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Factional splits may hamper Libyan unity govt’s push for control
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] In its first days in Tripoli...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , Libya’s UN-backed unity government has tried to impose its authority swiftly by ordering a freeze on ministry budgets and securing the prime minister’s office with the help of a powerful armed brigade. A violent reaction by hostile militias has so far not materialised as feared. And from a heavily guarded naval base, the new government’s leaders have begun charting the sprawling North African state’s economic recovery in conjunction with the central bank and the National Oil Corporation (NOC). But they still face a daunting task as they strive to unify and rebuild fractured institutions, boost oil production, and disband or absorb armed brigades that have established power bases while drawing on public salaries. Those steps will be crucial not only to the government’s survival, but also to countering ISIS bully boyz that have seized some pockets of Libya and to rescuing an economy in free fall due to reduced oil output and crude prices. The unity government’s leadership, or Presidential Council, arrived in Libya last Wednesday without securing the formal approval of either of the country’s rival parliaments based in Tripoli and in the east of the country. It has relied instead on the support or acquiescence of armed brigades that have controlled the capital since 2014, and earlier backed the self-declared National Salvation government. But that same support risks stiffening opposition to the unity cabinet in Libya’s east, the base of the National Salvation government’s political adversaries and powerful anti-Islamist military commander Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... They may fear a western coup by their armed, Islamist-leaning rivals in Tripoli and the powerful port city of Misrata. Aguila Saleh, president of the eastern parliament, hinted at such concerns when he said on Saturday that statements by some members of the Presidential Council "suggest they are not comfortable with the military". "We will not allow the unity government to be under the control of militias in Tripoli," he said. Posted by: Fred 2016-04-05 |
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