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TRIPOLI Anger has been boiling in the Libyan south-eastern region that includes the cities of Sirte, Ajdabiya up to Kufra, an area that was called Cyrenaica Elbeida (White Cyrenaica) during the reign of the late King Idris al-Senussi.

Prominent figures from the region have issued two statements in less than a month calling for the need for their region to be represented in Libyas political negotiations.

They have also expressed their support for a proposal for a mechanism to select a new executive authority, favouring the selection of Abdulhamid al-Dabaiba for the presidency of government and Abdul Jawad al-Ubaidi to head the Presidency Council.

The statements dealt a blow to Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, who has been touted as a candidate to head the Presidency Council with the support of tribes from the eastern province.

The statements also raised the eyebrows of observers and experts specialised in Libyan political affairs.

Over the past few years, Cyrenaica has been largely cohesive, especially after the Fajr Libya militia launched a coup against the results of 2014 legislative elections.

However, the first statement issued on December 10 used the reference Cyrenaica Elbeida to designate the geographical area, while the second statement spoke of the south-east in a move that seemed to correct the first reference, which appears to be an attempt to re-divide Cyrenaica into two distinct areas Cyrenaica Elbeida and Cyrenaica Elhamra (Red Barqa).

Among the most prominent demands included in the Supreme Constitutive Committee for the Southeast Regions statement are the designation of the south-east as a fourth region similar to the three current regions of the country Tripoli, Cyrenaica and Fezzan, and the adoption of international and national standards used in local administration to distribute financial and administrative quotas, with geography and natural resources being primarily taken into consideration.

The statement, which was considered to be a declaration of the establishment of the White Cyrenaica region, also demanded the involvement of the southeast in all international and national negotiations that would determine the fate of the Libyan state, in addition to the allocation a specific share of oil revenues in the constitution to be distributed among the municipalities of the Southeast in order to bring about sustainable development to the region.

White Cyrenaica, or what is commonly known as the southeast, produces more than 75% of Libyas total oil output, and is a fertile agricultural region that pumps an estimated 6 billion litres of drinking water into the country.

The two recent statements have raised suspicion among observers, who viewed the move as the beginning of an attempt to separate White Cyrenaica from Red Cyrenaica, which has been accused of monopolising power and oil revenue.

In 1920, the borders of Cyrenaica were demarcated between Italy and the late Libyan King Idris al-Senussi. Under the agreement, Rome controlled the territory of Red Cyrenaica and its capital, Benghazi, while White Cyrenaica and its capital, Ajdabiya, remained under the control of the king.

In mid-December last year, the notables, sheikhs and youth of White Cyrenaica in the central region of Sirte up to Ajdabiya and Kafra demanded that more than one candidate from the region be nominated for the posts of Presidency Council head and prime minister.

In a statement, prominent figures from the region confirmed their support for the second option presented at the Dialogue Forum on the mechanism for selecting executive authority, which guarantees the right for the region to nominate more than one candidate from among national figures that have integrity, competence and patriotism.

The statement expressed opposition to any meetings that promote and market a specific candidate and called for the national interest to be prioritised over personal interests.

The prominent figures expressed solidarity with all social forces in Cyrenaica in particular, and Libya in general, to come out with a presidential council and a national unity government that guarantees the fair distribution of wealth, the return of the displaced and the enforcement of law and order.

Observers do not rule out that the possibility that Turkey is behind the moves, considering that the proposal supported by the notables and sheikhs of White Cyrenaica could lead to the rise of Dabaiba a Misratan businessman supported by Ankara to head the next government.

Read more:
Political manoeuvres in Libya's south-east risk dividing Cyrenaica - The Arab Weekly

The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) has invited victims of human rights and international humanitarian law violations across the country to take part in procedures aimed at ending impunity in Libya.

In a statement on Facebook, the committee called on victims and civil society organizations to communicate with the international fact-finding mission in Libya to report the violations that occurred since the beginning of January. 2016, to date.

It encouraged victims to report all abuses that they had suffered, whether committed by outlaw groups or official agencies to investigate and document these violations and hold those responsible accountable.

The NCHRL confirmed that the communication forms had been established in accordance with the UN human rights mechanisms.

The committee offered practical guidance throughout the application process, including translation services and a team to facilitate interviews and inquiries, in addition to providing reports and email correspondence with the fact-finding mission.

The NCHRLurged those concerned to submit their communications as soon as possible, as the process requires the experts to study the reports and communicate with the victims before the investigation period concludes.

