for larger image.

 

Likewise Decree (3) of 2016,  deputy prime minister Ali Algatrani  and minister Omar Alaswad did not sign Decree (4) of 2016; while deputy prime minister Musa Alkuni, who did not sign Decree (4), was later reported to have signed the document even though his signature does not appear on  the document. 

• Download Decree 4 of 2016 (second proposed GNA government of 18 ministers) - part 1
• Download Decree 4 of 2016 (second proposed GNA government of 18 ministers) - part 2

 

 

Decree (12) of 2016

This decree lists the names of ministers appointed by the PC to carry out their duties:

• Download Decree 12 of 2016 - part 1
• Download Decree 12 of 2016 - part 2

 

Other Decrees Published by The PC

Even though the latest decree carries number 195 (of 2016), which means there were 195 decrees issued so far, only the following ten decrees have been published in its website (in addition to the above five decrees, and excluding the six decrees published by the PC as the chief of staff of the Libyan army [see the list below]). This means that the Libyan people have no way of knowing what these 195 decrees (as of October 2016) are related to. The "Decrees قرارات " button of its website's menu still lists the decrees by the previous Salvation government of the GNC.

• Download Decree 9 of 2016 - part 1
• Download Decree 9 of 2016 - part 2
• Download Decree 15 of 2016
• Download Decree 22 of 2016
• Download Decree 49 of 2016
• Download Decree 62 of 2016
• Download Decree 71 of 2016 - part 1
• Download Decree 71 of 2016 - part 2
• Download Decree 72 of 2016 - part 1
• Download Decree 72 of 2016 - part 2
• Download Decree 89 of 2016
• Download Decree 115 of 2016 - part 1
• Download Decree 115 of 2016 - part 2
• Download Decree 195 of 2016

 

 

 

PC's Decrees as the Chief of the Libyan Army

 

(1) - Decree 1 of 2016

5 May 2016:

The UN-imposed PC issued Decree 1 of 2016 to establish a temporary committee to oversee the implementation of the security preparations. The unit is made of 18 military officers including 14 colonels. See Decree 1 for full details and names.

• Decree 1 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 1 of 2016 part 2

 

 

(2) - Decree 2 of 2016

9 May 2016:

PC's Presidential Guard (الحرس الرئاسي): without even securing the approval of the HoR the PC (as the chief commander of the Libyan army) issued decree 2 of 2016; outlining the formation of the "Presidential Guard". From its name the new unit appears to have been formed to protect the UN-imposed PC. One would presume the formation of the Libyan army to protect the whole of Libya including the Libyan people, of course.

• Decree 2 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 2 of 2016 part 2

 

 

(3) - Decree 3 of 2016

31 May 2016:

PC's Decree 3 of 2016 establishes Petroleum Crescent (Sirte + Ajdabiya) Special Operations Room to organise the operations against the terror group known as "The State" (قرار القائد الأعلى للجيش الليبي رقم 3 لسنة 2016 بشأن تشكيل غرفة عمليات خاصة لقيادة العمليات العسكرية في منطقة الهلال النفطي (اجدابيا وسرت) ضد تنظيم الدولة )

 

• Decree 3 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 3 of 2016 part 2

 

 

(4) - Decree 4 of 2016

6 June 2016:

PC's Decree 4 of 2016 establishes Sabratha's Special Operations Room to organise the operations against the terror group known as "The State" (قرار القائد الأعلى للجيش الليبي رقم 4 لسنة 2016 بشأن تشكيل غرفة عمليات خاصة لقيادة العمليات العسكرية في منطقة صبراته ضد تنظيم الدولة

 

• Decree 4 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 4 of 2016 part 2

 

 

(5) - Decree 5 of 2016

9 June 2016:

PC's Decree 5 of 2016 establishes Jufra-Sirte Special Operations Room

 

• Decree 5 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 5 of 2016 part 2

 

 

(6) - Decree 6 of 2016

31 August 2016:

PC's Decree 6 of 2016 regarding the families of the soldiers who died fighting in Sirte

• Decree 6 of 2016 part 1
• Decree 6 of 2016 part 2

 

 

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Hisham Ehmadi, member of the Amazigh Supreme Council,
clarifies the council's position to the Berber people regarding the so-called Skhirat Dialogue.

 

 

Hisham Ehmadi, member of the Amazigh Supreme Council, clarifies the council's position to the Berber people regarding the so-called Skhirat Dialogue. After explaining why the Amazigh Council boycotted the CDA's elections, Mr. Hisham went on to reveal that the Amazigh Council rejected the political dialogue of the Libyan Political Agreement because they wanted an effective and real participation in the dialogue and not just a superficial representation that serves no purpose other than rob them of their rights; and thus they informed them (presumably the UN, the GNC and the HoR) that the Amazigh Council is prepared to enter the political dialogue on conditions and demands that must be respected and included in the dialogue, specifically the Berbers and the constitution.

Mr. Hisham then added that they later wrote to the UN envoy informing him that the Berbers are not represented in the LPA and also provided him with a list of the reasons for their lack of participation, but later they (the Amazigh Council) were shocked to discover that the Berber issue was not part of the Skhirat negotiation at all.

Instead they received a reply from "them" stating that the Berbers are in fact being represented at the Skhirat talks. The Amazigh Council then discovered that they (the UN) went and chose their own Berber representatives, which he called  "flexible, easy personalities" who for personal gains go along with whatever they are told.

These chosen, soft representatives are named by Mr. Hisham as: Salem Madi (representing the Amazigh); Musa Alkouni (representing the Tuareg, and who later resigned from the PC); and Musa Kousa (representing the Tebu).

This, he said, was a disaster because if they (the Amazigh Council) were represented at the LPA talks "is it imaginable", he asked, "we leave out such an important matter as the constitution"? Mr. Hisham had also noted a few more important points (see ALT for more on these).

There are those who say the statement of the Libyan Amazigh Congress (as noted earlier in this page), in that the UN's main concern was "dividing power" between the various Libyan factions for the purpose of creating a government to control the flow of immigrants into Europe and to fight (effected) terrorism, is, in a way, what they want you to believe. For example, it is like saying the Libya intervention was a mistake, "the biggest mistake of my carrier"; or intervention is all about "oil"; which some believe are no more than distractions created to divert attention and "hijack the opposition".

While there are those who say one can only lend credibility to the faint voices whispering conspiracy to cause mayhem and world war by endlessly substituting one tyranny with another.  Only time will reveal which is which, even though the tragedy effected on the theater of operations across the whole region already speaks volumes without a single word.

 

 

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The Webpage of The GNA's Media Department

 

The Government of National Accord (حكومة الوفاق الوطني) started its online activity via Facebook. The following URL appears to have been created on the 5th of January 2016:

• Facebook page (المكتب الإعلامي لحكومة الوفاق الوطني - الصفحة الرسمية): https://www.facebook.com/Libya.NAG

 

 

 

Update: 7 April 2016:

 

 

• On the 7th of April 2016 the website of the self-appointed GNC Government, the PMO's website, was taken over by the GNA's media department.
  http://www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/3484-الموقع-الإلكتروني-أصبح-تحت-إشراف-المكتب-الإعلامي-للمجلس-الرئاسي-لحكومة-الوفاق-الوطني.html
• Arabic Facebook Page of the President of the High Council of State - المكتب الإعلامي لرئيس المجلس الأعلى للدولة :
  https://www.facebook.com/TheHighCouncilOfLibya/
• English Facebook Page of the President of the High Council of State -
  https://www.facebook.com/The-High-Council-of-State-Libya-1133510183366974/
•  Arabic Facebook Page of the President of the Presidency Council - المكتب الإعلامي لرئيس المجلس الرئاسي لحكومة الوفاق الوطني‎ :
  https://www.facebook.com/GNAMedia/

 

 

Website Map:

The WayBack Machine's sitemap of the GNA website
gives a snapshot of the site at any time from 2012 to the present

Just run the mouse on any area of the circle to select the required date and then click.
The website was originally run by the GNC's Prime Minister's Office,
which the GNA took over when it was installed by the UN.
Typing the URL gna.gov.ly now redirects to pm.gov.ly

 

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UN Reveals Another Disastrous Road-Map

20 September 2017

 

تغطية خاصة لوقائع جلسة الأمم المتحدة حول ليبيا

 

Without addressing the real issues facing Libya the UN had once more conjured a road-map which it claims will lead Libya out of the imposed quagmire(s). Many Libyan politicians and analysts had already stated that this latest UN road-map is nothing more than an attempt to delay stability in Libya and extend the state of chaos engulfing Libya since its bombing campaign in 2011 sent the country back to the stone age.

It is not possible for Mr. Ghassan Salame to come up with such a dramatic road-map in this short period of time, Mr. Ezzedin Aqil told Sijal [1]; indicating that the plan was already crafted by other unknown entity (or entities). According to Omar Ehmidan, former spokesman of the former GNC, this road-map proposed by Salame was put forward by Kobler in June 2016 [1].

One of the first HoR members to respond to such road-map, Mr. Abdulminaem Balkour (عبد المنعم بلكور), was reported to have said that the proposed UN road-map is incomplete and requires clarification [3]. For example there was no mention of the actual LPA articles that require amending, he said. This point alone leaves the door wide open, once more (just like in December 2015), for further disagreement and discord.

Other analysts say most European players are also extending the agony for personal gains and a slice of the "ungoverned space". Well, the results of their combined actions for the past seven years speak volumes without any words; and therefore many Western states had already declared their support for such disastrous Road-Map. Hence the 20th of September Road-Map, according to CDA member Thow Almansori (ضو المنصوري), is an earthquake and a hurricane that would destroy the political process in Libya and drag the country to its pre-2011 state [1].

Nonetheless, the UN Road-Map includes the following stages:

 

The Disastrous Road-Map imposed by the UN on the Libyan People.
We say "imposed" because there is no way the Libyans can now escape the clutches of the UN.

 

Please note that only the words in blue and bold are part of the actual UN Road-Map; the remaining sentences between the square brackets [ ] are our own response and the responses of many Libyan politicians, analysts and journalists who took part in the two discussions shown at the end of this section.

1. Stage One:
   
   
   1. Amend the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).
      
      [The agreement the UN was so sure of in 2015 when most Libyans were opposing it. Most Libyans strongly agree that no solution, ever, can be achieved in Libya before dismantling all the terror groups and radical, moderate and outlaw militias in Libya - the militias that are supported by many countries from around the world including European countries. Since the days of the installed NTC and the Libyans still saying the same thing that the world is still refusing to do: dismantle the militia groups they created and funded during the UN bombing campaign of 2011 and lift the arm embargo imposed on the Libyan army.
      
      The head of the GNA, Mr. Sarraj, hinted at this point saying that the atmosphere now is no worse than the atmosphere in which the HoR elections were conducted, which is true (to certain extent), but then what happened to the HoR Mr. Sarraj? It was toppled in a military coup in 2014 by Islamist and outlaw militias that reinstated the defunct GNC in a military coup that the international community gave blind eye to and even supported by forcing the HoR to negotiate with radical militias; ullllllltimately leading to the GNA (and Sarraj himself) being imposed on the will of the Libyan people.
      
      Many Libyans are now saying there is no guarantee the same thing would not happen again, or, even worse, there is no guarantee the election results will be transparent. During the 2012 and the 2014 elections there were reports of militias transporting ballot boxes, stopping in deserted area (or so they thought), and moving votes from one box to another, before driving off to their intended destination. Once again, putting the cart before the horse is UN-intentional. One of the most disastrous results of the UN bombing campaign of 2011 is the loss of Libyan sovereignty and dignity [1].]
   2. Form a committee to draft the amendments to the LPA in the offices of the UN's mission.
      
