The Libyan people, united thanks to their National Army
In the city of Benghazi, the authorities and citizens, from the Presidency of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives, the Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor's Office, the universities and the Libyan News Agency, praise the work carried out by their Armed Forces, under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Security and stability
In a constant combat effort to eradicate the terrorist operations of Daesh and al-Qaeda and organized crime, the objective of the Libyan National Army is to achieve internal stability, guarantee peace and sovereignty and prevent the activities of the mafias that traffic in people, arms or drugs. This is something it has achieved in the 80% of the territory in the east, north and south of the country it controls under the rule of the Parliament and the Government in Benghazi.
International experts, including Spaniards, are collaborating with the training of units of the Libyan National Army in immigration control, drone management and special operations. The Libyan authorities offer extensive cooperation to the countries of the Mediterranean basin in all sectors.
Currently, the threat of terrorist groups trying to operate from countries with its southern border was the protagonist of the latest attack in Tripoli: the assassination attempt on Minister Adel Jomaa on Tuesday 12th February.
In Benghazi, a group of Spanish journalists witnessed the prevailing security in the east of the country, as well as the enthusiasm and desire for recovery and reconstruction of the Libyan people. There are sufficient resources for the whole country to live in prosperity.
According to the intervention of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Hadi Al-Hawaij, in a private meeting with the group of Spanish journalists, it is clear that the Libyan National Army is defending the majority of the population from possible terrorist acts, illegal migration, drug trafficking and human trafficking: ‘The supreme head of the Armed Forces is the Parliament, the House of Representatives of Libya’. ‘Libya is the gateway to Africa and what happens here will affect the rest of the world’.
The head of Libyan diplomacy explains that, being a native of Tripoli, he works in Benghazi because it offers him security and the laws allow him to move around with total freedom.
The head of Foreign Affairs, key to a new diplomatic identity, is creating friendship groups and consensual agreements between parliamentarians, in turn granting space to the foreign business community: ‘We are preparing the infrastructure for a giant project in Libya and Spain is absent. The plane is about to take off and the Spanish government doesn't even have a boarding pass’.
In this regard, he denies that a Russian base is being set up in Libya. ‘The opening of foreign military bases is not on our roadmap,’ says the minister. ‘We have collaboration agreements on a one-to-one basis, under the premise of mutual respect,’ he says.
Spain-Libya
Asked about current Spanish-Libyan relations, Dr Abdul Hadi Al-Hawaij reiterates that he is extending a hand to Pedro Sánchez's government, provided that the Libyan military institution is not damaged and is considered to be the Libyan National Army and not a militia.
He is confident that the discrepancies arising from this erroneous assessment of the Armed Forces, which have rid Libya of terrorism and guarantee peace, stability and security for all citizens and for foreign companies working on Libyan soil, such as the Spanish oil company Repsol, will be overcome.
The minister emphasises that commercial ties do not have to wait for political decisions: ‘Our government belongs to the Mediterranean basin, a space for peace’. ‘Italy works with both administrations’, the minister continues, ‘and is one of the best business interlocutors between Tripoli and Benghazi’.
It is common knowledge that Libya is divided into two governments since the end of the war in 2011. The Government of National Unity (GNU), recognised by the United Nations and the international community, controls the west of the country. The east and a large part of the north and south, some 80% of the territory, including the oil wells, are under the control of the Parliament of Benghazi, led by Osama Hamad.
Putting an end to the current division and moving forward together, in national reconciliation, is a goal alluded to by the Libyan Foreign Minister, with the interests of its citizens taking precedence over everything else: ‘We have made you, peoples and tribes, so that you may know one another,’ reads one of the verses of the Quran, mentioned by Dr Abdul Hadi Al-Hawaij.
As he explains, the Government of Tripoli has not wanted to end its mandate, nor to hold elections for the House of Representatives. As things stand, Dr Abdul Hadi Al-Hawaij qualifies that national reconciliation is close, but it depends on good security, education and health. Similarly, the dignity, independence and sovereignty of the Libyan people is the essence of a military institution that sacrifices itself for its people. There is no room for disqualification.
Carmen Chamorro, board member of CIP/ACPE and graduate in International Relations and Business Tourism from the SEI