Is the change in the Libyan political scene capable of lifting Turkish supervision, or will they increase their consolidation ?
Many believed that the announcement of a transitional authority, comprising a government and a presidential council responsible for managing Libya’s affairs, would change the political scene in the country, but it seems Libya will not leave the place of trusteeship. Turkish, which was established by military and security accords and accords with the Government of National Accord and military intervention which added a tinge of occupation. Shrouded in logic at the request of the Libyan people, in his first statement, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba said in an interview with the Turkish state-run Anadolu agency after his election as head of a transitional government, that he there will be solidarity between Turkey and Libya.
Dabaiba added : We have great solidarity with the Turkish state and people, Turkey is an ally, a friend and a brother, and she has many capacities to help the Libyans achieve their real goals … Turkey is one of our true partners.
Last Friday, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, held in Geneva, voted in favor of choosing a new interim executive authority in Libya headed by Muhammad Al-Manfi, a former diplomat as head of the Council of the presidency, and Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, a busy businessman with politics, to lead the next government. The new executive authority will rule Libya until the presidential and parliamentary elections are held on December 24.
For her part, Turkey stressed that her military presence in Libya and the security and military agreements and agreements it concluded with the former reconciliation government will not be affected by the election of the new interim authority, stressing that the new government supports Turkey’s role in Libya.
Yassin Aktay, adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said : The agreements Ankara has reached with the national accord government led by Fayez Al-Sarraj will not be affected by the election of the interim government … Turkey is in Libya at the invitation of the Libyan people and the reconciliation government, and the new government is not opposed to these agreements or to the Turkish presence in the country. On the contrary, he supports the Turkish role there, according to what was quoted by the Russian agency Sputnik.
It seems clear that the Turkish official’s statements contradict international calls, the latest of which was launched a few days ago by the UN Security Council, which demanded the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Libya, referring specifically to Turkey, which threw her military weight in support of the previous reconciliation government in the face of an attack by the Libyan National Authority in April 2019, before the efforts led to a ceasefire agreement -feu, which set up a political process that ended with the selection of a transitional government to prepare for general elections (legislative and presidential) before the end of this year.
Aktay said the choice of the new government in Libya came after reaching agreements through a well-known dialogue process, and Turkey welcomes the choice of the new government and considers her a positive thing given that the Libyan people approach to stability and strengthen internal dialogue in the country, adding : A presidential system has been put in place that includes the west, east and south of the country, and we hope that this will be reflected positively on the stage of country.
He asserted that the Libyan people adopt the Turkish vision, in case the Turkish intervention is a reason to fuel divisions and the armed conflict, which only calmed down a short time ago, thanks to the United Nations efforts and the efforts of neighboring countries to push the two sides to the crisis into a political dialogue that ends the crisis.
Even after reaching an interim government, the situation appears fragile despite optimistic statements Libya stands in quicksand, whether because of Turkish interventions or because of the armed militias that Ankara has armed for decades years, in secret and in public.
The transitional government will have to face great difficulties to confine the weapons in the hands of the state and to restore their prestige in the light of the presence of these militias loyal to Turkey.
It appears that Erdogan’s adviser’s statement, in which he said that Turkey’s military presence will not be affected by the election of the interim government, stems from an assessment based on whether Turkey has powerful weapons in western Libya which is a tough number in the whole political equation.
Turkey claims that is with the unity and stability of Libya, while her military intervention and her conclusion of security and military agreements with the previous government sparked tensions internally, regionally and internationally, so that a large part of Libyans reject Turkey’s military presence and consider that the agreements with the Sarraj government are legally void because they do not represent all Libyans.
Arab countries also condemned the Turkish intervention and agreements and viewed them as a threat to Arab national security, while Western countries criticized the issue as contrary to international law and the international law of the sea.
But Aktay said today, Sunday, that the agreements Turkey has reached with the Libyan national accord government are international agreements and will not be affected by the positions of other governments, adding: The Libyan parties must respect each other and do not allow anyone to enter between them, nor should they give revolutionaries a chance to ensure the success and continuation of the political process. “Everyone knows that the strength of Libya lies in her unity, despite the differences that exist between them,” he said.
Erdogan’s adviser jumped on the fact that Turkish intervention in Libya could undermine the political process, trying to promote that some forces seek to steal Libya from the Libyans and not leave them as they did. before, and the Libyans must be careful of these forces.
And the Turkish president confirmed in a phone call in which he congratulated Muhammad al-Exiled on his victory as President of the Presidency Council and Abdel Hamid Dabaiba on winning the post of Prime Minister, that his country will continue to strengthen cooperation. with Libya during the new phase.
According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, the head of the transitional government said Turkey has imposed their status and presence in the world, not just in Libya, and that she is the only country where the Libyans could surrender freely during the war.
Turkey has opened her airports and has not closed her embassy in Tripoli, and I believe that the freedom of movement will be reflected in the cooperation between the two peoples in the field of the economy. We hope to develop this cooperation and raise the volume of trade to the highest level.
The new Libyan Prime Minister is far from unanimous, especially since he held important positions under the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, who fell in 2011 after 42 years in power. He belonged to Kadhafi’s circle of people he trusted.
His cousin Ali Dabaiba, also a businessman, was under investigation in Libya and elsewhere for embezzlement. He was a forum participant who picked the new executive authority on Friday.
As for the new government, the challenge is great after more than forty years of reign of unparalleled authority, and her fall has given way to violence, power struggles and foreign interference.