      [A few days later, the HoR's head of the dialogue committee (رئيس لجنة الحوار بمجلس النواب، عبدالسلام نصية) was reported to have said that 6 members will be chosen from the HoR's dialogue committee and 6 more from the GNA's HCS (the High Council of State) to begin amending the LPA [4].]
2. Stage Two:
   
   
   1. Creation of a "National Congress" under the auspices of the UN (مؤتمر طني تحت رعاية الأمين العام  للأمم المتحدة).
      
      [This is, again, another UN-created disaster that many speakers in this video said would further plunge Libya into chaos. A national congress to include all the marginalised and excluded to discuss national reconciliation, the constitution, and the executive authority would take decades to complete. Why form a new body at this crucial stage? How many governments and congresses the Libyans need to swallow in order to drink water and eat bread in peace?]
   2. Such congress would include the ousted, the marginalised, those who excluded themselves, and those who did not embrace the political process, as well as members of the HoR and the HCS.
      
      [But wait a minute, the HCS is an illegal organisation formed in total violation of the LPA and the CD before amending the CD. The HoR itself said this when the HCS was formed, but now mysteriously the HoR refers to the HCS as a legal organisation and even agreed to sit with it and begin amending the LPA. Still worse, we all know what happened to the excluded and marginalised Berbers in the UN-supervised 2012 GNC elections: they were barred by NTC's law from taking part in Party Election. This clearly proves that the UN loves violating the rules simply because when the Libyans cried out loud last year about the HCS being illegally formed  the UN said nothing and did nothing.
      
      When former rebel prime minister Mr. Mahmoud Jibril warned the UN via its envoy to urgently address the dangerous violations committed by the GNC members who self-amended the CD and elected a president for the HCS in violation of the so-called Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) the UN pretended deaf and blind [2]; and for the sake of audacity some European ambassadors even defended the violation (as we reported in this page - see HCS Tab for more on this crime). This means that the UN is continuing to commit violations even against its own agreements and there is no one to stop them.]
   3. The members of the National Congress will select the members for the "Executive Authorities" that were initially re-formed on the basis of consensus
      تحديد واختيار أعضاء المؤسسات التنفيذية التي أُعيد تشكيلها في البدء على أساس توافقي
      [Can you imagine a total reshuffle of all executive authorities at this dangerous stage? ] 
   4. The HoR and the CDA ought to operate in parallel.
      [We recommend moving the CDA's headquarters to face the HoR's headquarters and watch the UN dance in between.]
   5. Grant the HoR the priority to issue a referendum law to organise the constitution referendum and the presidential elections.
      على مجلس النواب إيلاء الأولوية لإصدار تشريع لإجراء استفتاء دستوري وانتخابات برلمانية ورئاسية
      
      [The crafty use of the word "priority" appears to be no more than another attempt to steer legitimacy away from the elected HoR by forcing the HoR to either accept the imposed constitutional violations or else lose such legitimacy to another authority which most likely would be the UN-imposed GNA. Mr. Sarraj had already threatened the HoR with such a possibility. The HoR should not have the priority to do its job; it has the sole responsibility to do so and only "it" can do so.]
   6. The HNEC should prepare for the elections.
      [Unless the UN wants to give that to the NHS.]
   7. Creating dialogue with the armed groups to integrate them in the political process.
      
      [Of great relevance, HoR member Dr. B'airah (عضو مجلس النواب أبو بكر بعيرة) in this video (at 1:58:01) said when in 2014 the dialogue committee met with ambassadors from around the world to talk about forming an accord government (meaning the later GNA) he brought up the problem of militias in the capital and how they might affect the political processssssssssss, the British ambassador (meaning Michael Aron), Dr. B'airah said, told him the international community will kick the militias out of Tripoli once the Libyans agree on an accord government. Interestingly, after the UN imposed its PC, Dr. B'airah said the international community let them down and never delivered their promise to kick the militias out of the stricken capital; which is clearly an act of deception, he added. Emshi, emshi!
      
      It must be noted that many of these militias were originally formed by the Western countries during the UN bombing campaign to topple Gaddafi, and they even trained, funded and "coordinated" (British Foreign Secretary said), of course using Qatar and Turkey as a front for the later blowback. When these countries were asked about the wisdom of arming "teenagers", they replied "to enable the Libyans to get on with their lives". No wonder "Odyssey Dawn" was one of the names chosen by the masters for the operation that transformed Libya in so many ways. Blaming children for playing with the fire given by the father, and arming teenagers for whatever reason, is a despicable crime that will shame the UN and its military allies for centuries to come. At this international level such acts and resolutions to destroy entire nations should be well-thought out with full exit strategy. "Shame on you UN".]
      
      Despite the fact the so-called LPA stipulated the removal of all militias from Libyan cities and towns  the UN now wants these militias to be included in the political dialogue, presumably including all the radical and terror groups, the groups most Libyans would like to see behind bars for the atrocities they committed against civilians and the groups that orchestrated the 2014 military coup against the elected HoR. What else is there left to say for heaven's sake other than begging Mother for Mercy.]
   8. There should be an initiative to unite the army.
      
      [One speaker, journalist Abdulhakim Matoug (الصحفي والناشط السياسي عبدالحكيم معتوق) in the second video (see below, at 2:20:10 of the video) said he had contacted Mr. Ghassan Salame to suggest the use of the word "activate" rather than "unite" because the Libyan army is already united. How about that? Also Note the use of "initiative", which implies that this issue is not important even though it comes under Article 8 of the controversial LPA - the amendment this road-map called for in Stage One. This again leaves the door wide open for further discord and more disasters yet to come from what many Libyans harshly call "criminal UN" simply because it implies that the UN recognises terror groups as "armies" that ought to be united with the Libyan National Army - the army the world still refuses to recognise and arm - the army refuses to arm.]
   9. Continuation and enforcement of national reconciliation efforts.
      
      [A few days later, Mr. Ghassan Salame told France 24 that Gaddafi's loyalists and supports can take part in the political process, and that the elections should be open to all Libyans [5] without excluding Saifalislam Gaddafi. Around 7years ago the UN-authorised-forces were bombing Gaddafi's journalists (and TV station) because they were spreading "propaganda", they said; now after destroying Libya's entire infrastructure and handing over Libya to radical and moderate militias the UN-authorised farce says Gaddafi's supporters (and presumably journalists too) can take part in the UN propaganda. We are not saying Gaddafi's loyalists should not be included; they should never have been violently excluded based on lies (the WMD of Libya) and that expectedly protecting Libyan civilians should not have targeted any Libyan civilians. Also "protection of civilians" does not mean "change of regime".]
   10. Taking decisive steps to deal with the displaced.
       
       [Excellent 7 years of internal exile as a form of UN protection by all necessary measures is to end soon; you wish!]
       
3. Stage Three:
   
   
   1. Arrival at the final stages of the operation should be achieved in a year from now.
      
      [Former Libyan Envoy to the UN (ابراهيم الدباشي) said this would extend the transitional period and delay the constitution for another year when most Libyans are looking forward to an urgent solution to the issue of "legitimacy". Of course, probably oblivious to the hidden agenda to continue dragging Libya towards division and the Great War. If the international community could not do the job in six years they will never do so.]
   2. Referendum to endorse the constitution. [None of your business.]
   3. Electing a parliament and a president which would end the transitional period.

 

 

Libyan politicians, writers and analysts discussing the UN-imposed Road-Map.

 

 

 

• Gaddafi's loyalists and supports say they are not the supporters of the ousted regime but they are the "regime" itself because currently there is no regime but chaos.
• Listening to the discussion one comes face to face with the real disaster the UN is imposing on the Libyan people.
• A revolution that is imposed by the foreign bomb is a form of colonisation.
• Dr. Qashat (Libya's former ambassador to Saudi Arabia) says there are 400 billion Dinars in the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) - food for thought!
• The idea that the Libyans had failed to reach an agreement and form a centralised government which forced the UN to intervene because Libya became a danger to the world is a complete farce. Going through all the stages, one by one since 2011, it becomes clear that the UN and its Western allies were interfering with Libya right from the start despite the fact that after its bombing campaign was completed, with "precision" the UN said, the UN and its military allies said the Libyans can sort out their problems on their own; thus leaving Libya wide open to terror groups from around the world (in total violation of the resolution to protect civilians by all necessary measures).
• The Libyans did not fail to resolve their problems; the Libyans had eeeeeeeelected a government in 2014 but unfortunately the hijacked-UN and its allies imposed a second government on the Libyans, namely the so-called GNA, in total violation of the democratic principles they destroyed Libya for. Failure was imposed on several times, by the bomb to begin with (without exit strategy), including on the 17th of December 2015 when the world suddenly began to talk about two competing governments in Libya when there was only one.
• One of the most disastrous results of the UN bombing campaign of 2011 is the loss of Libyan sovereignty and dignity [1]. Most Libyans agree the UN should go back to America and leave Libya alone after their disastrous bombing campaign proved they and their military allies incapable of delivering any of the promises they brag about at the UN. Simply attributing their repeated failures to "unintentional mistakes" while the Libyan civilians left to suffer in hell is a "crime" that does not warrant the destruction of sovereign states based on misrepresentation of truth.

 

Update: 29 May 2018:

The 20SRM is Dead

In less than a year after its declaration the 20SRM is dead.  The latest initiative is now called "The Paris Conference", held on the 29th of May 2018, in which Libyan leaders agreed to hold election on the 10th of December 2018. Strange but true.

 

References

[1] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ZtUi3utJRik
[2] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QurkXJH9abk
[3] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EjkbScOT_m8
[4] http://www.libyan-parliament.org/نصية-سوف-يتم-اختيار-لجنة-الصياغة-66-عن-ط/
[5] http://www.france24.com/ar/20170923-ليبيا-مبعوث-أممي-مؤيدي-نظام-قذافي-مشاركة-عملية-سياسية

 

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Latest updates are shown first. See below for older updates:

click here for Part One (2015 updates);

click here for Part Two (2016 updates).

 

Part Three: 2017 Updates

 

16 June 2017

UN Appoints Envoy Number 6 (تعيين غسان سلامة مبعوثا أمميا لليبيا خلفا لكوبلر)

Ghassan Salame (غسان سلامة)
Photo Source: https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/غسان_سلامة

It is not known how many years nor how many envoys are required to implement the promised protection of Libyan civilians (by all necessary measures including bombing to smithereens). Some Libyans say 42 more years are required to resurrect Libya from the UN-imposed calamity, while others say this figure is very optimistic, indeed! Five years down the line, most Libyans came to realise that UN envoys are nothing more than deceptive instruments used by five superpowers to legitimise interference in other sovereignties.

On the 16th of June 2017 the United Nations General-Secretary, Mr. Antonio Guterres, was reported [54] to have appointed Mr. Ghassan Salame as UN's sixth envoy to UN-destroyed-Libya. Mr. Salame will finally replace the widely-criticised Mr. Martin Kobler.

In February 2017 it was suggested that the Palestinian Salam Fayyad would replace Martin Kobler, but America objected to the appointment which it said would contradict the interests of Israel because Palestine is not a state. According to the Guardian, "For too long the UN has been unfairly biased in favour of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel” [56].

Likewise the failure of Kobler in Iraq, Mr. Ghassan had failed to achieve anything in shredded Iraq.

