Libya: “Unity” does not hold an official meeting of the “Arab Ministry”

While it was considered a “diplomatic and political defeat” for the interim government of Libyan “unity” led by Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, only 7 Arab countries, among the 22 Arab League members, plus its general secretariat, participated at the meeting held yesterday in the capital, Tripoli.

Al-Dabaiba’s government and its Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush failed to provide the legal quorum needed to formalize the proceedings of the ministerial-level “Arab Ministerial” meeting for the 158th session.

Instead, the Dabaiba government was forced to define the meeting as “consultative” after the notable absence of most of the Arab foreign ministers, as attendance was limited to delegations from “Algeria, Tunisia, Qatar, Palestine, the Sultanate of Oman, Sudan and Comoros ”, as well as the head of mission of the United Nations, and a representative of the African Union.

Al-Mangoush’s speech at the meeting reflected his government’s dissatisfaction with the failure of its efforts to turn the meeting into an Arab acknowledgment of its legitimacy, in the face of the parallel stability government installed by Parliament, as he said: “The unity government insists on exercising its full rights in the Arab League and refuses to politicize its statutes.”

She addressed the audience, saying, “Welcome to those who participated for the sake of Arab solidarity, which has been lacking for years in the safe and stable capital, Tripoli.” Arab with Libya, which has become a tangible reality”.

Al-Mangoush winked on the television channel of foreign ministers, who were absent from the meeting, saying: “Some have said it is too much for us to have Tripoli hosting an Arab consultative meeting, the time of which cannot exceed hours.” .

In clear lament, Al-Mangoush said, “We wanted Arab countries to support the process of holding elections and sponsor the democratic transition.”

After stating that there are Arab attempts working to break the will of the Libyans and hinder international efforts to achieve stability and hold elections in Libya, Al-Mangoush said, “We do not accept any skepticism from some Arab countries about Libya’s ability to host an Arab meeting.” He stated that “there are attempts to prevent Libya.” to win Arab support for his cause.

He called on the Arab League to support the United Nations mission in Libya to hold elections and end the transition phases, underlining the unity government’s insistence that the Arab League play a role in stabilizing Libya.

He also called on Arab countries to support Libya after what he described as the Arab League’s support for international intervention in the country in 2011, and said his government “has ended the fighting for the first time in 10 years and has provided basic services to all citizens”, considering that “the Libyan economy has become promising for development to be a gateway to stability” in the country”.

Al-Mangoush has renewed his government’s commitment to hold elections, end the transition phases and prevent the country from sliding into chaos.

In turn, the United Nations envoy, Abdullah Batili, considered that the solidarity of the Arab countries is necessary for the security and stability of Libya and for the stability of the entire region. He called on all parties active on the Libyan scene to “take responsibility for finding solutions as soon as possible”.

He added: “The time has come for Libyan leaders to find a Libyan-Libyan solution to the crisis that has been going on for years and to return to elections to form bodies that have the legitimacy to support progress, so that Libya can return to its position as part of the UN family”, indicating “the Libyans’ agreement to support the electoral process” and their hope to benefit from their resources.

After the opening session, Al-Mangoush announced the start of a closed session to discuss the agenda for the meeting, for which Dbeibeh’s government’s Interior Ministry released images of the security posts within the administrative and security domain of the capital, Tripoli, as part of preparations to secure the meeting at Al-Nasr Forest Halls Complex in Tripoli.

The Tunisian Foreign Minister, Othman Al-Jarandi, was the first to arrive the day before yesterday evening at Mitiga international airport, whose administration announced that it would operate normally, noting that due to the meeting some roads leading to the airport were closed, except for a road from the island of Ispan to Tagoura and the airport, according to a map distributed by the airport’s Port Security Directorate.

In turn, Mohamed El-Munfi, President of the Presidency Council, said that the Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, met yesterday on the sidelines of the meeting, conveyed to him the greetings of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his willingness to promote stability in Libya and its return to its normal role. He renewed his country’s solidarity and the permanent position of the Presidential Council and the Libyan people, to embody the priorities of the current phase.

The Dabaiba Government Stabilization Support Agency has instead announced the arrest of 6 Libyans in various operations on charges of belonging to criminal gangs led by the so-called “Al-Kani”, after receiving reports from citizens concerning the return of wanted persons to their places of residence, as part of what he described as his operations aimed at imposing security and order.

Also, the day before yesterday, at his headquarters in the eastern city of Benghazi, the Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, met with the Committee for Reconstruction and Stability. He also met with the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Abd al-Razeq al-Nadouri, and the Director of the Military Inspection Department, Lieutenant General Saqr al-Jarushi.