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A protester holds an anti-regime placard in Yangon as soldiers deploy in February. / The Irrawaddy

By The Irrawaddy 12 March 2021

Disbanding Myanmars hated military risksdestabilizing the country, in the same way that the Western invasions of Iraq and Libya and the subsequent disbandment of local military forces left security vacuums that were filled by Islamic State, said former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo.

Yeo acknowledged that the Tatmadaw (Myanmars military) are hated by many Myanmar people. The reaction to removing the army from the equation would be euphoria, he said.

[But] what happens five years, 10 years from now? I think theres a fair chance that Myanmar will become Libya and Iraq, the South China Morning Post reported him saying.

Myanmar has seen daily anti-regime protests across the country following the militarys Feb. 1 coup. In an attempt to stop the protests and the growing civil disobedience movement, the security forces have resorted to lethal force with at least 70 civilians killed.

Instability in Myanmar could also drag down its neighbors, includingChina,India and Bangladesh, as well as affecting Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) warned Yeo, who was Singapores foreign minister between 2004 and 2011. He added that we will have years, even decades of trouble.

In the first week of March, Asean called for all parties in Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint as well as flexibility as the crisis in the country worsens.

Singapores current Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan proposed that the U.N. secretary generals special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, be allowed to visit the country as soon as possible to meet all key stakeholders, including ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who he said should be released from detention.

The only way youre going to get a long-term, sustainable, viable solution is for national reconciliation to occur, and in particular we call for the release of the President Win Myint and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the other political detainees.

Balakrishnan also stressed that Singapore has not recognized the regime as Myanmars government.

We have not recognized the military leaders as the government of Myanmar, he said. We do recognize, however, that under the 2008 Constitution, it provides for a special role for the military as an institution in the body politic of Myanmar.

Yeo described the situation in Myanmar as heartbreaking and an enormous setback, given Myanmars transition to democratic rule in recent years.

The immediate priority must be to step back from a rapidly deteriorating situation. It is not too late, Balakrishnan said, while admonishing Myanmars security forces for using lethal force against unarmed protesters.

Instability in any corner of Southeast Asia threatens and affects the rest of us. Its such a pity because, in fact, the prospects on Myanmar were bright, the prospects for Southeast Asia are robust in the next 20, 30 years, he said.

In 2007, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable quoted Singapores founding father and late statesman Lee Kuan Yew describing Myanmars ruling generals as stupid and dense.

The cable quotes Lee telling U.S. diplomats in 2007 that dealing with the junta leaders was like talking to dead people. He is quoted saying that they had mismanaged the countrys natural resources and that he had given up on them a decade ago.

The cable, released by the website WikiLeaks, recorded a conversation between Lee and two senior U.S. diplomats. It says Lee held out little hope for improvements in Myanmar until a younger generation of less obtuse generals takes power.

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If the Army is Disbanded Will Myanmar Become Like Libya or Iraq? - The Irrawaddy News Magazine

By Sami Zaptia.

Caretaker Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni said he considered his government as a caretaker government at his first press conference in March 2014 (Photo: Sami Zaptia).

London, 10 March 2021:

The eastern based Libyan government led by Abdalla Thinni announced today that it too is ready to hand over power to the new unified Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba.

The announcement came after the reunified and quorate House of Representatives (HoR) passed a vote of confidence in the Aldabaiba GNU. It also came as the Serraj-led Presidency Council and Government of National Accord said it was ready to hand over power to the GNU.

The Thinni government of March 2014 was initially the caretaker government after the Zeidan government lost a controversial vote of confidence. The Thinni government took over as caretaker awaiting a new government to be approved by the newly elected parliament, the HoR.

However, the Libya Dawn Tripoli militia coup forced the Thinni government to flee Tripoli while a rump of the outgoing parliament, the General National Congress (GNC) formed a new Government of National Salvation.

This government received no international recognition, and it was not until the 2015 Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement that selected Faiez Serraj and his Presidency Council that a Tripoli government received international recognition.

However, the HoR and the new Serraj regime fell out and the HoR, whilst recognizing the Serraj Presidency Council in principle, refused until this day to recognize his government, deepening the west-east political and military split.