The names of the six envoys are as follows:

1. Abdulilah Khateeb (March 2011 - September 2011)
2. Ian Martin  (September 2011 - October 2012)
3. Tareq Mitri (September 2012 - September 2014)
4. Bernardino Leon (August 2014 - October 2015)
5. Martin Kobler (October 2015 - June 2017)
6. Ghassan Salame (June 2017 -                  )
7. etc.

Mr. Ghassan Salame was born in 1951. He was the Lebanese Minister of Culture from 2000 to 2003; the political advisor to the UN Mission in Iraq in 2003; and the Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary-General  from 2003 to 2006. He is currently the Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), and a professor of International Relations at the Paris Institute of Political Studies [55].

 

1 June 2017

Sarraj Divides Libya Into 7 Military Zones

Once more the stricken Libyan people were shocked to hear the latest decree to come out of the UN-imposed Fayez Sarraj. According to Fathi Almajberi, a GNA deputy prime minister (فتحي المجبري - نائب رئيس المجلس الرئاسي), the decision was taken by Mr. Sarraj without consultation with any of the members of the GNA [51] (وهو قرار السراج منفردا ). He also stated that such decision may ultimately lead to civil war - a fear that was also pointed out by the HoR-member Mr. Zeyad Dghim (زياد دغيم). On the other hand, Ali Alqatrani, also a member of the UN-imposed GNA, says the decree is an attempt from the Muslim Brotherhood and the LIFG to divide the Libyans [52]: القطراني : القرار هو محاولة من الاخوان والمقاتلة لخلق فتنة ولا مجال لتطبيقه 

Ask any normal Libyan in the street and s/he will tell you that Libya needs uniting and not dividing and that Libya needs one army not seven; and hence according to the legal and elected government of Libya, the HoR, all the decisions decreed by the GNA (including this one) are void, illegal and unconstitutional [53]:
نؤكد أن هذا القرار وكافة قرارات المجلس الرئاسي باطلة وغير دستورية وفقًا للإعلان الدستوري وأحكام القضاء الليبي

Download Sarraj's Decree 31 of 2017 to divide Libya into 7 military zones - part 1

Download Sarraj's Decree 31 of 2017 to divide Libya into 7 military zones - part 2

Download Sarraj's Decree 31 of 2017 to divide Libya into 7 military zones - part 2

 

On the 3rd of June 2017 the GNA issued another document explaining Decree 31 of 2017 regarding the petroleum crescent.
Download the explanation of Decree 31 of 2017 to divide Libya into 7 military zones

The GNA has, in putting the horse before the cart, appointed two commanders to two of these seven military zones via its Decree 39 of 2017. It is not understood why only two commanders have been named, but some analysts said the reason is show that Sarraj has the support of Zintan and Mesrata. Nonetheless these two commanders are:

1. Western  Military Zone: Major-General Osama Ajweili (Zintan) - commander of the Western  Military Zone (اللواء  الجويلي آمرًا للمنطقة العسكرية الغربية): previously worked as the Defence Minister in the Muslim-Brotherhood-dominated NTC, before taking over command of Zintan Military Council. He was reported by Libyan media to be sympathetic to the Muslim Brothrhood in Tripoli.
2. Central Military Zone: Major-General Mhemmed Alheddad  (Mesrata) - commander of the Central Military Zone (اللواء الحداد آمرًا للمنطقة العسكرية الوسطى): the commander of Mesrata's Halbous Militia. Halbous was a member of the "Sunrising Operation" that attempted to take over the oil crescent from the Libyan Army (LNA) together with  Ansar Alsharia (internationally regarded as a terror group), Libya Dawn (a group of Islamist militias that orchestrated the military coup against the elected HoR) and the Libya Shield Central Brigade (درع الوسطى) which included the Halbous militia (الحلبوص), Alfarouq militia (الفاروق) and Ali'sar militia (الإعصار) - all of which come from Mesratha. The Halbous Militia was also known as the "Black Brigade" (from the colour of the black trucks used by its fighters).
3. Tripoli Military Zone:
4. Benghazi Military Zone:
5. Sabha Military Zone:
6. Kufra Military Zone:
7. Tobruk Military Zone:

 

 

14 May 2017

UN-imposed GNA Reported To Smuggle Arms To Terror Groups In Benghazi

Many Libyan politicians from the elected HoR have been saying for a long time now that the GNA is cooperating with radical militias but no one seemed interested; after all the UN imposed the GNA on the Libyans' will knowing the involvement of religious elements in the deal (as they have been warned by various Libyan sources).

However, on the 14th of May 2017 the London Times reported that the GNA has been implicated in arming islamic militias including ISIL affiliates battling the Libyan Army (led by Haftar). The source says the European naval forces have intercepted a ship chartered by the GNA (led by Sarraj) five times since November 2016 and that weapons were found on board [48].

Once again, when the Libyans were crying out loud about the connection between the radical groups and the GNA the UN and its military allies pretended deaf and continued their program to assemble the GNA. Now, once the damage IS all over the place, their vivid vision suddenly springs to life, with yet more mistakes (for later to reconcile). Job well-done UN; the once-peaceful-Libyans have been locked up in conflict for many years to come!

 

 

02 May 2017

Finally Haftar Meets Sarraj On Foreign Land (حفتر يلتقي السراج في أبو ظبي)

Finally Haftar and Sarraj met in UAE [41] on Tuesday the 2nd of May 2017. One of the confirmed points of agreement is that they agreed to meet again in Cairo on the following week. Initially the Libyan media reported various points agreed between the two, but later it emerged that some of the points reported by the media were, as usual, not true. The following is what the media said; followed by what the GNA's website announced; followed by the joint statement that came from the UAE; and finally followed by the Haftar's revelation to the Libyan journalist Esa Abdulqayyoum (عيسى عبدالقيوم). First, what the media said [42]:

1 Media's Report

1. To keep the dialogue open
2. To meet again in Cairo on the following week
3. To form a work team to oversee the completing of the agreement
4. To form a smaller Presidential Council made of three members
5. To unite the Libyan army
6. To hold presidential and legislative elections before March 2018
7. To discuss cancelling Article 8 of the LPA (only one source reported this point [43])
8. To reject all foreign military interference in Libya's affairs
9. To reject the settlement of illegal immigrants in Libya
10. To fight the [international] terrorism [imposed on Libya]
11. To dissolve all militia and armed groups

GNA's Official Statement

That was how various Libyan media outlets reported the meeting. However, on the following day, the website of the GNA [44] published its official statement regarding the meeting, and according to this document there is no such agreement.  

This document says [according to our translation] is that: "there was emphasis on a number of issues the most important of which are as follows". This sentence does not indicate any kind of agreement, just emphasis that the listed issues are important. Nonetheless, these issues are as follows:

1. The call for a social dialogue to establish national principles and the idea of building a democratic country, and the work towards the constitution to overcome the transitional period.
2. The necessity to return the Libyan displaced and refugees to their homes and work towards national reconciliation.
3. Legally uniting the state's institutions and preserving the principles of the 17th of February.
4. Work towards finding solutions to the financial problems the Libyans suffer from.
5. Presenting a strategy to build the Libyan army and the emphasis that the army must be under the command of  civil government.
6. Uniting all efforts to fight terror.
7. Calming the situation in the south of Libya.
8. Taking all the steps to ensure a peaceful and transparent authority of governance, and fighting corruption.

Download the official statement regarding Sarrah-Haftar Meeting - part 1

Download the official statement regarding Sarrah-Haftar Meeting - part 2

Joint Statement

بيان مشترك في ختام لقاء المشير حفتر والسراج في أبو ظبي

The Joint statement [45] states the following points of agreement:

1. To preserve the national unity of the country
2. To activate the Libyan army to fight terror, protect the borders and secure the country
3. Addressing the problem of militias and collecting arms from the people
4. Amending the LPA
5. Work towards lifting the embargo on the Libyan army
6. Calming the situation in Fezzan

Download The Joint Statement by Sarraj And Haftar

25 May 2017

Haftar's Revelations To Journalist Esa Abdulqayyoum

On the 25th of May 2017 the Libyan Almarsad (صحيفة المرصد الليبي) published an interview with Haftar in which the latter revealed a 12-point plan which he discussed with president Sarraj. The interview [50] was conducted by the Libyan journalist Esa Abdulqayyoum (عيسى عبدالقيوم), who said he decided to follow the matter after Sarraj had failed to attend the Cairo meeting and as a result he requested an interview with Field-Marshal Haftar. 

According to this interview, Haftar was shocked to hear that president Sarraj attended the meeting without presenting any suggestions or solutions to the problem and that (according to Haftar) president Sarraj told him he attended the meeting only to break the silence:
عندما طلبت منه ان يقدم ما لديه من مقترحات او مبادرات أجاب بانه جاء فقط من اجل جلسة لكسر الجمود
and that Sarraj only requested calming the situation in Fezzan: و طلب فقط اتفاق تهدئة فى الجنوب

However, Haftar did present a 12-point plan for discussion, to which president Sarraj responded by saying he will take the proposals to Tripoli and discuss with other "un-named authorities" in the west of Libya.

Haftar also proposed the Presidency Council to consist of only 3 members: the president of the HoR, the President of the PC, and the General Commander (رئيس البرلمان والقائد العام ورئيس المجلس الرئاسي الحالي). If the army is to be excluded from the PC, Haftar adds, then he suggested removing Article 8 from the LPA and the powers of the General Commander be transferred to the "High Commander" during the transitional period only:
تنتقل صلاحيات القائد الاعلى الى القائد العام فى المرحلة الانتقالية فقط

Haftar's 12-point proposal can be translated as follows:

1. Libya is one united state not to be divided.
2. The Libyan National Army is the only army in Libya and no other parallel military power will be allowed; the army will include everyone who carries a legal military number subject to the laws of the military institution.
3. No dominion by the government over the army which will come under the jurisdiction of the Presidency Council once agreed upon its structure.
4. Total rejection of any foreign intervention in building the army and securing all towns and cities including Tripoli.
5. The Libyan army is responsible for protecting the country's resources like the petroleum terminals, water resources, gas, and all Libya's borders.
6. The forthcoming executive government must not come under the control of any political party, ideology or militia.
7. Daesh (ISIL), Qaeda, Ansar al-Sharia, LIFG, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) must be regarded as "terror organisations".
8. Dissolving all types of militias and brigades according to an agreed legal frame, and propose an alternative for those who do not wish to join the army.
9. Prohibiting ownership of arms and weapons except what is permitted by law.
10. Any procedure outside the boundaries of the Constitutional Declaration (CD) and its Amendments shall be regarding void.
11. The continuation of the fight against terrorism as defined above until Libya is totally free of terror in order to insure the safety of all Libyans and begin the development of the country.
12.  The Central Bank of Libya (CBL),the National Oil Corporation (NOC), and the Libyan Foreign Investment Board (LFIB) are sovereign institutions not subject to government (مؤسسات سيادية لا تخضع للحكومة).

To Read the full interview in Arabic please follow this link:
https://almarsad.co/2017/05/25/لأول-مرة-حفتر-يكشف-عن-وثيقة-النقاط-الـ-12/

 

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Update Regarding The Cairo Meeting

It emerged later that the Cairo meeting between Haftar and Sarraj had never took place. According to a number of speakers in Libyaschannel's Sejjal, Mr. Sarraj failed to attend the Cairo meeting because he was controlled by the Islamist militias controlling Tripoli which ordered him not to go [46]. The GNA's website did even mention the news of the meeting with Haftar [49]. However, Haftar did go to Cairo on the following week but instead he met President Sisi; followed by a visit of the Egyptian Chief of Staff to Cyrenaica a few days later.

