The member of the House of Representatives (HoR) Saltana Al-Mismari has revealed the reasons for the withdrawal of the group of independent figures from the political track after their arrival in Geneva to attend the dialogue sessions under the auspices of the United Nations.
Al-Mismari told “LIVE” program on 218News on Wednesday that the group of independent negotiators withdrew because of the parliament’s suspension of its participation in the political track until UNSMIL responded to the questions of the House of Representatives, so they returned to Benghazi.
She explained that her choice to participate in the Geneva talks was made at the direct invitation of the UNSMIL as part of the participants in the group of independent figures, adding that she was not selected through the House of Representatives for the electoral districts.
HoR’s Decision
Al-Mismari pointed out that her participation in the UN-led political track was out of her desire to find a solution to the crisis in the country, noting that respecting the decision of the House of Representatives was a “must”, and that a number of independent figures from Benghazi, Barqa (Cyrenaica) and Tarhouna also withdrew because they believed that the House of Representatives is an important element on the dialogue table. Shed added that they had also returned to Benghazi.
The HoR member confirmed that no meetings were held in Geneva, except for a welcome session by the UNSMIL, revealing that she had met personally with the UN envoy Ghassan Salame. She added that the UNSMIL understood the position of the independent figures.
Al-Mismari explained that the return to the political talks in Geneva will take place after consulting the parliament and knowing what the HoR decides about the participation of independent figures.
In the meantime, Hassan Al-Zarqa, a member of the House of Representatives for the Fifth Circuit “Sirte”, who was chosen by HoR to participate in Geneva dialogues, explained that he decided to return to Libya in compliance with the decision of the House of Representatives, and said that the remaining members in Geneva are either boycotters or from those assembling in Tripoli, adding that they do not represent the HoR as they only represent themselves.
Al-Zarqa told 218News that the Head of the UN mission in Libya Ghassan Salame informed him that he had verbally communicated with the HoR Speaker Aqila Saleh about the HoR’s rejection of some of the people involved in the dialogue.
