The UN envoy to Libya said Wednesday that the Libya national army could be dismantled in order to shore up the Government of National Accord (GNA) which he himself described as lacking “national legitimacy”.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday in Cairo, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler confirmed reports that there is a discussion going on related to the formation of military councils representing the main three regions of Libya.
AP did not say whether Kobler has received any positive response to his latest ploy after holding talks with various Libyan figures in Cairo.
But he said “the army cannot be rebuilt until the various militias disband and hand over their weapons, but that this should be done through negotiations so as not to risk a ‘civil war’,” as reported by AP.
Kobler efforts to unify Libyan political forces under a government of national accord will face difficulties, especially as he has lately been strong criticism by conflicting parities in Libya for lack of transparency and his ‘cocky’ attitude when it comes to the wishes of the Libyan people.
Mr. Kobler insisted, however, that “forming regional councils may help entice the militias to disband,” a goal that he and his predecessor, Bernardino Leon, did not push through during a full year and a half of the Libyan National Dialogue sponsored by the UN.
But he says he still favors a “united Libyan army structure.” “You can’t have a united Libya with two or three armies,” he said as quoted by AP.
Kobler also said that although the unity government is strongly backed by foreign powers it has not overcome its lack of “national legitimacy”.
Only last week that the GNA headed by Faiz Sarraj was able to move to the government offices in Tripoli. Since it entered Tripoli on a boat on 30 March the government spent more than three months in a makeshift shelter in a navy base in the downtown.
Such failure of the UN-backed cabinet has cast doubt on a roadmap under which the unity government was to steer the country through a political transition for up to two years until a new constitution is approved setting guidelines for presidential and parliamentary elections.
“There is political stalemate, and the security is not good, and there are grave humanitarian problems in the country,” Kobler confessed to AP.
When asked whether he met the Commander of the Libyan Army Gen. Khalifa Hifter in Cairo as both men crossed paths there, Kobler said “his requests for a meeting with Hifter have been denied”.
MP Tareq Jaroushi confirmed that the two men did not meet in Cairo. He told Bawabat al-Waset newspaper that Hifter “did not have time for political horse-trading and that he was following the battle against the terrorist column that moving against Benghazi”.
As the GNA’s failure has become increasingly obvious despite the UN backing, Hifter’s popularity in western Libya soared though not in pubic. Another reason behind the increasing popularity is the failure of the UN mission to bring peace and stability to the country.
tripolipost.com