Instead, forces operating in the area controlled by the GNA, particularly the Third Force, attacked LNA's air base in Brak Ashshathi on Thursday the 18th of May 2017; massacring 142 people in cold blood. The Libyan army said it will retaliate by attacking the Jufra base (near Houn and Sukna) - an area allegedly controlled by Islamist and radical militias including Qaeda-affiliates. The GNA, on the other hand, had suspended their Defence Minister, Mr. Almahdi Alberghthi [47].

All in all, it seems tragedy that the UN imposes such a government in violation of the democratic rule for which the country was destroyed by its bombing campaign in 2011 allegedly to protect the Libyan civilians (by placing them in greater danger than ever before in Libya's entire history).

 

 

07 March 2017

HoR Cancels LPA's Annex 1: الغاء ملحق رقم ( 1 ) المتعلق بالإتفاق السياسي

 

المتحدث الرسمي باسم مجلس النواب : الغاء ملحق رقم ( 1 ) المتعلق بالإتفاق السياسي

 

The HoR cancels Annex 1 of the imposed LPA agreement [40]. The cancelled Annex lists the names of the candidates for the "membership of the Presidency Council of the Council of Ministers" [page 23 of the LPA].

Article 8 of the LPA was rejected in January 2016.

 

 

 

Haftar meets Sarraj: hands tied!
Photo source: Lana News

 

 

02 January 2017

Musa Alkouni Resigns

Musa Alkouni, PC's deputy prime minister, has resigned from the UN-imposed Presidency Council (PC) on the 2nd of January 2017. The reason, he said, is the PC's failure to do its job. In an emotional statement the deputy prime minister said they (the members of the PC) are responsible for all the miseries befell the Libyan people in the last year including squandering Libya's wealth, rape, kidnapping, murder, smuggling, clashes, atrocities and all the crimes inflicted on the Libyan people; "we are responsible by law, reason and morality, he added" [38].

Being unable to assist the helpless Libyan people and feeling powerless to do his job the deputy prime minister had no choice but to resign, he said. Libya's borders are still exploited by all sorts of shoddy groups and foreign governments with no power in sight to protect neither Libya nor the Libyan civilians. For example, according to one Libyan analyst Algeria has claimed new borders that were disputed during the Gaddafi era because there is no government or authority in Libya to defend the country's sovereignty [39].

Let us hope Kobler and the rest of the PC do the right thing and disappear whence they came; hence Mr. Alkouni stated that the tasks outlined by the LPA are almost impossible to achieve [38]. This is exactly what many Libyans said last year when the UN violated the earlier, signed agreement and imposed its own agenda against the will of the Libyan people who had earlier elected a democratic government to govern UN-destroyed Libya. Shame on you [hijacked] UN.

 

January 2017

Wide Discontent

By January 2017 many Libyans began talking about the strange saga administered by the HoR and the GNA. Seemingly to force a foreign agenda on the Libyan people one needs to starve and torture the Libyans for some years before the Libyans cry out loud: that's it, we had enough; just give us bread and water and do what the hell you like with (stricken) Libya. You can divide it; you can use as a stage for a world war; you can flood it with immigrants and set an immigrant state in stricken Fezzan; you can steal its resources; you can enslave and bully its people; you can do whatever you wish; just give us bread, water and light, oxygen, water, and if possible bread as well, they say.

 

 

2016 Updates

PC's Member Ali Gatrani Speaks of The International Conspiracy Against Libya

 

 

One member of the UN-imposed PC speaks of the international conspiracy against Libya, which began when the world conspired against the elected HoR and forced the HoR to sit around the negotiating table in Morocco with what most Libyans consider radical elements that orchestrated a military coup against legitimacy in 2014, some of whom still are listed by the British Home Office as terrorists.

 

17 December 2016

PC Declares Liberation of Sirte From The Invisible State (IS)

PC declared the liberation of Sirte on the 17th of December 2016. The 17th of December is the first anniversary of the UN-imposed government (the PC), and also the day (according to most Libyans) the PC's life-span came to an end.  One would presume an operation of this magnitude would involve surveillance to ensure IS terrorists would not escape to other towns; after all Sirte is surrounded by desert (and sea) and therefore such task is easy to accomplish. Yet only two weeks after the alleged liberation of Sirte reports began to emerge that IS fighters are regrouping outside Bani Walid, which was also a strong home of Gaddafi supports during the UN bombing campaign of 2011. A few months later the commander of Bunyan Marsous told the media that IS fighters are now hiding in various towns after shaving their birds. The saga continues.

 

04 November 2016

More UN Contradictions & Violations

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mLZA9U4pj2s

 

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The US President-Elect informs the world about the founders of The State terror group IS.

 

1 August 2016

America Bombs Targets In Libya

On the 1st of August 2016 the PC's president announced to the Libyan people that American forces were invited by the PC to bomb targets in Sirte [30]. In fact the statement released by the website of the prime minister's office stated that Mr. Sarraj had announced Libya's participation in the international coalition against "The State".

He said the bombing will be limited and restricted to sites in and around Sirte; but previously the Press Secretary of the American Defence Department, Mr.John Kirby, was reported to have said they "reserve the right to engage terrorists in other areas if American interests are threatened" [33].

Mr. Sarraj also said that there will be no boots on the ground; but eight days later the Washington Post confirmed the existence of American and English boots on the ground [32, 34], fighting along the Bunyan Marsous militia in Sirte. Alhadath TV said that the Bunyan Marsous said that there are 1200 American and British soldiers fighting in Sirte [35].

The Guardian said the American attacks will be a "sustained offensive" [24]. American forces had also attacked a target in Sabratha (without any authorisation [29]) in February 2016 [25].

Many Libyans have predicted in 2012 that Libya will become a future bombing target as a result of being neglected after the UN-authorised bombing campaign that turned Libya into a jihadist wonderland. No one then seemed bothered with protecting Libya from the influx of terror groups and immigrants that were left to wreak havoc across stricken Libya since August 2011. Such negligence was labeled "worst mistake" by the American administration [26]  –  a mistake that took nearly five years to admit, a mistake that no one seems bothered to correct, an unintended mistake, as it were!

The Americans said the bombing of targets in Sirte will take a few weeks rather than months, but three months later the bombing of Sirte continues on a daily basis. In fact one commander of the Bunyan Marsous, Brigadier Ibrahim Bait (Misrata’s military council spokesman), was reported by Libya Herald in October 2016 to have said that "America had the technology to end the terrorists’ resistance in a matter of hours, not months", and that "if Washington had really wanted to, it could have destroyed IS positions and liberated Sirte within a few hours" [37].

On the 22nd of September 2017, long after the bombing of Sirte was declared complete, Africom said it killed 17 Isil fighters south of Sirte in 6 bombing raids on what it said were Isil targets [http://www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/153792/].

 

Did The PC And The US Act Illegally?

According to official and legal sources in Libya the PC's decision to invite American forces to bomb Libyan targets is illegal and violates both the constitutional declaration and the LPA. For example, Mr. Sarraj justified his invitation by stating the PC's position as "the chief staff of the Libyan army" (رئيس الأركان العامة للجيش الليبي), which is incorrect simply because the HoR has indeed approved the LPA (and thus the PC) with one reservation: rejection of Article 8 (which attempts to take the position of chief of staff away from the HoR and pass it on to the PC) (see our "Update 2" under the LPA tab, above, for more on this). This means that in addition to rejecting the GNA (proposed by the PC) the HoR had also rejected Article 8 of the LPA and thus the PC has no legal right to claim that it operates as the chief of staff of the Libyan army. The LPA states that any foreign action could only be approved by the "Security Council" after the approval of the HoR.

Mr. Abdulhakin Fennoush (عبدالحكيم فنوش) had already pointed out this violation to Libya's Channel [27]. One Libyan analyst told Libya's Channel that Sarraj is nothing more than a speaker for other bodies that run the operation in Sirte and that America does what it wants without any permission, implying that Sarraj was forced to make such a statement just to justify the intervention. For example, American forces had in the past few years kidnapped Abukhettala, and then Abuanas Allibi, and then bombed Sabratha without authorisation [27] and in violation of Libya's sovereignty, the Libyan Prime Minister Mr. Althni said [36]. The UN's reckless bombing of Libya (the so-called "worst mistake") had made Libya a threat to Europe and the world as a whole, and thus  such countries can take action against Libya without any authorisation. The problem is not the "actions", but the fact that these actions often amount to no more than a slap on the face that seems to spread more terror farther afield than previously achieved.

Mr. Sarraj also said (in his statement [23]) that he was asked by the forces of Bunyan Marsous (the forces fighting in Sirte) to call for foreign assistance, which is also strange because it was his council (the PC) that created the Bunyan Marsous from various militias (which according to many Libyan reports including radical militias that orchestrated the coup against the HoR in 2014); and therefore his statement could be re-written as follows: the PC had asked the PC to ask for foreign assistance.

However the most serious violation committed by the PC and their international allies is that according to the UN-imposed LPA (the Libyan Political Agreement) all decisions taken by the PC must be taken according to "complete consensus" (or unanimous agreement) by all the PC's members and not by a majority, and hence since the two PC's boycotting members did not agree to the invitation to bomb Libya the PC's decision is definitely illegal. Foreign countries that agreed to such violations are therefore openly destroying Libya's fragile attempt to recovery from the international bombing campaign that brought the nation to its knees in 2011.

On the other hand the Pentagon's spokesman was reported by media outlets to have said that they were invited by the "government of national accord" (the GNA), which in reality does not exist since it has not been approved yet by the HoR (per the terms of the LPA). This may recall why Mr. Sarraj last week made another violation when he decided to authorise the GNA to commence work without the HoR's approval. He made this violation on the 26th of July 2016   – just  six days before the American bombing of Sirte (see our "Update 4" the Miniseries tab, above, for more on this).

Hence, the acting-president of Libya, the president of the HoR (عقيلة صالح), was reported to have said that the actions coming from the PC are illegal and contradict both the constitutional declaration and the LPA [28]. The HoR's president said that Mr. Sarraj is still a member of the HoR and has not resigned yet and therefore his actions are in contradiction with the house rules. He also said it is strange that the PC condemned the French attacks in Cyrenaica while inviting the American to attack Sirte at the same time. The defence and security committee at the HoR called for the American ambassador to be questioned by the HoR over the Sirte attacks [28].

There are other violations made by Mr. Sarraj in the same statement [23], the most intriguing of which is his declaration that the PC is the only legitimate authority in Libya. Such declaration openly takes away legitimacy from the Libyan National Army (LNA) and from the elected parliament (the HoR); which according to one Libyan analyst could divide Libya even further than it is already.

It must be noted that the Libyan Army, however, is (still) fighting the imported terror groups for the past two years, especially in Derna and Benghazi, without any foreign assistance; and the requests of the elected government (the HoR) to assist with arming the Libyan army to fight terror were openly ignored by the international community (while allowing various terror groups to take over many parts of Libya right in the open); and therefore it is strange that both the American administration and Mr. Sarraj said the attacks will target the terrorists only in and around Sirte, without saying anything of the terrorists in other Libyan cities such as Derna, Sabratha, Tripoli, Benghazi, Benjawwad, and, of course, in many other sites in terror-infested and stricken Fezzan.