The rest is here:
NCHRL asks victims to come forward to end impunity in Libya - The Libya Observer

A single administration that controls all Libyan territory has to be established, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj stated Thursday.

Speaking on TV to the country for its 69th independence anniversary, Sarraj said that the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) supports the idea of holding presidential and parliamentarian elections in December 2021 throughout Libya.

He added that the GNA has made a serious effort for the elections to be successful and asked the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for technical assistance.

Libya on Thursday celebrated its independence day with military parades held in the center of the capital Tripoli under tight security.

Hundreds of Libyans carrying the red, green and black national flag gathered at central Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, formerly known as Green Square, where toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi often delivered speeches.

Sarraj and members of his Cabinet, all wearing masks due to the coronavirus pandemic, attended a midday parade of military and police forces.

The area was closed to traffic starting Wednesday with police vehicles deployed around the square. A stage was set up for speeches and patriotic songs to be performed before a fireworks display after nightfall.

The celebration of Libyan independence on Dec. 24, proclaimed by King Idriss in 1951, was removed from the official calendar for over 40 years under the Gadhafi regime and reinstated in 2012.

Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

Wracked by violence since then, the North African country has become a battleground for tribal militias, foreign powers and mercenaries as well as being a gateway for desperate migrants bound for Europe.

Two rival camps now vie for power, with an administration in the east backed by the forces of putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar pitted against the U.N.-recognised GNA.

A cease-fire signed in October under the aegis of the U.N. and other respected stakeholders has allowed the rival parties to return to the negotiating table.

Read the original here:
Libya has to be governed from 1 center, Libyan PM Sarraj says | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

Libya was one of the three main Arab Spring countries in North Africa. Gaddafi, who ruled Libya single-handedly with an iron fist for 40 years through a unique management style and a ruthless regime, became the third dictator after Ben Ali of Tunisia and Mubarak of Egypt to be overthrown.

Unlike the previous two, however, Gaddafi opted to stand up to the popular uprising and wage war on his people. He even accused Mubarak and Ben Ali, who were overthrown before him, of cowardice and submission, and announced that he would never choose their path. That's why his end was even more disastrous than the other two.

The revolution in Egypt ended on Jan. 25, and Mohammed Morsi was elected President in the second round in the elections held after more than two years of transition. However, less than a year later, he was overthrown after a bloody coup. The same coup was attempted in Tunisia, albeit via different means, but it has proven unsuccessful.

The people of Tunisia, in reference to being the country that initiated the Arab Spring, specifically addressed to the United Arab Emirates, the financier and mastermind of counter-revolutions: "We have exported revolution to our neighbors, we have no intention of importing coups," and declared that they will not stray from the path of the revolution.

Libya, meanwhile, was unable to prevent the coup that took place next door from penetrating it through sheer force and insidious plotting. Former General Haftar, who had been living in the United States for a long time, re-imported the Egyptian-model coup to Libya with the logistical and military support of Egypt's putschist Sisi.

In 2014, less than a year after the coup in Egypt, Haftar announced that the National General Congress, which was elected in Libya, was dissolved. Military uniform-clad and through the command he appointed, he announced a new roadmap for the transition period.

Haftar, who started to work by accusing the legitimate administration in Tripoli of terrorism, also resorted to a type of wooden discourse that would carve out a space for him at the world stage. The armed force he seized somehow gave him the opportunity to have a say and impose his will. What he was looking for was never a new, pluralistic, participatory Libya that would create an environment for dialogue that would include the entire Libyan people.

Haftar, who set out by carrying out his coup in the East, waged war against those in Tripoli and Misrata, yet his first showdown took place in the very same place he started from, in the same Eastern part of the country where he is based today. Initially, he fought against the people of Benghazi, where he embarked on his reign of terror. He managed to subjugate and intimidate the people of Benghazi by either massacring, imprisoning or deporting everyone who opposed him. The path he followed was that of Gaddafis, yet his was even more brutal and violent than his predecessor. Just as his chief supporter and supplier, Sisi, is even more brutal and vicious than previous Egyptian dictators.

He displaced at least 250,000 people from Benghazi, Dernah, Al-Marj, and Bayda Ajdabiya, which he had captured after he just seized power. Most of them are now internally displaced in Benghazi and Misrata. Many of them sought the open waters of the Mediterranean through illegal immigration, news of which we have now grown accustomed to hearing every day, and many of them fell victim to Europe's brutal anti-immigration operations before reaching European shores, drowning in the waters of the Mediterranean.

I recently had the pleasure of receiving Saad Yassin al-Oubeyidi, the head of the Association of Benghazis Forcibly Displaced, and what he had to say on this matter makes ones blood boil.

