Mediaboss Marketing

The High Council of Libyan Notables and Elders has expressed support for Libyan National Guard (LNG), which was recently formed, calling on Libyas revolutionaries to join the LNG to be under the legitimacy of one state and end the political fragmentation.

On Facebook, the council confirmed that the formation of the LNG is a step on the right path that will lead to Libyas stability throughcontaining the revolutionaries who partook in freeing Libya from the dictator Muamar Gaddafi and then pursued their devotion by fighting criminals, coup plotters and terrorists.

The leadership of the LNG must be trustworthy of the responsibility given to them by the revolutionaries. They should be working on uniting themselves and preserving the countrys unity and sovereignty. The council added.

It added that the LNG should establish the constants of the revolution especially the peaceful circulation of power and respect for legitimacy, exerting much effort to secure Libya from terrorism, return of dictatorship and coups.

We warn of the sedition and division mouthpieces who are endeavoring to derail any national initiatives. The council added, saying all Libyans should support the LNG by forwarding advice and consultations.

Brigadier General, Mahmoud Al-Zigal, (LNG) on last Thursday as per the General National Congresss decree (No.2 of 2015).

In a press conference in Tripoli, Chief of LNG, Brig. Mahmoud Al-Zigal said the LNG is not linked to any political party and would operate away from regional, tribal and political disputes, with the task of securing Libyas land borders and helping the country stabilize.

Excerpt from:
High Council of Libyan Notables and Elders expresses support for Libyan National Guard - The Libya Observer

The European Union is touting a plan it says will help Libya curb the number of migrants leaving its shores, but some advocates believe the plan does little more than trap African and Middle Eastern migrants in a war zone.

On February 3, the European Union announced it would give $212 million to help Libyas U.N.-backed government bolster its coast guard capabilities as well as offer training and equipment in order to block smuggling routes.

Preben Aamann, spokesman for European Council President Donald Tusk, said the current migration situation is both tragic and untenable. He said last year 181,000 people set off from Libya en route to Italy and approximately 5,000 drowned in the central Mediterranean. Both of those figures were all-time highs.

It is deadly for those who try it, for many who try it, and it's not sustainable for Europe, Aamann said. So, our full determination is to close that route or at least very significantly reduce the number of irregular migrants using that route. In terms of resources that we are ready to put into it, its quite significant.

FILE - Migrants who'd attempted to flee to Europe wait in Libyan coast guard detention in the coastal city of Tripoli, Libya, May 16, 2016. The country's civil war has created openings for extremists, which Western governments hope to halt.

Aamann said the European Union has already trained about 90 Libyan coast guard members as part of its Operation Sophia, a joint naval operation meant to stop human smugglers. The new plan includes efforts to block smuggling routes.

Further training for coast guard forces is expected to take place in Europe and the European Union is prepared to spend more out of its Trust Fund for Africa if needed.

I believe that it will not be money that is the problem, it is all the other operational issues and also the situation in Libya of course that complicates this, he said, speaking to VOA from a summit in Malta. But the objective of reducing the number, saving lives is very clear and the determination is full.

MSF: Strategy leaves migrants in 'inhumane' camps

But some human rights groups disagree with the strategy, saying it is a plan that will only leave migrants in squalid Libyan detention centers.

In a string of tweets during the EU heads of state summit, Doctors Without Borders or Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) which has conducted a maritime rescue program, denounced the plan. The group tweeted: hypothetically, blocking people in Libya would prevent them from drowning. In reality, it would condemn them to slow death.

Giorgia Girometti, field communication manager for MSF in Italy, told VOA that MSF has sent people to visit detention centers in Tripoli and provide medical assistance. She called the conditions at the centers really undignified and inhumane.

There is lack of water and there is no space to sleep on the ground, and you have all type of skin disease and also breath disease [respiratory infections], she said.

Girometti has spent time on board MSF search and rescue vessels and heard stories of violence and sexual abuse against migrants in Libya.

For sure, blocking them in national Libyan waters by the Libyan coast guard and pushing them back on Libyan shores is really, really not a good solution, she said.

Is Tripoli an effective partner?

Another criticism of the EU program is that it is reliant on Libyas Government of National Accord based in Tripoli. This government, although backed by the United Nations, does not control much of the countrys coastline. It is opposed by a group of former Libyan parliamentarians based in the eastern city of Tobruk who are led militarily by General Khalifa Haftar.

Other rebel groups control areas of the country, among them IS, which until recently boasted control of some territory around the city of Sirte.

Sub-Saharan migrants crowd a rubber boat as they are rescued by members of Proactive Open Arms NGO, in the Mediterranean Sea, about 22 miles north of Zumarah, Libya, Jan. 27, 2017. Italy's coast guard, meanwhile, says it picked up about 1,000 migrants.

