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| Africa North |
| Haftar and Al-Sirraj agree on nation-wide ceasefire, elections |
| 2017-07-26 |
| [Libya Observer] In a joint presser in Gay Paree suburbs on Tuesday evening, the Prime Minister of the UN-proposed government Fayez al-Sirraj and the commander of Dignity Operation forces, 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... - under the auspices of La Belle France's President Emmanuel Macron - announced coming to terms on a ceasefire across Libya. The announcement came following a tripartite meeting for Macron, Haftar and al-Sirraj at La Celle Saint-Cloud outside Gay Paree, where afterwards the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame joined the talks. In the presser, the final statement of the meeting was read and contained ten points that are meant to regulate the agreement. Most importantly, Haftar and al-Sirraj both agreed on elections, promising to provide the needed environment for the House of Representatives and the High council of State as well as the High National Commission for Elections to prepare for the polls. "We vow to start preparing for the elections as soon as possible under the supervision of the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... ." The statement indicates. The statement also says that there will be no military solutions in Libya, but rather political solutions through national reconciliation that is inclusive of all parties, adding that using military power is not allowed by any party except for fighting terrorism. It also called for withdrawing weapons and releasing the fighters then returning them to their civilian ordinary lives, indicating that both parties will do their best to allow the fighters (who wish so) in the official forces of the Libyan state. "Libyan army will be made of the official troops that can defend the country as per article 33 of the LPA." The final statement says. "We vow to build a civilian democratic country that respects all national and international laws, agrees to circulate power peacefully, and has unified institutions especially the Central Bank of Libya, Libyan Investment Authority, and the National Oil corporation." The statement reads. Both al-Sirraj and Haftar said that they will be acting as per the Libyan Political Agreement signed in Skhirat, Morocco on December 17, 2015, saying they will keep dialogue channels to resume the work of Abu Dhabi meeting that was held on May 03, 2017. "We are working on a strategy for security in Libya that will see all current security and military units joined under one body to combat illegal immigration, human trafficking and other violations via Libya's borders." The final statement explains. The final statement ended with a call on the Security Council of the UN to support the outcome of Gay Paree Meeting, which was described in the presser by the French President as historic, by mandating Ghassan Salame to do the needed talks to rally the parties around this new step. |
| Posted by:Fred |