Internationally recognized Libyan government rejects UN peace plan draft

The internationally recognized government of Libya, the House of Representatives(HoR)based in Tobruk has decisively rejected the fourth draft peace plan presented by UN special envoy Bernardino Leon.

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The draft was presented at talks in Morocco but the participants then went to Berlin where they were joined by a host of western officials and representatives from the 5 permanent members of the UN security council. The Tobruk representatives went even though they were instructed not to go and it was made clear that they went only in their personal capacity. Nevertheless they sat down face to face with their rival representatives from the Tripoli government and Leon claimed the attitude was positive. The Tobruk government is incensed at the power the new draft gives to the rival government. The third draft had given very little power to the Tripoli government and was soundly rejected by that government. Now the tables are turned. What is surprising is that the UN would go ahead with negotiations in Berlin when the Tobruk government had already rejected the draft and called their representatives back for consultation.

There appears to be tremendous pressure on the Tobruk government to take the fourth draft as suitable for reaching a deal. The Tobruk government may play along by suggesting amendments they know will not be acceptable to Tripoli. Any failure of the negotiations can then be blamed upon Tripoli rather than Tobruk. Spokesperson for the HoR, Faraj Bohashim, said that the Tobruk government rejected any sharing of power with the State Council as would be the case in the present plan.Yet this report says:Despite rejecting the UN plan for a first time on Tuesday, the house of representatives went on to send delegates to talks in Berlin with world powers on Wednesday. After that meeting, it rejected the proposal again on Thursday. As the internationally recognised government in Libya, the house of representatives must sign off on the peace deal for it to be legally binding.

This account contradicts several other reports that made it clear that the Tobruk government was not sending representatives to the Berlin talks and that indicate quite clearly that they were going just as individuals.

The new draft is complicated. The prime minister would be chosen not by the House of Representatives nor the State Council but by the Libya Dialogue, who are the 23 Libyan delegates to the peace talks. Critics doubt that the group could agree on a president and even if they did, one or the other government could very well reject the decision. The Tobruk government already disowned its delegates at least for a short period! The Tripoli government and parties associated with it have reacted quite positively to the draft since compared to the third draft they are given more power.

The spokesperson for the HoR, Faraj Abuhashim, --or Bohashim in other reports- explains in detail here why the HoR rejects the UN fourth draft. His explanation of why the HoR representatives to the peace talks did not come home for consultation rather than go on to further talks and an agreement in Berlin has parts that are incoherent: Regarding the HoR’s negotiating team ignoring the HoR’s instructions not to travel to Berlin and return home, Abuhashim denied tensions or splits within the Tobruk-based legislative body, saying that they had not received the instructions until after they had departed Morocco.The delegates may not have received their instructions before leaving for Berlin but once there they could surely receive the information that the HoR had rejected the draft and that they were there only as individuals. The idea that there is no split or tensions between the delegates and the HoR is just nonsense manufactured to satisfy western pressure to be positive.

The media has nothing to say about a parallel agreement between the military forces of Tripoli, the Libya Dawn militia mainly, and the armed forces of the Tobruk government headed by Khalifa Haftar. Haftar has refused to meet with Libya Dawn and vowed he will never agree to a ceasefire with them. Even Leon has admitted that without the military agreement any political agreement is doomed. Why is it no one is even talking about this issue?

UN seeks Libya peace deal by June 17 claims UN Special Envoy

After briefing the UN Security Council on the UN-sponsored dialogues in Libya designed to have the two rival governments agree on a unity government, Bernardino Leon, the UN Special Envoy, said he hopes to reach a deal by June 17.

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Earlier, he had expected to have reached a deal already. However, his third draft proposal for a unity government was rejected by the Tobruk government. In his remarks to reporters after the briefing, Leon noted he had already heard from both parties. He said some responses were critical and others negative. He claimed his group was listening to the responses and trying to improve the draft to reach a consensus. Leon said:We all know very well and the actors involved in the dialogue know very well that there is no military solution. So, the fighting you can see in the country is mainly affecting the political dialogue and intended to hamper the political dialogue. This is what both of these actors are trying to do and this is why I explained to the Security Council that we need to start with the security track as soon as possible, we are trying to start first meeting as soon as next week.