Saad Yassin has been drawing attention to the state of desperation experienced at the dialogue sessions over the future of Libya that are held under the auspices of the UN in Morocco and Tunisia.

He also had the following to say about the matter: It is out of injustice and desperation that Haftar, who does not even recognize anyone else in any way and whose sole goal is to establish his rule over everything, is treated as a party in these meetings. Because Haftar has never pursued dialogue. His only goal has always only been to annihilate anyone who can share power. Today, hes only holding on to dialogue because its the only thing that could save him after Turkey entered the scene, but he does not deserve to be a part of this dialogue in any way. Take a look at the mass graves he left behind in Tarhuna. This is his modus operandi. Due to all that, he is seen as the representative of the East today. In fact, how can the fact that he has established his rule by committing countless crimes against humanity be disregarded? The military superiority he achieved there was through practices that would require him to stand trial in human rights courts. These actions should only result in him being convicted, as opposed to being granted the right to represent the East. "

Said Yasin continued as follows: "Here, we are living witnesses of how Haftar does not represent the East and the way he established his dominance there, after at least 150,000 people have been forcibly displaced from Benghazi to Tripoli and Misrata. We have been displaced, and dont for a second think that those who stayed there are pleased with him. Haftar, as a putschist, is someone who has no claim to representation and no right to authority like all coup plotters.

Despite this being the case, there is still no representation for the displaced in any of the platforms where the future of Libya is being discussed today.

However, in such cases, one of the most important problems has to be the issue of "forcibly displaced people". As such a matter is considered a very secondary one in all meetings, not a single seat to represent them is allocated in any of the assemblies that have been formed. While the criteria for the list of 75 people formed in Tunisia under the supervision of Stephanie Williams, Deputy Special Envoy of Libya to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General was already problematic to begin with, the absence of any representatives for such an important segment of the people raises its own question mark.

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Winds of Spring in Libya and the issue of the 'forcibly displaced' - YASIN AKTAY - Yeni afak English

SIRTE UN-led military talks between former Libyan rivals began Tuesday in the central city of Sirte, the UN said, the first meetings at the new headquarters of a joint committee.

The talks follow a ceasefire deal last month between Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and a rival administration in eastern Libya, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

The joint military commission had agreed last week on steps towards implementing the deal.

But the Tripoli-based unity governments military command on Tuesday accused mercenaries from a pro-Haftar Russian paramilitary group of preventing its delegation from landing.

The aircraft was not able to land at Sirtes Qardabiya airport because it is occupied by the Wagner mercenary gang which has installed anti-aircraft weapons and scrambling equipment there, GNA forces said in a tweet on Tuesday.

It did not and will not allow them to land, it added, saying the delegation had instead landed at an oil port 200 kilometres (125 miles) further east and headed to Sirte overland.

Also on Tuesday, gunmen shot dead a prominent dissident in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, a stark reminder of the countrys violence.

Sirte, close to the ceasefire line, was the birthplace of longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi, whose overthrow and killing in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising plunged Libya into turmoil.

Today, Libya is dominated by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west, and its eastern-based rival backed by Haftar.

In April 2019, Haftar launched an offensive to seize Tripoli, but was pushed back in June by Turkey-backed pro-GNA forces, resulting in an August truce.

The UN-led joint military committee of five officers from each side held their first meetings on Libyan soil last week, following meetings in Switzerland where they signed a permanent ceasefire deal.

They agreed to make Sirte their headquarters and set up a sub-committee to oversee withdrawals and the departure of foreign forces from the front lines, according to the UN.

The Sirte talks, set to last until Friday, were expected to complete discussions over a ceasefire implementation as well as the formation of specialised sub-committees, the UN said in a statement, without adding details.

They take place in parallel with talks in neighbour Tunisia aimed at creating a government to prepare for elections as well as provide basic services to a country battered by war, economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.

The 75 delegates in Gammarthe, near Tunis, are tasked with appointing a three-member Presidency Council representing Libyas three historical regions and a prime minister to lead a separate Government of National Unity.

But the way the delegates were chosen has sparked anger among Libyans.

The Tripoli Protection Force, a major pro-GNA armed group, rejected the list as excluding many military and political forces in order to serve a certain agenda, while eastern Libyans have accused the UN of including too many Islamists.

The tragedy is that those who destroyed the country are the people who are sitting and talking in the name of Libya, one Twitter user wrote in Libyan dialect of Arabic.

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First-time meeting in Sirte between rival Libyan factions | | AW - The Arab Weekly