“Al-Bilad” program on 218News discussed Friday the statements of Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush regarding mercenaries and foreign forces, and why the session of Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah sparked controversy during his interview with young people from Benghazi in a cafe?
Foreign Minister’s Remarks
The writer and researcher Mohammad El-Jarih said in his intervention on the “Al-Bilad” program: “First, it is necessary to point out who didn’t like the statement of Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush regarding the exit of the Turkish forces, which was agreed upon in Geneva last October through the ceasefire agreement, which demanded the exit of all foreign forces involved in the two sides of the conflict in Libya.
He adds, “The recent Security Council resolutions also emphasize the issue of the exit of all foreign forces that support one of the parties to the conflict.”
El-Jarih added: “This rejection came from the political Islam movement of all sects and Turkey’s allies, which think any withdrawal of the Turkish presence from Libya may represent a threat to it. Whereas, there are fears expressed by some that in the event of Turkey leaving, Al-Rajma forces may return to attack the capital.”
El-Jarih described the statements of Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush as very acceptable, and that the file of mercenaries and foreign fighters is very complicated.
He rejected what is said is that it is still too early to judge the policy of the National Unity Government, especially since it received power only forty days ago, explaining that any statement or agreement issued by this government from the first day of its assumption of power will be subject to accountability.
He continued: “We do not have time in Libya and the evidence is that ten years have been lost in chaos and wars. It is assumed that Prime Minister Dbeibah has a set of priorities that he pledged to, but what we see is that he has not committed to what he promised or is working on other directions, including alliances to disrupt the transition to the December 24 elections.
He continued: “There are several internal and external parties working to disrupt the upcoming elections, and unfortunately, in the event that the elections are postponed, the result will be a severe legal crisis in Libya that will move us from the state of relative calm in which we are living now to a new conflict situation that may be deeper and larger foreign hands threatening the Libyan entity, especially since the red lines have been drawn and this could lead to the fragmentation of Libya.
The foreign policy of Menfi
El-Jarih said Mohammed Menfi as head of the executive authority is one of its goals to unify the country and represent Libya externally, especially since the country is an arena in which the interests of states are in conflict.
Menfi’s visit to Chad Friday is important, but it is a symbolic one, and most of the leaders attending the funeral of Idriss Deby are interested in the Libyan file.
El-Jarih stressed that the ambiguous messages that Menfi sent to the military forces in the south, without specifying their identity, are intended messages by the Presidential Council so that he does not fall into embarrassment, especially since the military institution has not been unified.
Menfi deals with this matter cautiously, ensuring that the (5+5) process is not affected by such statements. This is in contrast to what Dbeibah did, for example, by recognizing Mohammed Al-Haddad as Commander-in-Chief of the Army Staff, in addition to being selected in the delegation that went to Russia.
He added, “Here, the Presidential Council must address this division and not go in the direction of any conflict that negatively affects the efforts to unify the military establishment.”
El-Jarih believes that the way in which Dbeibah manages the government in the file of foreign policy and the military establishment, which is one of the tasks of the Presidency Council, confirms that there is a difference in the way in which Dbeibah deals, which is a method that deepens the division and conflicts with efforts to unify the military establishment.
Answering the question of the “Al-Bilad” program: What is the big change that will happen on December 24th? El-Jarih said: “If we do not go to elections, there will be a legal crisis, and a return to conflict becomes inevitable. Even if we went to elections, the inevitability of conflict exists, and the evidence is the 2014 elections, which were not recognized, and the results of which are the division of the country.”
El-Jarih confirms: “The clear reading is that if we do not go to the elections, the possibility of war and conflict will be very great. That whoever wants to remain in power will obstruct the elections instead of addressing the unification of the military establishment and the militia file, collecting weapons, and not going to reconciliation.”