Leon said he wanted to have face to face meetings as soon as possible.

It is not at all clear how Leon will be able to initiate the security track. The political groups must have enough leverage to force the military forces on either side to the bargaining table. There is little evidence that either side has such leverage. In the case of the Tobruk government, perhaps western governments have sufficient leverage but even that appears uncertain. Khalifa Haftar, contrary to the UN opinion, believes there is a military solution and has consistently rejected any dialogue with the Libya Dawn militia, the main military force associated with the rival Tripoli government:Operation Dignity has rejected an invitation from UN Special Envoy Bernardino Leon to join in the military platform of the Dialogue process. It says it is part of the regular army, not a militia, and that it takes its instructions only from the General Staff and the head of the armed forces. It complained that Leon was treating it as just another militia. It did not negotiate or get involved in talks with militias, a spokesman said on Karama TV.

Operation Dignity was begun by Haftar back in May of last year. To a considerable extent Operation Dignity was the beginning of the conflict between the two rival forces that continues to this day. Haftar started by vowing to rid Libya of Islamists — or at least those opposed to him — and began by attacking two Islamist militia bases in Benghazi, but later the Operation burned down the parliament building in Tripoli. The government with the present prime minister of the Tobruk government, Abdullah Al-Thinni in charge, condemned Haftar's actions as illegal. Now the same Al-Thinni and his government give full support to Operation Dignity and have made Haftar commander of the Libyan National Army. Haftar is correct about Operation Dignity no longer being a militia. It is part and parcel of the Libyan armed forces and has the support of the Tobruk government. The UN wants to pretend that there are two militias involved and that somehow the Libyan army is a separate entity not involved in the conflict of the two parties. But Haftar is correct and the UN distinction makes no sense at all, but obscures the situation. Leon should be attempting to have discussions between Haftar as commander of the Libyan National Army and Libya Dawn as the two main actors in the security dialogue. It really does not matter that the Libyan National Army is not a militia, it is the armed force that is fighting with the forces allied with the Tripoli government. In any event, Haftar believes there is a military solution to the conflict and that is what he is pursuing. How Leon plans to get Haftar together with representatives of Libya Dawn for a security dialogue is not at all clear.

On one issue at least Libya Dawn and Haftar agree. Neither will agree to a dialogue with the other. Last Saturday, Libya Dawn rejected a call to join in a dialogue to end the crisis. They even demanded that the UN withdraw Bernardino Leon from Libya and called for demonstrations against the UN:"We demand the Libyans to demonstrate on Friday afternoon in all squares and fields to show Leon, the United Nations and all the conspirators against our people and our blessed revolution that confused the balance of all the world powers."Along with the GNC Tripoli government, the militia angrily reject the terms of the third draft of a unity government presented by Leon to the two parties. In particular they reject giving sole legitimacy to the Tobruk House of Representatives(HoR) ignoring the Supreme Court ruling that the elections for the HoR were unconstitutional and the HoR should be dissolved.

Leon was asked a question at the news conference after his briefing to the UN about the rejection of his draft agreement by the Tripoli government. Leon said he had talked about their rejection with them and noted that they did agree with some parts of the agreement and that they were continuing with the dialogue process and interested in improving the proposal. He also said that in talking with the representatives in Tripoli that they had been critical but not as negative as some of the reactions in public.

Leon also said that the continued fighting within Libya was of concern to the UN and the international community: At least for the moment, you can’t see any of the military actors strong enough to impose completely on the other. So, it is true that there is fighting everywhere in the country, but at the same time it is enforcing our argument that the only solution is political.The current president of the UN Security Council said members of the council had repeated their readiness to use sanctions against people trying to block the peace process. As I discussed in an earlier article General Haftar has continually snubbed his nose at the UN, calling the dialogue talks with terrorists, and claiming he would never talk with rival militias. He remains untouched. Now Libya Dawn has also thwarted the peace process and refused to cooperate. So where are those sanctions?