Aamann said, for this reason, the European Union is working with multiple aid agencies present in Libya, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.N. refugee agency.

So we dont only rely on the Libyan government who everybody knows is in a terribly difficult situation, but we also take a number of other steps," he said.

In December, the European Union launched a $21 million program to assist migrants stuck in Libya. The program, implemented by the IOM, aims to improve conditions in detention centers and assist with repatriating migrants to their home countries.

Additionally, the new deal aims to support local communities that are on migration routes and provide assistance to generate better socio-economic conditions.

See the original post:
Opinions Differ on EU Deal with Libya to Curb Migration - Voice of America

Ross Kemp has visited Libya for his new documentary

Actor Ross Kemp has said the UK has a responsibility to help with the migrant crisis in Libya.

The soap star-turned-film maker visited the country for his latest documentary, which follows the journey migrants make through the Sahara desert as part of efforts to reach Europe.

In an article for the Radio Times, the former EastEnders star called on Europe and Britain to do more "given our role in the country's decline into chaos".

Kemp said his visit left him without much "hope," adding there was little NGO (non-governmental organisation) or aid presence.

"The country is divided with three competing governments and even they can't control the hundreds of armed militias that have sprung up since the end of Gaddafi's dictatorship," he said.

"In this chaos, migrants are not only lacking in any legal or practical protection but they also represent a huge source of income to unscrupulous smuggling gangs."

He describes the situation as a " kind of modern-day slave trade".

"Women are often trafficked into prostitution. The smugglers tell them they are going to Italy before selling them to brothel owners where they are subjected to indefinite rape and assault, with little chance of escape."

Kemp, who was filming for the Sky series Ross Kemp: Extreme World, added: " It seems nobody wants them. Not their own countries, Libya or Europe. European leaders, under pressure to reduce the number of people entering their countries as migrants, have signed a new deal with Libya, but far from helping people to escape, the EU deal is aimed at keeping them there.

"Can we really consider this an acceptable solution to such a horrific situation?"

:: This week's Radio Times is on sale today.

Continue reading here:
UK has a responsibility to help migrant crisis in Libya says Ross Kemp - Irvine Times

The parliamentary select committee investigating alleged mismanagement at Uganda Telecom will soon travel to Libya in line with the inquiry.

The MPs will interface with some of the companys board members who live in Libya and also perform other duties connected to the probe.The MPs will also travel to Dubai on a similar mission.

LAP-Green, a subsidiary of Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company holds 69% majority shareholding in UTL while the Ugandan Government holds a minority 31%.

Uganda Telecom has for long been in a financial crisis and there are claims that the Libyans are seeking to sell its shares to a US Based Investor.

Last week, the committee toured the UTL assets in Mukono and Tororo districts and found that some of the company land had been sold off illegally.

The MPs are also expected to meet the Prime Minister, the Managing Director of National Social Security Fund, which UTL owes billions of shillings in unremitted employee benefits, the line ministries and also interface with those who bought or leased UTL land.

Committee chairman, Chua West MP Okin Ojara also told NTV that the MPs will also seek to understand why the number of UTL subscribers has dropped significantly over the years.

Late last year, senior UTL executives were barred from leaving the country as the investigations began. The probe committee recently found that UTL is indebted to the tune of 700 billion shillings.

Read the original post:
UTL probe committee to travel to Libya and Dubai - NTV Uganda

Mayors from Libyas desert south to its northern shores fear a deal between Tripoli and Rome to fund migrant holding centers in this north African country will simply shift Europes migration crisis onto Libyan soil.

The Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy has become the main crossing point for asylum seekers and economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Last year, Italy recorded its record number of arrivals and many migrants drowned at sea.

The deal foresees European Union money for holding centers in towns and cities along the main human trafficking routes crisis-crossing Libya, as well as training and equipment to fight the smugglers.

Reuters contacted Libyan mayors to hear their reactions to the deal, and they were not positive.

Our priority is to support our own sons instead of allowing for illegal migrants in centers, said Hamed Al-Khyali, mayor of the southern city of Sabha, a migrant smuggling hub.

If the Europeans want to allow them to stay, they can have them in their own lands, which are larger, but not in Libya, because we have our own problems to take care of.

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, enabling smuggling gangs to develop entrenched networks.

Smugglers typically demand thousands of dollars from migrants for a risky journey across the desert before cramming them onto ill-equipped boats for a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. An estimated 4,500 migrants drowned in 2016.

The agreement will depend heavily on the cooperation of local authorities along the smuggling routes because the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli exerts little effective control over much of the country.

Several mayors said they were not notified of the accord before it was struck.

Reuters

Read more:
Libya Mayors Express Concern Over Europe's Migration Crisis - CHANNELS TELEVISION