Brotherhood attempts to thwart Libyan dialogue, disrupt solution

Mustafa Kamel

The Brotherhood in Libya is trying to disrupt any solution at home as much as possible to keep the country in a permanent state of conflict. The terrorist group seeks to dominate some state institutions in the country’s west in order to compensate for its weak presence in society and its inability to attract supporters.

Thwarted dialogue

At a time when Libyan negotiations are entering a stage of decisiveness that is expected to take place this October, through a meeting that will be an extension of the Berlin Summit that was held on January 19, there is consensus among the conflicting parties regarding the blind loyalty to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and that the political solution may bring to power forces that cut off any friendship with Ankara, especially with a number of leaders in the country’s west, including in Misrata, opening up to Egypt.

Abdurrahman al-Shater, a member of the Brotherhood-affiliated High Council of State, warned that Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh would assume the presidency of the new Presidential Council, because he is working to disrupt the two memoranda of understanding regarding security and maritime demarcation that were signed between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey. Shater tweeted that the current and future political dialogues target the GNA’s alliance with Turkey, considering that the United Nations’ registration of the two memoranda of understanding does not prevent them from being suspended by the Libyan side if Saleh takes over the presidency of the new Presidency Council.

The Brotherhood seeks to thwart any rapprochement and direct dialogues between Libyans, which is conclusive evidence that it does not want to end the conflict.

Despite the small number of Brotherhood members in Libya, which does not exceed the hundreds, they control the joints of the state in the capital, Tripoli, and have been seeking for some time to pass the draft constitution, which they consider to be the closest to the Tunisian constitution that was ratified in 2014 to serve the interests of the Brotherhood-backed Ennahda movement by establishing a hybrid political system and an electoral system that does not resolve the issue of obtaining power except through coalitions.

Future of the Libyan solution

On the other hand, the Libyan solution negotiations are entering a decisive stage, expected to occur this October, as representatives of the United Nations, European Union, African Union and Arab League will participate in a meeting scheduled for mid-October, in addition to the United States, Germany, Britain, France, China, Turkey, the UAE, Congo, Italy, Egypt and Algeria. The meeting will be supervised by the United Nations and Germany and will look into various issues related to the political solution, the outcomes of the Berlin Summit, and preparing for Libyan-Libyan dialogue.

Media reports revealed that the dialogue will be moved from Geneva to the tourist resort on the Tunisian island of Djerba due to the desire of Libyan and regional parties, while Italy proposed that Geneva be replaced by the Maltese capital, Valletta, which was supported by the GNA and Turkey before Djerba was chosen.

Meanwhile, Washington has placed all its weight to ensure the success of the meeting and political dialogue that will produce new powers to lead the transitional phase in Libya. The US embassy in Libya announced last Friday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed his country would use all its diplomatic weapons to achieve stability in Libya and engage in a political process that leads to a solution to the crisis there.

Those behind the scenes in the Libyan dialogue said it was likely that an agreement would be reached on assigning Aguila Saleh, from the Cyrenaica region, to head the Presidency Council, while debate continues over the figure that will be chosen from the Tripoli region to head the government.

In the event that this consensus is reached, the reunification of the House of Representatives will be announced, with the presidency devolving to one of its members who hail from the southern province of Fezzan. A parliament session would also be held during which confidence would be granted to a national unity government, as well as the dissolution of the tasks of the GNA in Tripoli and the interim government in the east of the country.

German Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Günter Sautter said that there are a number of encouraging developments, including the security talks that took place in Egypt, the agreement on the political transition, and oil exports. He pointed out that there are many problems that have to be solved, specifically the ceasefire and the future of the political process in Libya.

The meeting comes within the framework of efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the commitments made during the Berlin Summit held in January, as well as to assess the situation in the country and to urge further progress in implementing the outcomes of the Berlin Summit.

It is expected that, before the end of October, the formation of a new presidential council will be announced, consisting of a president, two vice presidents, and a national unity government that includes independents from Libya’s three historical regions, provided that they start their work from the city of Sirte, which will be the country’s temporary capital.