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| Africa North |
| UN: world foreign ministers beg Libya to sign the deal |
| 2015-10-04 |
| [Libya Herald] The united spirit that UN special envoy Bernardino Leon has craved throughout a year of failed Libya peace talks finally arrived today -- not from Libyan leaders, but the international community. At a conference at the UN General Assembly in New York, delegate after delegate spoke of their wish for Libya's leaders to endorse Leon's plan for a government of national accord. The Spanish-born diplomat had originally arranged this meeting for two weeks ago, intending to celebrate the signing of a peace deal he has worked so hard to achieve. In the event, foreign ministers and diplomats did not hide their disappointment that it had failed. John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , the U.S. Secretary of State, led off by insisting that the more than three dozen nations present were speaking with one voice, and that this voice was calling for peace. All the other nations, a rich ensemble of foreign ministers and diplomats, echoed his call that the peace plan, now in its seventh draft, be accepted by all sides in Libya with no more changes. The partial exception was Russia, whose own representative mentioned the need to adhere to the 11 July initialing of a previous draft peace plan, one more favourable to the House of Representatives. But he too joined states as various as Mali and Morocco, Nigeria and Norway, Jordan and Germany, in asking Libya's leaders to back the plan, crafted over 12 months of tortuous diplomacy by Leon. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, chairing the meeting, made his own strong call for the plan to be signed: "The violence of the past year and a half is leading Libya down a path of death, displacement and destruction," he said. "Sadly, this is largely the result of rival groups who insist on putting petty concerns above those of the Libyan people. They are denying their country a future and have made Libya a base of instability, and a threat to regional and international security." Meanwhile the 23-strong team of Libyan delegates who have negotiated the plan with Leon watched in silence. Had Libya's two parliaments approved the peace deal, the delegates would have been allowed speeches, shaking hands and getting praise, maybe even garlands of flowers, from assembled diplomats. As it was, even Libya's UN representative, Ibrahim Al-Dabashi, was not invited to speak, perhaps in case his presence would see opponents in the fragile grinding of the peace processor complain. For Leon there was consolation from the fact that ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... , backers of Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... , and Egypt and UAE, supporters of the HoR, each spoke with one mind, urging peace in the interest of preventing chaos overtaking Libya. What was missing from the multitude of speeches, most of them praising Leon and promising Libya "full support", was any suggestion of what will happen if Libyans miss their next "final" deadline for making a peace plan, which is now 20 October. The day after that date, the mandate of the House of Representatives expires and Libya will lose its internationally recognised government, unless the parliament votes itself an extension of office. |
| Posted by:Fred |