Mr. Sarraj even said "they will not allow" any other legitimacy to operate outside the PC's legitimacy even under the name of fighting terror; which is a dangerous statement not only because the PC itself is illegitimate (and born dead) but also because it could set the west of Libya against the east and ultimately manifest the reported hidden agenda of dividing Libya on bad terms: the legitimate-and-elected HoR and its LNA will defend Cyrenaica (as they say), and the UN-imposed PC and its militias (under the name of Bunyan Marsous) will defend Tripolitania. Job well-done, some would say. The farce continues.

 

Politically-Incorrect Questions

• Why did France reveal the presence of their forces in Libya at this critical stage knowing the sensitivity of the issue?
• Why is France aiding Haftar's forces in Cyrenaica while America fighting with the GNA's militias in the west knowing that the HoR and the GNA are indirectly fighting each other through the Shura militias?
• Why cannot foreign forces agree on supporting the elected government of Libya instead of dealing with various militias including radical groups?
• What is the objective of putting the PC in such a position as to stir wide public anger against its fragile authority?
• Why come against the elected HoR and impose a government of discord without reaching national accord?
• Why take onboard the dialogue groups known for their affiliation to terror groups?
• Why did the UN authorise the bombing of Libya without an exit strategy and then abandon it to the clutches of terror groups only to say Libya is now a threat to Europe?
• Why why why?
• Why bomb Libya to pieces without an exit strategy and abandon it to the clutches of terror groups only to turn round and say it was "unintended mistake"?
• Why turn Libya into a "Jihadist wonderland" (complete with "Tesco" of the arms trade for the world's terrorists to plunder) when it was one of the safest tourist destinations in the world?
• Why not fix such unintended mistakes, once and for all?
• Why continue making such unintended mistakes both in Libya and elsewhere especially when millions of lives at stake?
• Why violate the principle of democracy by creating two opposing governments (the elected HoR in the East and the UN-imposed PC in the West)?
• Why blame the Libyans for somebody else's biggest mistake?
• Is it because the hidden agenda includes dividing Libya into warring states?
• Why the UN, the NTC, the GNC, the HoR and especially the PC have all committed and continue to commit violations that defy the imagination?
• Is there a secret conspiracy to divide Libya without telling the Libyans?
• Is it an understatement for some Western opposition leaders to say that the "door step" was "destabilised" for "global dominance".
• We may never find the answers to such questions, "as long as", the New York Times wrote, "we are tantalized by theories about conspiracies or political malfeasance"; but readers can find some clues in Jeremy Keenan's The Dying Sahara (in which he spoke of 'fabricated terror'); in Mark Curtis's Secret Affairs (in which he wrote about collusion with radical groups); and, of course, in Libya's orchestrated odyssey which speaks for itself (allegedly) in the name of mistakes. Shame on you UN.

 

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May 2016

The Failure of The UN-Imposed PC

By May 2016 the failure of the UN-imposed PC (and its unapproved GNA) was publicly admitted by most Libyan officials. The miseries imposed on the Libyan people continue to multiply: lack of cash, shortage of bread, lack of adequate water, lack of health care, power cuts (average 10 hours per day), crime rocketing to the sky, chaos and absence of law, fear and violence, torture and rape, and insecurity destroying any flicker of hope.

On the other hand, the imposed Council(s) cherish their luxurious privacy behind closed doors, barricaded in military bases, and meeting in fancy hotels in foreign countries; while leaving Tripoli, once the Pride of the Mediterranean, to become the "kidnapping capital" of the region!

The promised democracy, protection and freedom for which Libya's entire infrastructure was destroyed have never materialised. It is never the sweet words that matter but the results in the real world that speak volumes without a single word. For example, one of the main agreements of the LPA's security measures is the need to dismantle all the militia groups in the capital, yet in reality not only these militias still operate in the capital, but also the PC's protection was provided by these militias, and, even worse, the PC had created more militia groups (like the Presidential Guard and the Bunyan Marsous)!

 

Born Dead PC

Besides being "born dead" right from the start, many Libyans now are convinced that the PC has failed to achieve the alleged national accord. In fact it has created more discord than the NTC and the GNC put together simply because Libya now is just like Iraq  – fighting the installed terror everywhere while the people are left to suffer and starve in the background.

According to Mahmoud Jibril, the failure of the PC confirms that the "national accord" ought to be based on a general consensus to solve the problems facing the country and not on sharing ministerial positions; and that re-forming the presidential council would have no impact on the current disaster [2].

Mr. Jibril also noted that the [so-called] international community had practically contributed to the failure of the PC. The UN's disastrous intervention to impose another government via dialogue was flawed from the start, the Libyan said and still say. Hence many Libyan politicians are saying the UN had bad intentions that do not benefit the current state of Libya, and that Kobler's statements and actions make him unsuitable to lead the dialogue [13, 17].

Some participating members were reported to have the intention to complain to the UN's chief about the unacceptable conduct of  Mr. Kobler [3]  – as if the conduct of the UN is alright; or as if Kobler is not the representative of the UN! The Libyan prime minister, Mr. Althni, called for the UN to sack Mr. Kobler for his lack of neutrality and forceful attitude to impose the GNA without achieving the alleged "national accord".

 

Security Conference (الاجتماع الأمني)

Consequently some Libyans went back to the negotiating table in Tunisia, re-launching the Libyan Dialogue (organised by foreign entities, again) under the name of Security Conference, or the Political Dialogue, on the 16th of July 2016 [1].

Some Libyans stated that such dialogue should have been initiated before the UN imposed its PC and long before the signing of the LPA in Morocco in total violation of the earlier agreements.

Most Libyans agree that the UN-led dialogue in Morocco did not include all Libyan groups; with many Libyans saying it was hijacked by hard-line groups representing religious militias from Tripoli and Misrata  –  the same militias that orchestrated the coup against the elected HoR (before the world's eyes).

Nonetheless, the Libyans "sing in another direction", while the international community continues to impose what it later calls "unintended mistakes". One of the issues discussed by the participants, many of whom (again) represent only themselves [10], is the possibility of rewriting the political agreement and reforming the PC (say reducing the number from 9 to 3 members). 

Ironically only now some say the members of the UN-imposed PC are incompatible with each other, despite the fact that two members of the PC had boycotted the council from the start. According to one member of the PC reforming the council is out of the question.

 

Does Libya Need Three Armies?

The other issue discussed at the conference is the possibility of Libya having three military councils (one for each region) [5]  –  five long years after the UN authorised the destruction of the Libyan army without an exit strategy, and five years after leaving the sponsored militias and radical groups wreak havoc across Libya.

Any talks of the "army" before dismantling all the militia groups and eradicating their terror cells is like putting the cart before the horse  – a strange strategy that seems to be favoured by the UN.

Initially it was reported by Alwasat that Kobler suggested creating three military councils for the three regions of Libya, but later Alwast removed the report and instead published another article in which they clarified Kobler's view [7]. However, Libya Herald had also reported Kobler's view to create three military councils [8]. Benghazi's LANA said Kobler denied suggesting dividing the Libyan army into three military councils [9].

Whether Kobler made such an announcement or not is difficult to tell (given the never-ending confusing reports), but it is almost certain that such an idea could only divide the Libyan army and therefore should be avoided by "all necessary measures". Hence, according to the spokesman of the Libyan Army (LNA), Col. Ahmed Mesmari, the Libyan army is united and shall not be federalised according to Kobler's wishes (قوّات جيشنا الوطني موحّدة ولن “تتفدرل” وفق ما يريدُ كوبلر) [13].

The fact that the UN had, together with the defunct GNC, gone against the elected HoR and consequently imposed a third government, and thus violating the principles of democracy the UN allegedly claims to uphold, is more than enough to lend some credit to the reported hidden agenda(s).

However, a few days later it became apparent that the idea was leaked out and was discussed at the security meeting in Tunis on the 19th of July 2016, when Libya's Channel reported that one member of the dialogue team told them  that one of the suggestions discussed is the formation of a "Defence Committee" (or a Military Council) that will be chaired by the current commander Khalifa Haftar and made of 9 members  –  three members from each region (Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan) [6].

Haftar however rejected the idea of forming such a military council (الفريق حفتر يرفض مخرجات الاجتماع الأمني بشأن فكرة المجلس العسكري) [11]. Such an idea, wherever it originated, is a cunning idea, just like the earlier UN-supervised negotiations that gave us three conflicting governments.

Libya already has a united army and a chief of staff appointed by the elected government of Libya (the HoR). Besides the HoR had opposed Article 8 of the LPA way back in January 2016  –  immediately after the signing of the LPA in Morocco, but the UN went ahead without reaching a consensus with the participating parties and therefore to call it a "government of national accord" is no more than a sick joke.

 

Calls For The PC To Step Down

مظاهرة أمام القاعدة البحرية أبو ستة ضد المجلس الرئاسي
Having been deceived by the Libyan government (and the international community) after discovering the existence of foreign boots on the ground, many Libyans from across Libya took to the streets protesting about the government's failure to protect the country's sovereignty from foreign intervention  –  of course, five years after inviting foreign forces from nearly 50 countries to smash up Libya to pieces; after foreign forces kidnapped Abuanas Allibi in violation of Libyan law; after bombing a house in Sabratha (allegedly occupied by State fighters); after attacking a convoy in Sirte; and after bombing other targets in and around Sirte and Derna by (reportedly UAE and Egyptian forces).

One Libyan analyst, Osama Kaabar, said [20] the difference is that the attack by the French helicopter was carried out against "Libyan rebels", while the other attacks were directed against State fighters – failing to note that many of these too are Libyans. Some of these "Libyan rebels" are classified by the elected government of Libya and by the [criminal] UN and other international states as "terror groups".

Tripoli's protesters, however, surrounded the Abu Setta military base (in which the UN-imposed PC barricaded itself) on the 22nd of July 2016 demanding the PC (and its unapproved GNA) to step down and leave, stating that they will continue their protest until their demand is met [14].

It was believed Mr. Sarraj was not at the military base at the time. Libya's Channel said the protest was organised by the LIFG [15], while other sources say the LIFG was only part of the protest and that Libyans in general are fed up with the miserable conditions they made to endure under this and all other governments. In fact on the following Fridays protesters took to the streets of Benghazi, Tobruk, Ejdabiyah, Albayda and Tripoli demanding the departure of the GNA and Kobler as well as the cancellation of the LPA [31]. The LIFG protesters, who met outside the foreign ministry before heading for Abu Setta, were reported to have condemned the acts of Mr. Kobler which they said "were suspicious" [17].

The LIFG is listed by the British government (since 2005 and as of July 2016) as a terrorist organisation that, "seeks to replace the current Libyan regime with a hard-line Islamic state" [18]. The State terror groups of Sirte were said to be the creation of the Libyan Brotherhood [21]. Throw in a bit of spice, "rendition", and there we have some "food for thought".

The National Forces Alliance (تحالف القوى الوطنية) was puzzled by the statement made by the HCS condemning the military intrusion as a violation of the LPA because according to the National Forces Alliance (NFA) it was the HCS itself that violated the LPA when it installed itself in Tripoli without approval (see the HCS tab for more on this violation).  The NFA also puzzled by the PC's apparent "double standard" by condemning the foreign presence as well as ignoring it elsewhere at the same time [16]. Now that is what you call "dessert".

