U.N.
proposes unity government for Libya's warring factions, Tripoli balks
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[October 09, 2015]
By Aziz El Yaakoubi
SKHIRAT, Morocco (Reuters) - The United
Nations proposed a national unity government to Libya's warring factions
on Thursday to end their conflict, but the deal faces resistance from
Tripoli's self-declared rulers and hardliners on the ground.
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Libya is caught up in a war between the internationally recognized
government and its elected parliament, and an unofficial government
controlling Tripoli. Each side is backed by rival alliances of armed
factions.
Four years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Western powers are
pushing for both sides to accept the U.N. accord, fearing violence
has allowed Islamist militants to gain ground and illegal migrant
smugglers to take advantage of the chaos.
Libya's recognized government has operated out of the east of the
country since last year when an armed faction called Libya Dawn took
over Tripoli, set up its own government and reinstated a former
parliament known as the GNC.
The U.N. proposal comes after months of protracted negotiations
between delegates from both sides, who have faced pressure from
hardliners and from continued fighting on the ground that has halted
part of Libya's oil production.
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Delegates from Tripoli's GNC parliament already balked at proposing
candidates for the unity government because they wanted more
amendments to the initial deal. But the U.N. proposal includes GNC
members for the government.
"The GNC decided yesterday not to propose names and to ask for more
changes in the text," U.N. envoy Bernardino Leon told reporters in
the Moroccan city of Skhirat, site of recent talks.
"The international community has been very clear that after huge
efforts to adapt the text ... It is not possible to continue to do
this."
He said the door remained open for the GNC to participate in the
proposed unity government. Both the elected House of Representatives
and the GNC in Tripoli are expected to vote on the proposal.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the proposal in a
statement issued by his media office, while urging the parties to
accept and sign the agreement.
The statement said Ban "urges Libyan leaders not to squander this
opportunity to put the country back on the path to building a state
that reflects the spirit and ambitions of the 2011 revolution".
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"Now is the time for the parties to the political dialogue to
endorse this proposal and sign the agreement without delay," Ban
said in the statement.
The deal names six candidates for key posts in the national
government. Fayez Seraj, a lawmaker from the elected House of
Representatives, would be prime minister with three deputy prime
ministers. Two senior members on a presidential council include a
GNC member.
But the proposal faces problems on the ground, including the
reaction of militant hardliners on both sides who still see the
possibility of gaining more ground through fighting.
Questions also remain about the role in the armed forces of General
Khalifa Haftar, a former Gaddafi ally who has become a divisive
figure, and over the powers of the two legislative bodies under the
national unity agreement.
Libya still has no official national army. Each side is backed by
loose alliances of former anti-Gaddafi rebels, ex-soldiers, tribal
factions and Islamist-leaning brigades, who once fought Gaddafi's
forces but have steadily turned against each other.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing
by Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait)
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