UN peace talks on Libya resume in Morocco

The UN Security Council has called for those taking part in the UN-sponsored peace talks to agree to the formation of a unity government as soon as possible.

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In a statement issued on April 13th the Council said:"Expressing deep concern about the continuing violence in Libya, the members of the Security Council reaffirmed that there can be no military solution to the crisis in Libya and called on all parties to cease hostilities to create a peaceful and conducive environment for an inclusive dialogue,The members of the Security Council strongly urged all Libyan stakeholders participating in the talks to agree on arrangements on the formation of a National Unity Government to end Libya's political, security and institutional crisis,"The statement also threatened restrictions on any parties that "obstruct or undermine" a political transition or threaten the country's stability of security.

CIA-linked Khalifa Haftar, who commands the armed forces of the internationally recognized Libyan government — the House of Representatives based in Tobruk — knows these threats are idle applied to him. Haftar has consistently thumbed his nose at the UN. He bombed Tripoli just before a first set of peace talks, and said there should be no talks with terrorists — his name for the rival government and the Libya Dawn militia. As with Egyptian president Abdel el-Sisi, Haftar wants to purify Libya of Islamists of all stripes including the Muslim Brotherhood, now declared a terrorist organization in Egypt. El-Sisi is a strong supporter of Haftar and may have given him air support along with the UAE. Just before a subsequent set of talks Haftar bombed a Tripoli airport, delaying the departure of representatives from Tripoli to the talks in Morocco. When the talks began he started a military offensive to try to retake Tripoli from the rival government. What did the UN or the Security Council do? There were bleating noises from the UN complaining that "the parties" must cease fighting. There are more talks scheduled for Wednesday April 15th in Morocco again but the whole process seems surreal as The Al-Thinni government is pursuing a military policy. Haftar has said explicitly just recently that there will be no ceasefire with the militia and that would include the Libya Dawn militia the main armed forces of the Tripoli government.

While the Security Council insists that there is no military solution in Libya only a political solution Haftar thinks differently.He has changed his tune slightly on the talks and does not reject them entirely but is sceptical of any agreement being a success. If the talks fail he is "betting on a military solution." That may be a good bet. Prime minister al-Thinni is off to Moscow hoping to gain support including arms. Just recently the Obama administration released $1.3 billion to Egypt in military aid to fight terrorism. Some of that aid could be sent to Libya. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Al-Thinni government is in Washington lobbying for support.

A recent UN news release warned the parties about taking any action that would jeopardize the neutrality of key institutions:In this regard, UNSMIL calls on the parties to safeguard the national institutions by refraining from taking any steps that could compromise the neutrality of these institutions that are crucial for Libya’s economic survival.

The Al-Thinni government recently fired the head of the Central Bank of Libya that has remained neutral between the two governments. This is the second try as the Al-Thinni government took the same action last September. The headquarters of the bank is in Tripoli and it carried on as before. Even more serious is the setting up of a new oil company in the east. The existing National Oil Company has been neutral as well collecting receipts from oil exports from areas controlled by both governments and depositing the money in the Central Bank. Now the Tobruk government has set up a National Oil Company in the east. It is intending to open bank accounts and offices in other countries bypassing the National Oil Company. The UN has not commented on these actions as yet nor has the Security Council announced it is imposing sanctions on Al-Thinni or Haftar for their actions that do precisely what they have been warned not to do.

While the UN envoy, Bernardino, is ever optimistic about the success of talks, it is difficult to see why. There is little on offer for the Tripoli government in the plans for the unity government. The Libya government would recognize the legitimacy of the House of Representatives and the only real input the Tripoli government would have is to agree on the presidential council of three. The Libya Observer notes on April 8:The member of the GNC dialogue team, Mohammed Mouzeb said yesterday that the team intends not to propose any names for the government of national unity in the upcoming dialogue rounds in Morocco. Mouzeb, in his statement to Anadolu Agency, anticipated that the GNC would likely abandon the dialogue table in reaction to the military escalation by the other party, considering it a violation of the truce.It seems unlikely that the two parties could agree on three persons acceptable to both sides but in Libya anything appears possible.