It was reported elsewhere that the PC's statement condemning the announcement made by the French President was not genuine but a diplomatic move came as a result of pressure exerted on the PC by the militias running the country from the back seat  –  reportedly the same militias that orchestrated the coup against the HoR in 2014. A number of journalists were arrested during the second Friday protest of the 29th of July 2016 and had their equipment confiscated by the UN-imposed government (or by one of its militias), with one journalist being kidnapped [22].

Maybe the same can be said about all these "little" protests before the media;  after all the GNC and the GNA hardly differ in anything, especially when most of GNC members are now members of the self-declared GNA's HCS. By Libyan standards all is needed now is "fiakka" with green tea to finish the meal and enjoy the latest tyranny unfold with more miseries in the name of international reverberating morality. See our guide for Libyan food.

 

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2015 Updates

 

15 December 2015

The (Illegal) Signing of The Libyan Political Agreement in Skhirat

After repeated failures and disagreements the UN-imposed Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) was signed by 21 members in Skhirat, Morocco, on the 17th of December 2015. Berber and Tebu representatives have condemned the UN's exclusion of the Berbers and the Tebu from the so-called Libyan Political Dialogue –  presumably the "Arab Spring" is for Arabs only. 

 

18 November 2015

The UN's Consequential Objective: Divide Libya Into 4 Governments

When Mr. Leon had specifically singled out the president of the HoR and the president of the GNC for obstructing the dialogue by not allowing their members to vote over his (violated) proposal, he has in effect split the two governments of Libya into 4 – by dividing each congress into two opposing blocs, and thus creating more tension instead of uniting them per his original mission.

Why hadn't he been more discreet not to serve such criticism that does nothing but fuel the already inflamed conflict he allegedly claimed to defuse? In other words, why start a fire and then add more wood when you are telling the world your mission is "reconciliation"? 

This has been answered by a number of international analysts whose voices, unfortunately, did not, and seemingly will not, make the headlines propounded by government media. For example, according to Independent Australian, "the international envoys that mediated between the rivals have divided the Libyans into tribes: secularist, Islamist, eastern, western and so on" [79].

Of course, the real division occurred at the leadership-level which the UN was said to broker, where the effect inside the ELECTED HoR and inside the defunct GNC was more like another UN bomb – more devastating than the 9500 they dropped in 2011.

The HoR as a result of Mr. Leon's questionable criticism is now deeply divided into two groups –  one group led by around 92 HoR members who want to vote over the violations committed by the UN, and another group chaired by the HoR's president who reject the violations in principle and instead insist on abiding by the signed draft agreement.

Two months later the HoR was split into two groups: the "Sovereignty Bloc" (كتلة السيادة) [81] which rejects any foreign-imposed government and any foreign military force to protect such government; and the remaining members who went on to sign the political agreement in Skhirat on the following month without authorisation from the HoR have named themselves "Bloc 92" [80]. The exact same saga is unfolding at the bloc-rich GNS where many members are preparing to topple Mr. Abusahmein (the Twoarrows).

Isn't it strange that instead of uniting the two rival governments the UN succeeds in dividing them into four?

Isn't it strange that instead of protecting the Libyan civilians the UN destroys Libya's entire infrastructure to smithereens?

Isn't it strange that instead of disinfecting the country of tyranny Libya ends up a "jihadist wonderland" infested with terror and complete with "Tesco of the world's illegal arms trade" for international terrorists to plunder?

 

6 November 2015

87 HoR Members Prepared To Accept The Proposed GNA With Reservations

Eighty seven HoR members are prepared to accept the UN proposed government of national accord provided their proposed amendments are endorsed before the GNA is approved [76, 77]. The conditional changes demanded by the group are as follows:

1. The HoR members who signed the document agree to accept the proposed GNA on the following conditions.
2. Revising the Presidency Council by adding a deputy from the "east" and a deputy and a minister from the "south".
3. The mechanism to decide on the top civil , military and security sovereign-positions is a unanimous consensus within the presidency council.
4. The signed members express their reservation regarding Article 8 regarding the GNA's treatment of the civil , military and security sovereign-positions.
5. The signed members insist that the proposed amendments must be endorsed before the vote of confidence is granted. That is they will not accept the proposed government of national accord until the aforementioned amendments are applied to the proposed GNA. 

Read the demanded amendments in Arabic.

 

5 November 2015

Leon's Secret Mission Comes To Lie-it

According to the Guardian [74], Mr. Bernardino Leon wrote an email to the UAE's foreign minister informing him that Europe and the US were asking for “plan B … a classical peace conference", which in Mr. Leon's opinion is worse than a political dialogue "because it will treat both sides as equal actors". The Guardian also wrote that Mr. Leon "states bluntly that he is “not working on a political plan that will include everybody” and talks of having a strategy to “completely delegitimise” the GNC " [74].

Such damaging revelations had further undermined the UN's credibility, with one Libyan party [76] demanding a UN investigation, while the GNC requested from the UN to clarify Mr. Leon's private dealings with the UAE's sheikhs [75, 78]. What is more important and completely overlooked by the media is the UN itself appears to be misleading the world about its disastrous change-of-regime operation in Libya.

For example, as referenced above, the story of the proposed Libyan government of national accord is far from straightforward; it is a foreign operation fraught with violations and protests in which many Libyans were killed protesting against the UN's violations and against the world's disregard for the HoR's legitimacy to govern the destroyed state. Yet in its website the UNSMIL had published the statement made by Mr. Leon to the UN Security Council on the 5th of November 2015, in which he said:

"2. After four days of intensive consultations which concluded on 8 October, members of the Libyan political dialogue process succeeded in forging consensus on a list of six nominees, including a Prime Minister designate, three deputy Prime Ministers, and two Senior Ministers." [Source]

This is a straightforward lie because there was no such "consensus" on the government forged by Mr. Leon. In fact the GNC did not even present any names, let alone agree to any of them. However what both parties had insisted on was the signed draft agreement which Mr. Leon had violated – and even that the GNC did not agree to it. 

The UN should not report the personal views of some members (even if they number 70, or more) as official "consensus" until such decree is endorsed by the elected HoR or/and the defunct GNC. Doing so could add more wood to fire, and even deepen the divisions the UN claims to bridge.

Then there is a second farce in the statement:

"4. While the proposal was hailed as a major breakthrough in the dialogue process, strong objections were voiced in some quarters, notably from within the House of Representatives, for what was perceived as inadequate representation for the east, particularly Benghazi." [Source]

Again, even though this statement hijacks the objections of the HoR by misrepresenting them in this manner, the House of Representatives had made it clear that its objection revolves around one fundamental principle: namely the need to abide by the signed draft agreement, the initialed agreement violated by the UN, which has nothing to do with trivial "inadequate representation".

 

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29 October 2015

The UN Replaces Bernardino Leon

The UN has initially asked Mr. Bernardino Leon to continue the dialogue [63], but in a surprise move the UN secretary was reported to have asked the UN to approve Mr. Martin Kobler as a replacement to Mr. Leon. A few days later the UN's Security Council had approved the request [70, 72]. 

Confusingly, the UN's Secretary was also reported by LANA [71] to have said that Mr. Leon is still involved in the dialogue. Mr. Leon himself, according to Libya's Channel [72], said he will not abandon his post until a political agreement has been reached.

This appears to mean that in addition to two parliaments, two governments, two armies, two central banks, two news agencies (LANA), two Libya Channels, and two Libyan embassies (in some countries), Libya is now blessed with two UN envoys. The GNC's political committee found the appointment of two envoys "strange" and "confusing"; meanwhile the third government is internationally allowed to grow in the background.

It is not known whether the re-placement of Mr. Leon is a manoeuvre by the UN to lay the blame elsewhere for the violations noted above, or just a reactionary move to please the Libyans who called for a Libyan-Libyan dialogue that does not involve any foreigners at all?

Martin Kobler (image: wikipedia)

Martin Kobler's Camp Liberty Disaster

Mr. Kobler was the UN's envoy to Iraq [64] between 2011 and 2013, the results of which are reported "disaster". Around 3,300 Iranian opposition members of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) were moved from their Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty in Baghdad, Iraq. This took place in 2012 under pressure "from Tehran and by UN intermediary action undertaken by . . . Martin Kobler" [66]. 

Apparently the refugees were reluctant to leave their thirty-year old camp, stating "security" at the new camp as the main reason; but reportedly Mr. Kobler claimed the new camp would be a temporary location before resettling the refugees in other countries.

However Camp Liberty was attacked a number of times with missiles and rockets including the deadly attack of the 9th of February 2013, which killed 8 refugees and injured around 100 people [67]. The refugees begged to be returned to their original camp (Camp Ashraf), which they said is 80 times bigger than Camp Liberty and "has concrete buildings and shelters that offer more protection" [67]. No one seemingly took notice, and the camp was blasted again, four times in total in 2013 alone.

Now here is the tragedy:  Tahar Boumedra, a former UN official, had "testified before the U.S. Congress that Kobler had been having lengthy meetings with the Iranian ambassador to Iraq to discuss the fate of the Iranian dissidents in Camps Ashraf and Liberty. Discussing the fate of refugees with officials of the country they fled is rare if not prohibited" [68].

Resettling the refugees to other countries reportedly never took place, apart from a few refugees; and by mid 2014 the situation got worse when the refugees were starved, as noted by Jean Ziegler (a Swiss consultant to the Human Rights Council), who "condemned the international community's neglect and the policies of the Iranian and Iraqi governments in preventing the delivery of food stuffs for Camp Liberty", which he says "is a war crime" [69].

Worse still, Mr. Martin Kobler was reported [66] to have refused to pay a visit to the attacked Camp, apparently on security grounds  –  his security, of course; while according to former New York mayor Rudy Guiliani, "Martin Kobler is a 'professional liar' doing Iran and Iraq's 'dirty work' " [70].

Kobler Says Libya Is An Arab Country

The Berber and Tebu members of the CDA have condemned the "racist announcement" [84] of the UN's envoy to Libya, Mr. Kobler, who was reported to have said "Libya is an Arab country" [82]. Apparently this is a reference to the statement made by Kobler when he said Libya is an Arab country but also is an African country [83]. Without a doubt such a statement could only inflame the already charged atmosphere the UN claims to defuse. As noted at the start of this page the Berbers and Tebu were also angry at the UN for not including the Berbers and the Tebu in the so-called Libyan political dialogue [82, 84].

Let us hope the Libyans take up the efforts currently being brokered by the Libyan Dignitary Council to initiate a Libyan-Libyan Dialogue that is free from foreign interference and which includes representatives of all Libyan ethnic groups including the Arabs. The Libyans know very well the catastrophic results of the governments brokered for Afghanistan and Iraq, and it is tragic to see the so-called international community still attempting to extend the tragedy farther afield, presumably in the name of never-ending "mistakes".

 

December 2015:

Leaders of GNC And HoR Meet In Malta

Image Source: gnc.gov.ly

Both the presidents of the GNC and the HoR were said to reject the foreign-imposed Libyan Political Agreement in its present form, and that they both insist on continuing the dialogue to reach an agreement. On the 15th of December 2015 the GNC confirmed via its website that the two presidents had met in Malta on Tuesday the 15th of December 2015 at the headquarters of the Maltese government [89]. In their statements both presidents  reject any foreign-imposed government [88]. Both sides were reported to have agreed to form an urgent committee before the end of the year to supervise the dialogue and the formation of a unity government agreed by the Libyans for the Libyans without any foreign involvement.

 

November 2015:

PC And HoR Congressmen Meet In Tripoli

On the first of November 2015 members from the GNC and the HoR met in the capital Tripoli to discuss "the Libyan crisis" [87]. Further meetings followed in Tunisia and Malta.

