In light of the initiatives put forward by Libya’s neighbours during the past two weeks, the Interior Minister of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fathi Bashagha, has said that he welcomes the initiatives seeking to end the political crisis and unify the institutions of the Libyan state so as to guarantee the sovereignty of the country.
In a tweet, Bashagha pointed out that these initiatives were welcomed if they guaranteed that the military forces were subject to civilian authority and that “war criminals who tried to seize power by force of arms” would leave the country.
On June 6th, Egypt’s President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi announced the Cairo Declaration following talks with Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the Libyan Parliament Speaker Ageela Saleh. The Egyptian initiative seeks a ceasefire between the warring parties beginning on June 8th.
The initiative hopes to progress into a UN-supervised election for a new Presidential Council. It would also see the drafting of a constitutional declaration to regulate elections for a later stage.
The Cairo Declaration was issued to renew calls for a political solution in Libya, but it received various reactions from warm welcome to downright opposition or silence as some actors were waiting to see how the latest ground developments would unfold.
The initiative obliges all foreign parties to remove foreign mercenaries from Libya, dismantle militias, and handover weapons to allow the LNA to cooperate with other security apparatuses. This would allow Libyan actors to undertake their military duty, as well as complete the path of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva.
The initiative also seeks to ensure a fair representation of Libya’s three regions in forming a presidential council to be elected by the Libyan people under the supervision of the United Nations for the first time in the country’s history.
In the same context, Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Noureddine Erray has said that the Tunisian government has prepared initiatives and proposals to address the Libyan crisis which will be presented to the UN Security Council.
Ageela Saleh also revealed during his visit to Algeria on Saturday that he had received promises from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to seek solutions with his Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts to address the Libyan crisis.