Haftar and Tobruk government sabotaging UN-sponsored peace talks

The UN and western powers simply refuse to face the fact that the internationally recognized government of Abdullah al-Thinni in Tobruk and his newly minted CIA-linked military chief Khalifa Haftar are on a mission to recapture Tripoli.

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The UN Support Mission in Libya(UNSMIL) and the UN envoy Bernardino Leon have warned the two governments, one in Tobruk and the other in Tripoli not to bomb or battle as this conflicted with the peace talks and the transition to democracy. In response, the Tobruk government bombed the one functioning airport in Tripoli before earlier talks and again on Thursday just as the Tripoli government representatives were ready to fly to Rabat Morooco for the talks. The talks had to be postponed until Friday. Since then the same Tobruk government and allied forces have tried to advance on Tripoli and there have been further air strikes on Tripoli.The Al-Thinni government proudly announced that "forces linked to General Khalifa Haftar have launched a military offensive to "liberate" Tripoli. On its Facebook page the government said: "The government salutes the operations launched by army units south of Tripoli which constitute the start of an offensive to liberate Tripoli and its suburbs,"So instead of doing as requested by the UN, the Tobruk government is launching a military offensive, not against the Islamic State but against the Tripoli government, a government that the Supreme Court of Libya recognizes while declaring the Tobruk House of Representatives should be dissolved since it was the result of an unconstitutional election last June.

The dialogue is intended to lead the formation of a unity government and a cease fire as well. The talks are still going on. Originally, Leon hoped an agreement would be signed and announced today March 22, but this has been postponed until at least tomorrow. Leon said that reaching an agreement was "going to be difficult". Leon had already commented on the beginning of the offensive on Friday directed toward the capital saying: "[On Friday] we had a new military operation against Tripoli precisely during decisive moments of the talks and our reaction today is as strong as it was in the past.Military activities undermine the situation in Libya and prevent the unity of the Libyans fighting terrorism. This operation we condemn in the strongest possible terms because it's undermining dialogue."The strong reaction is a tongue-lashing UN-style that refuses even to name who is the object of the lashing. No doubt there will be more condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the renewed bombing of Tripoli. However Al Jazeera's reporter, Hashem Ahelbarra, said that the international community will hold "whoever is held responsible for undermining the political process by launching more attacks in Libya is going to be targeted by UN sanctions". It is clear that it is Haftar's armed forces, commander of the Tobruk government recognized by that same international community, who is bombing Tripoli and launching an offensive against the rival government. Prime Minister al-Thinni is bombing his own people. When Gaddafi did that the international community was up in arms and committed to regime change and the measures needed to ensure that right away.

Tomorrow, Leon is to leave for Brussels where there are talks with representatives from municipalities and other political stakeholders. Who exactly they are has never been publicized. The representatives of the two rival governments will remain in Morocco to draft plans for a unity government and a cease fire. Given that the Tobruk government is busy launching a military offensive, it is not clear what relevance the dialogue has except that it provides a convenient platform for western governments to support to show that their hearts are in the right place.

Western powers have strongly supported resumption of the peace talks. They see a unity government as a much better way to tackle the Islamic State in Libya than supporting Haftar's campaign against all Islamists and the Tripoli government. Taking Haftar's route would lead to civil war. A joint statement by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Britain and the US said:We call on the Libyan political leaderships to act responsibly and to make clear their support for the dialogue and call on them to exercise authority over military and militia leaders and ensure civilian oversight and control of their actions and disavow military actions not taken in that framework,”Have they not noticed that the Tobruk government has given its full support for the bombing of Tripoli and the offensive against Tripoli while the peace talks are ongoing. So far neither side has even talked directly to the other. The Tripoli group are willing to do so but the Tobruk representatives refuse direct talks unless the other side recognizes them as the sole legitimate government. Even if an agreement is reached on a unity government and a cease fire by the dialogue group, there is almost no chance Haftar will agree. If the Al-Thinni government objects, they may find that Haftar burns down the Tobruk House of Representatives as he did the Tripoli parliament before when al-Thinni was head of the GNC transitional government.