 

22 October 2015

The Dialogue Will Continue

Unnamed Sources inside the HoR were reported to have said that the new members of its dialogue committee will arrive in Skhirat, Morocco, next Tuesday (27 October 2015) to continue the talks started around nine months ago. Libya's Channel said the talks will resume next Wednesday [61]. The UN envoy to Libya, Mr. Leon, was reported to have said that there is no alternative to dialogue. However, according to the letter sent by the GNC to the UN (as noted above), the GNC may pull out from the talks if the UN continues to provide support for the HoR. Meanwhile the UN has asked its Libya representative, Bernardino Leon, to continue the dialogue [63]  –  that is to extend the agony.

 

October 2015:

Libyan Dignitaries Call For A Libyan-Libyan Dialogue

Libyan Dignitries Council

The Prime Minister of Tripoli's GNC, Mr. Alghaweil, was reported to have called for a "Libya-Libyan" dialogue without any foreign intervention, noting that the Libyans should overcome the "problems created by foreigners" and "executed by Libyans" [86].

Many Libyans however say part of the problem was created by the GNC itself after its refusal to recognise the elected government of the House of Representatives (HoR). While according to others, the whole notion of Libyan-Libyan dialogue is a ploy to derail the UN "process" – the process that leads to more violence and more divisions by the year: five years so far and there is no sign of the alleged protection promised by the UN.

A few days later, the council of Libyan Dignitaries met with Mr. Alghaweil and reportedly agreed with him on a Libyan dialogue with the Libyan government (the HoR); before flying to Albayda (in Cyrenaica) on the 28th of October 2015 to meet the Libyan Prime Minister Mr. Althni. The council of Libyan dignitaries has called for all Libyans to put aside their differences and effect a speedy solution to the Libyan crisis via a Libyan-Libyan dialogue on Libyan soil.

 

Libyan-Libyan Dialogue (حوار ليبي ليبي)

 

Like the results of the UN's devastating bombing campaign that brought us thus far the Libyans are now suspicious of any decisions coming from the UN. Having the power to impose "mistakes" on sovereign states seemingly is a terrible tyranny unfortunate nations could only endure in silence. The Libyans need to tread carefully along the path of painful "protection", "violent intervention", "unintended mistakes", and the mines of international reverberating morality by "all necessary measures".

The myth of UN protection began to fade away as Libya gradually drifted towards chaos and terror – a free-for-all "jihadist wonderland"; after which most Libyans came to realise that the war in Libya is consequentially a war created by the international community to fail the state by toppling the whole country and not just the regime [85]. This means that it would be suicidal for the Libyans to entertain more international mistakes.

The Libyans need to sit among themselves, peacefully, and share both power and resources away from any foreign involvement (if they could), and away from UN-authorised and non-authorised violence. Many of the protesters who took to the streets of Benghazi and Tripoli to protest against the latest UN-proposed violations, and the manifested divisions, have called for a Libyan dialogue that does not involve foreign entities.

Is there a foreign agenda to divide Libya into three countries?
Is there a foreign agenda to lock the divided parts in conflict?
Do Libyan leaders enjoy swallowing lucrative baits?
Is replacing one tyranny with another a genetic *defact?
Would the Berbers, one day, be free Libyans as the Arabs claim to be?

 

 

References

[1] www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/111650/
[2] www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/111588/
[3] www.presssolidarity.net/news-5962.html
[4] www.presssolidarity.net/news-5952.html
[5] www.lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/102266
[6] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-1M7jYCzPlE
[7] www.alwasat.ly/ar/mobile/article?articleid=111552
[8] https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/07/13/kobler-proposes-three-military-command-councils
[9] lananews.com/ar/?p=1792
[10] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-1M7jYCzPlE
[11] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/nBvbWkpmoSo
[12] www.lananews.com/ar/?p=2085
[13] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GCFcHUxiKPQ
[14] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/puYMnwwSX_c
[15] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MnVM6XV9DTc
[16] https://www.temehu.com/GNA/NFA-condemns-the-PC-double-standard.jpg
[17] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pnxWVSKJVXk
[18] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proscribed-terror-groups-or-organisations--2
[20] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ib8gQpNKq84
[21] https://www.temehu.com/GNA/the-State-created-by-brotherhood.jpg
[22] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XfesRxr0XcY
[23] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Pn3RkqMr75g
[24] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/01/us-airstrikes-against-isis-libya-pentagon
[25] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/19/us-airstrikes-target-islamic-state-militants-in-libya
[26] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/12/barack-obama-says-libya-was-worst-mistake-of-his-presidency
[27] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BOUiViZ6XUw
[28] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/V943MAsatWU
[29] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-6XIoGSei94
[30] www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/3632-المجلس-الرئاسي-يعلن-بدء-عمليات-التحالف-الدولي-لحرب-تنظيم-الدولة-داعش.html
[31] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pjhxlUXoZbw
[32] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/08/09/u-s-special-operations-forces-are-providing-direct-on-the-ground-support-for-the-first-time-in-libya/
[33] sputniknews.com/military/20150219/1018454440.html
[34] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ssKSY7iSA4Q
[35] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Zbd_80zhT7E
[36] https://www.temehu.com/HOR/avifHOR/PMO-condemns-US-attacks-on-Sabratha.avif
[37] https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/10/06/misratan-commander-says-us-could-have-destroyed-sirte-is-within-hours-had-it-wanted/
[38] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XJtOlo-ShsY
[39] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8yi_YZWGL4M
[40] www.libyan-parliament.org/المتحدث-الرسمي-باسم-مجلس-النواب-الغاء/
[41] www.lananews.com/ar/?p=56237
[42] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GaWBqedkD98
[43] www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/140651/
[44] www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/4127-بيان-رئيس-المجلس-الرئاسي-لحكومة-الوفاق-الوطني.html
[45] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/uxashmt1i1g
[46] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UjRhHx04clo
[47] www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/142328/
[48] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ edition/world/libyan-government-runs-guns-to-militia-allies-of-isis-islamic-state-tripoli-un-16ts7wpkv
[49] www.pm.gov.ly/news.html?start=20
[50] https://almarsad.co/2017/05/25/لأول-مرة-حفتر-يكشف-عن-وثيقة-النقاط-الـ-12/
[51] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sQJ5aQMSnbI
[52] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hPstZ8Oqqao
[53] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0Fr-nEPp7Mk
[54] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MdJ4NGLeaYA
[55] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghassan_Salam%C3%A9
[56] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/11/trump-envoy-blocks-ex-palestinian-pm-from-un-job-to-support-israel
[57] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EjkbScOT_m8
[58] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ZtUi3utJRik
[59] http://www.france24.com/ar/20170923-ليبيا-مبعوث-أممي-مؤيدي-نظام-قذافي-مشاركة-عملية-سياسية
[60] http://www.libyan-parliament.org/نصية-سوف-يتم-اختيار-لجنة-الصياغة-66-عن-ط/
[61] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8iIrmzaeOt0
[62] libyaobserver.ly/news/pm-al-ghaweil-advises-libyan-libyan-reconciliation
[63] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/31WsyyKUVV8
[64] libyaschannel.com/2015/10/29/تكليف-مارتن-كوبلر-كمبعوث-أممي-خلفا-لبر/
[65] Libyan Dialogue: http://www.libyaschannel.com/2015/10/28/وفد-من-مجلس-أعيان-ليبيا-يسعى-للقاء-مصال/
[66] jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/the_u.n._disaster_of_martin_kobler
[67] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Liberty
[68] upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/Outside-View/2013/06/06/Outside-View-German-Iranian-connection-solid-as-ever/29571370491380/
[69] newsblaze.com/story/20140317073225shak.nb/topstory.html
[70] ncr-iran.org/en/news/ashraf-liberty/12946-rudy-guiliani-martin-kobler-is-a-professional-liar-doing-iran-and-iraq-s-dirty-work
[71] lananews.com/ar/2015/11/بان-كي-مون-يؤكد-أن-ليون-لا-يزال-منخرطا-ف/
[72] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gfifbfXsLIk
[73] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11325
[74] theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/un-libya-envoy-accepts-1000-a-day-job-from-backer-of-one-side-in-civil-war
[75] lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/88915/
[76] libyatv.com/Details.aspx?Id=5861
[77] presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/119237-_87_/
[78] theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/06/libyan-faction-demands-explanation-from-un-over-envoy
[79] https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/has-the-un-failed-in-libya,8379
[80] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/j6ywwTfH244
[81] libyan-parliament.org/كتلة-السيادة-الوطنية-بمجلس-النواب-لا-ي/
[82] spiegel.de/international/world/german-un-envoy-martin-kobler-on-spread-of-is-in-libya-a-1075475.html
[83] https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/01/27/no-un-sanctions-yet-hor-cannot-unilaterally-amend-libya-deal-kobler/
[84] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Lein-zbTotM
[85] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VJ40K0_lzHk&spfreload=10
[86] libyaobserver.ly/news/pm-al-ghaweil-advises-libyan-libyan-reconciliation
[87] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11325
[88] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11354
[89] gnc.gov.ly/news_det_page.aspx?news_id=11353
[90] https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QurkXJH9abk
[91] http://www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/153608/

 

 

 

 

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Alsature السّاطور  (source of image: LANA )

Click here for a larger image with English translation of the cartoon and related article

 

Having bombed Libya back to the stone age in order to "protect civilians", then abandoned it to the bandits of chaos and terror (saying it was all down to the Libyans to resolve peacefully), the UN returned four years later to propose a controversial government that violated the "signed agreement" and included reported war criminals.

Adding insult to injury the UN now says more than 2.4 million Libyan civilians are in need of further "protection" [1, 2]; probably "implying" another objective on par with the one they shocked the Arab League with after the Libya bombing campaign was ignited with vengeance? This time, of course, Libya has been made a threat to Europe: terrorists, immigrants, arms, etc.

Let us be clear about one foundemental point widely used by the world's media to paint a fake picture about the effected tragedy in Libya: this nonsense talk of Libya descending into chaos after the "fall" of Gaddafi which left various factions fighting for power and a "slice of the cake" is as absurd as wikipedia's talk of "civil war" in Libya.

To begin with, Gaddafi did not fall; he was "toppled" by a massive bombing campaign that involved nearly 50 top countries authorised by the UN, and therefore the difference between fall and topple is as big as the gap between "die" and "kill". Full stop.

Secondly there is no civil war in Libya because the Libyans were initially bombarded by a barrage of assassinations and bombs by "mystery cells"  before they were dragged to fight the foreign radical groups imported and sponsored by rouge states. Having said this, the implied objective was not to topple Gaddafi; it was to topple the whole country, which they did with "precision".

This UN bombing campaign* was widely reported to have provided air cover for rebel groups (including moderate militants) to take over Libya in what war commanders then disclaimed as "Qaida flicker"; openly supported by Arab dictatorial states that were authorised by the UN to bomb sovereign Libya  –  the same Arab states now lured to sponsor terror!

This UN bombing campaign destroyed Libya's entire infrastructure including the Libyan army, the Libyan police, and the Libyan intelligence against the wishes of  Libyans, and against the advise put forward by a British-led team in Istanbul in 2011 to effect an exit strategy to avoid the mistakes made in shredded Iraq.

Nonetheless, the vultures of war rejected any talks of exit strategy and assured the Libyans that Libya will not be another Iraq; only for them to turn round three years later to say that it was a mistake, a troubled "foray" that went wrong, an "expedition" that taught them the lessons they failed to learn in Iraq, and all that talk of being incompetent to foresee disasters once imposed without a referendum, without an exit strategy, and based on misrepresentation of truth.