With the announcement by both the Serraj and Thinni governments that they recognized the new GNU and would be handing over power, it will be the first time that Libya has one unified and recognized government since 2014.

Congress rump appoints Omar Hassi as Prime Minister | (libyaherald.com)

Congress sacks Zeidan: elections for new legislature in July | (libyaherald.com)

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Eastern based Thinni Libyan government announces readiness to hand over power to new GNU | - Libya Herald

TRIPOLI -In divided Libya, the breakthrough appointment of a unity government has raised hopes for reconciliation among people exhausted by a decade of chaos but now daring to dream of peace.

After seeing a succession of ceasefires and peace conferences flake out over the years, Libyans had grown accustomed to their hopes for a better future being dashed.

This time, it looks like itll work out. Im very optimistic, Salah, a shopkeeper in Tripoli, says with a wide smile.

Like many of his compatriots, Salah watched a live television broadcast on Wednesday of the session in which parliament approved a unity government to lead Libya to December elections.

A day after, he welcomed the move.

We need unity, we are all brothers, we should no longer be divided, the 40-year-old adds, dressed in a traditional djellaba robe.

The vote was widely hailed as historic for a country torn apart by conflict since 2011.

In February that year, inspired by the Arab Spring and backed by Western air power, Libyans rose up against Muammar Gadhafi and ousted within months a dictator who had ruled with an iron fist since 1969.

The oil-rich country of seven million people has since descended into anarchy, with two rival administrations vying for control and a myriad of militias fighting over its resources.

Libyas infrastructure is now derelict, its economy in tatters and public services wretched. The situation has been complicated by foreign interference.

Mammoth task

The new administration, headed by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, faces a mammoth task.

The Libyan economy is at a standstill: the dinar has plunged in value, property prices have soared and electricity cuts are a daily occurrence.

Life must return to normal, says Salah the shopkeeper.

The priority should be to address the daily lives of citizens, to solve the problems of power cuts and cash shortages, he added.

Across Tripoli, endless queues stretch out in front of banks, and dozens of motorists wait for hours at petrol stations.

During power outages, the city vibrates to the roar of generators.

The rusty frames of huge cranes sit on top of unfinished buildings that are overgrown with weeds.

The new government will, God willing, unify the institutions, says Nader Mansouri, 46.

It now has to deal with the crises facing citizens, the lack of cash, the power cuts, the coronavirus vaccination campaign.

The most important thing is to succeed in organising elections in December, the civil servant says, adding, theres foreign interference; we must end it now.

Miftah al-Malis, 36, says the vote of confidence in the government was a wise decision.

The Libyan people are tired and fed up, he says.

The conflict has gone on too long and there is no need for it, he says, adding that he too is optimistic and wishes to see Libyans unite.

Glimmer of hope

There is also optimism in Benghazi, Libyas second city in the east, where the countrys uprising began 10 years ago.

Benghazi suffered badly from the violence that followed.

In the old town, bullet pockmarked walls and damaged buildings are a constant reminder that the conflict tore through.

Its a glimmer of hope on the horizon, says Osama al-Werfalli, a 50-year-old businessman in Benghazi.

Werfalli says he has grown tired of the situation that has led to a deterioration in the living conditions of all Libyans.

This is also the case for Sayida al-Sarrawi, who hopes to see a new phase, without the divisions that citizens have suffered for years.

We want a Libya without wars and conflicts.

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Libyans disillusioned but daring to hope after confidence vote | | AW - The Arab Weekly

By Sami Zaptia.

London, 11 March 2021:

In a newreportreleased Wednesday, Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) call on the Libyan authorities to act immediately to stop the widespread and dangerous pattern of online violence against women (OVAW) in the country.

The report exposes the full scale of online harassment, threats, misogyny, text-based abuse, image-based sexual abuse, the use of deep fake pornography, doxing (publication of personal information such as a private address) and cyberstalking suffered by women in Libya. The report shows that this violence, which started following the 2011 uprising and its ensuing armed conflicts, goes unchecked by the authorities, leaving women to be intimidated, silenced and forced out of public spaces.

LFJL carried out a detailed survey of 163 respondents, documenting their experiences online. Ninety six percent of respondents saw OVAW as a serious problem in Libya and over two thirds of them had been the victims of attacks themselves, with the primary targets being women expressing views online, activists, human rights defenders and women working in political affairs.

The impact is significant, as many women prefer to withdraw from public space due to the attempts to undermine, defame and slander them, not to mention death threats, said political activist Abeir Imneina.

Following the 2011 uprising, women in Libya have increasingly used social media to engage in online activism, but an intense backlash against them as the conflict in the country intensified has led many to self-censor or stop their public activism altogether to protect themselves and their families. Numerous victims told LFJL that online violence had had negative psychological effects on them, such as anxiety, panic attacks, a sense of powerlessness and poor sleep and concentration, but it doesnt always end there.

Tragically, far too often in Libya online abuse has been followed by physical attacks includingenforced disappearancesand brutalkillings, committed in broad daylight, said LFJL Research Fellow Dr Olga Jurasz. Over 80% of survey respondents said that online violence against women was just as serious as offline violence.

While it is often difficult to identify perpetrators, 60% of respondents believed that OVAW in Libya is committed by state actors and affiliated militias, as well as private actors, with the sole aim of silencing women. As OVAW can result in significant mental suffering, when committed by state agents or their affiliates it may amount to torture in some cases.

Despite the scale of the problem, Libya does not have laws which specifically criminalise online or offline violence against women. Since 2011, several draft laws have been proposed to tackle violence against women, but all of those seen by LFJL fall short of international law and standards. For example, they did not cover violence committed online, did not address womens right to personal integrity, focused primarily on physical pain inflicted on the victim with disregard to psychological suffering, and did not ensure access to safety or redress for victims.

The Libyan authorities have also failed to carry out effective investigations under provisions of the Penal Code, which criminalise violence more broadly and could be used to hold perpetrators accountable, despite women reporting incidents to the police and prosecutors. This sends a clear message to the public and perpetrators that online violence against women will go unchecked.

Online violence is a weapon used to silence women, undermining respect for human rights and the rule of law, said Marwa Mohamed, LFJLs Head of Advocacy and Outreach. This issue needs to be given the attention it deserves. Libya must pass a law on gender-based violence, including online violence against women, and prosecute perpetrators in line with its international obligations under key human rights treaties.

While 76% of survey respondents said that social media platforms should also take responsibility for the issue, most had not reported such incidents or were not aware of the existence of complaints mechanisms. Where respondents had reported incidents, they also had to get groups of other users to report the issue before platforms would carry out investigations and delete abusive accounts. Several respondents told LFJL that one or two people reporting an abusive account would usually not prompt social media platforms to conduct investigations.

Social media platforms must do more to tackle abuse on their platforms, said Mohamed. As a first step, social media platforms must commit to the eradication of online violence against women by adopting a human rights-based approach, ensuring that data evidencing online violence against women is made available for use in investigations and legal proceedings aimed at establishing accountability.

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Urgent Action Needed to Address Shocking Levels of Online Violence Against Libyan Women: LJFL | - Libya Herald

By Sami Zaptia.

(Photo: TLBC).

London, 9 March 2021:

The Tripoli Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday that it will participate in the Tunisian-Libyan Economic Forum on 11 March in the city of Sfax.

The event is organized by the Tunisian-African Business Council and more than 200 Tunisian and 100 Libyan business leaders will participate in it. They will be from the construction, trade, industry and services sectors.

The Tripoli Chamber reported that a number of ministers, deputy ministers, heads of government institutions and heads of chambers of commerce from various Libyan regions will also be present.

The forum, which will convene under the slogan We meet hope and challenge to build an integrated economy, will address a number of problems and difficulties facing businesses in the two countries and impede partnership relations, including the transport sector, logistical support, cash situations, flexibility of banking sector services with institutions and facilitation procedures by the concerned official institutions.

3rd Tunisian-Libyan Economic Forum, Sfax 11 March | (libyaherald.com)

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Tripoli Chamber to participate in the Tunisia-Libyan Economic Forum: 11 March, Sfax | - Libya Herald