Still worse, the Libyans are widely misreported to be incapable of running their own affairs, always in need of foreign interference to advise them, arm them, protect them, plight them with violent democracy, and even destroy their entire country in the name of protection and chaos; presumably not only because they are too "dumb" to govern themselves [3], but also because the bombing of Libya's sovereignty was hailed "as a case study in “smart power.” [4]

Unfortunately, like all the previous tragedies imposed on Libya (including that of the dictator) the Libyans have no sovereignty nor option but to tremble with fear and bow in disbelief, hoping that one day they will be free to decide for themselves without any foreign interference that often manifests in more tyrannies being imposed in the name of unintentional mistakes!

In conclusion Libya is now blessed with three tragedies: the installed one is swallowing the bait in Tripoli; the exiled HoR is nailing the coffin in Tobruk; while the "anonymous enemy" is full speed ahead. Meanwhile, the fire gets bigger and bigger the more firefighters are sent to deal with it.

 

 

More conclusions here  and more UN violations here

 

 

 

Refrences

[1] unsmil.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3543&ctl=Details&mid=6187&ItemID=2099277
[2] https://www.temehu.com/GNA/HNO-libya-final-report-2015.pdf
[3] redstate.com/2015/10/25/hillary-says-libyans-just-dumb-govern/
[4] nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us/politics/hillary-clinton-libya.html

 

*:The phrase: "UN bombing campaign" is hereby used to refer to the UN-authorised bombing campaign of Libya. The critics of the bombing campaign who blame other Western powers are mistaken because such powers could not have went ahead with their campaign without authorisation from the UN – well, they could but they did not. It is like blaming the soldier for an act of war ordered by the president.

 

 

Shocking GNA & PC Corruption

برنامج البلاد
تقرير فساد صادم عن الفساد في الحكومات الليبية . . . وأرقام بالمليارات

 

The 2019 report of the Libyan Audit Bureau (LAB) reveals massive corruption plighting the UN-imposed PC (and its unconstitutional GNA).  The report, 922 pages long, has shocked the Libyans in disbelief, while it angered those affected by its revelations (see Reactions, below).

Interim Government Expenditure (نفقات الحكومة المؤقتة)

According to the report, the GNA had spent 45.6 billion Dinars in just 5 years (between 2015 and 2019). This is the amount the illegal (or unconstitutional) government had spent when Libyans are reported to be searching for bread in litter bins, and working for months with getting paid; and when ironically (the report adds in page 10) the "State of Libya" (under the GNA government) had a surplus of  13.5 billion Dinars for the 2019 year, and also a surplus of 7.8 billion Dinars for the previous year.

59.89 billion (income) - 46.36 billion (expenditure) = 13.53 billion (surplus).

The report repeatedly speaks of violations committed by the Presidency Council  (PC) in relation to making decisions that are the responsibility of the Prime Ministers Office and not the PC as stated by the LPA agreement (for example, see page 15). Not only that, but the report details a number of occasions where transparency is invisible, and regulations, rules, and legal procedures were ignored in (the) decision-making process.

The report says the amount of 45.6 differs from the amount shown by the CBL by 1.7 billion Dinars; indicating lack of transparency. Also the report says (in page 37) that the sources used to cover this expenditure by the government are "obscure" (غامضة) and no one made any statement to explain the above amount. 

The Dead Get Paid:

The report also shows that the PC (led by Mr. Sarraj) receives regular money (as monthly wages coming from the Finance Ministry) for employees who no longer work for the Presidency Council; for employees who have "resigned"; for those who are "DEAD"; for those who were "transferred"; and for those who are in "unpaid leave"; without informing the Finance Ministry, the report says.

The "dead" continue to get paid while they are in the grave,
when the living work for months without getting paid.

 

Travel & Accommodation:

The report says there is "exaggeration" in the travel money given to the political advisor of the PC president and his family (للمستشار السياسي وعائلته) (that is to the political advisor of Mr. Fayez Sarraj), namely 1,492,959 Libyan Dinars (just under 1.5 million). The money was paid on direct orders from Mr. Fayez Sarraj, the reports says, without issuing any legal decrees. That is very nice.

Travel & Accommodation (page 296)

The report says the PC pays for travel and accommodation for those who are not related to the PC, and that they kept adding names to the original decree, and extending the duration of stay in opposition to the periods specified by such decrees.

Also there are astronomical amounts given to certain tourism companies for just booking a travel ticket or for booking a hotel room for a few nights. For example, in page 296, the Hodwa Tourism Company was paid a staggering 75,457 Libyan Dinars for a single travel ticket to Istanbul.

More shocking is the payment of over a quarter of a million dinars (to be specific: 398,962 LD) to Maqam company for booking a mere 7 travel tickets from Istanbul to Tunis, and one ticket from Dallas to Tripoli (see table below). Such figures are impossible to explain.

 

Astronomical cost for a single travel ticket(page 296)

 

The PC had created 61 Administrative Structures or Boards (انشاء وحدات إدارية ذات ذمة مالية مستقلة), each with its own independent financial budget, in one year; all of which within the ministries of Education and Health. Imagine the possibilities there!

The report (in page 290) had confirmed what many Libyans have been saying for years, in that Mr. Sarraj had made all these decisions alone in violation of Article 8 of the LPA signed in Morocco, and as stated by Clause 9 which states that such decisions are the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Office.

 

Electricity & water (page 291).

Regarding "electricity", the General Company for Electricity had spent in 2019 alone 1.6 billion Dinars, when most Libyans are literally left in darkness with power cuts on a daily basis across the country. The report says there is "exaggeration" in the amount "allocated" to the sectors of "electricity" and "water" for both year 2018 and year 2019 and using the allocated funds elsewhere; and that the "phenomenon" continued despite warning were given.

There are numerous other violations and irregularities across the 922-page report, which can be downloaded via the following links:

 

Download Libyan Audit Bureau Reports (LABR):

One peculiar note about the reports is that the longer the GNA stayed in government the longer the report! The Libyan Audit Bureau (LAB) annual report is presented to the Legislative Authority of Libya in accordance with Law no. 19 of 2013, concerning the reinstatement of the Libyan Audit Bureau (LAB), including the outcome of its activities, the most important remarks on other bodies under its authority, and recommendations.

Most of the reports are in Arabic, except for two reports which are also available in English: the 2015 LABR and the 2014 LABR .

 

LABR-2020 (expected in May 2021)

LABR-2019 (922 pages)

LABR-2018 (995 pages)

LABR-2017 (920 pages)

LABR-2016 (624 pages)

LABR-2015 (565 pages)

LABR-2014 (515 pages)

LABR-2013 (387 pages)

LABR-2012 (150 pages)

LABR-2011 (232 pages)

 

English LAB Reports:

EN-LABR-2015 (490 pages)

EN-LABR-2014 (157 pages)

 

Reactions:

1 - السني يعرب عن استعداده للمثول أمام جهات الاختصاص وتفنيد ما ورد في تقرير ديون المحاسبة
https://lana-news.ly/art.php?id=194046

" أعرب مندوب ليبيا الدائم لدى الأمم المتحدة السفير " الطاهر السني " عن استعداده للمثول أمام جهات الاختصاص وتفنيد ما ورد في تقرير ديون المحاسبة لوجود عدة أخطاء واستنتاجات منسوبة لشخصه حسب قوله  . . . ازدواجية الرواتب ! أو ذكر لعدة مبالغ لا قامات وسفريات منسوبة لنا وبها عدة أخطاء!" ( وال ) (LANA).

 

2 - الرقابة وفق بوصلة حزبية أقبح أشكال الفساد"
https://lana-news.ly/art.php?id=194045

According to LANA, the Interior Minister, Mr. Fathi Bashagha (فتحي باشاغا), described the report as "hollow" and has no value before the judicial law. He also said auditing according to a partisan compass is the most hideous form of corruption.

حينما يترأس جهة سيادية تختص بالرقابة المالية شخصية ذات انتماء حزبي و أيديولوجي فمن الطبيعي مشاهدة مظاهر الابتزاز السياسي بدعوى مكافحة الفساد من خلال تقارير جوفاء لا يجرؤ مصدرها إحالتها للقضاء كونها لا تقوى على حمل مضمونها . وأضاف  . . . الرقابة وفق بوصلة حزبية أقبح أشكال الفساد ( وال ) (LANA).

 

3- The Audit Bureau published its 2019 report two years late.
libyaherald.com/2021/03/12/audit-bureaus-2019-report-released-two-years-late/

"According to Libyaherald, "Critics noted that the Audit Bureau waited until the Faiez Serraj government was out of office before publishing the ”repressed” report. The lengthy report . . . reveals many spending transgressions by the Serraj cabinet and his Interior Ministry . . . The Tripoli Audit Bureau pointed out that its 2019 annual report does not include the expenditures and actions of the eastern Interim Libyan government headed by Abdulla Al-Thinni".[4] Good point(s) Libyaherald.

 

4- 218TV Live: تقرير ديوان المحاسبة لعام 2019 والتجاوزات المالية الكبيرة الواردة فيه :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK2yjQck-BU

 

218TV Live

According to 2018TV Live, Bashagha turned the whole thing into a personal quarrel between his ministry (the ministry of interior) and Khalid Shekshek (the head of LAB); and that he responded to the report by saying his government is ready to step down after the GNU had been approved, instead of answering the specific financial irregularities listed by the report. For example, the expenditure of his ministry has more than doubled in 2019 for reasons are not apparent to experts. He could, therefore, explain this expenditure, but he did not.

Mr. Faraj Zidan, a legal expert and political analysts, says the true figures of corruption could be much larger than the figures reported by the LAB because many institutions did not cooperate with the LAB, and that many of these transactions (or embezzlements) were in fact done without any paper work, and therefore there is no way for the LAB to document them [5].

Mr. Zidan said the Justice Department should immediately issue a travel ban on all those named by the report, and begin an inquiry into the crimes identified by the LAB.

He also does not agree with the reasons given by the LAB for the delay in publishing the report, and also he does not understand why the LAB decided to publish immediately after the GNU was granted confidence!

 

5 - Libya Al-Ahrar: أكثر من 20 مليار دينار تصرف كمرتبات في ظل انتشار المحسوبية :

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUiNDdJNEUU

 

 

6 - Why isn't there a report about the Eastern Government of  Benghazi?

Perhaps the LAB can answer the question in their website, or, even better, make sure their reports cover all the governments of Libya, since their official name is: the Libyan Audit Bureau, and not the Tripolitanian Audit Bureau.

 

 

7 - برنامج البلاد | ما حقيقة ما جاء في تقرير المحاسبة 2019 بخصوص قطاع الخارجية في ليبيا؟

 

Corruption Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi_DSuUyZvc

يناقش البلاد في هذه الحلقة التجاوزات المالية والمخالفات التي وردت في تقرير ديوان المحاسبة للعام 2019، وردود بعض الشخصيات السياسية والسفراء لما جاء في ذلك التقرير

 

 

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMPi-5BWrAA
[2] ديوان المحاسبة الليبي : http://audit.gov.ly/home/
[3] الموقع الرسمي لهيئة الرقابة الإدارية : http://raqaba-ly.com/
[4] libyaherald.com/2021/03/12/audit-bureaus-2019-report-released-two-years-late/
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK2yjQck-BU
[6] Libya Al-Ahrar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUiNDdJNEUU