Libya’s Tripoli government calls for halt in UN peace talks
Officials in the Tripoli-based government of Libya have urged a freeze in the ongoing peace talks which is proceeding under the auspices of the United Nations in Morocco, saying the rival administration should stop its offensive in the east.
Khalifa al-Ghweil, the prime minister in Libya’s Tripoli-based government, said late Tuesday that he rejects the ongoing negotiations between rival parliaments in the resort of Skhirat near Morocco's capital.
He also condemned a UN-drafted accord under discussion as “suspect” and containing articles which run contrary to the “immovable principles and the objectives” of the 2011 revolution which toppled long-time dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
Since August 2014, when militias seized the capital Tripoli, Libya has had two parliaments and two governments with one run by the rebels in the capital and the other, which is internationally-recognized, taking refuge in the far eastern city of Tobruk.
In his televised speech, Ghweil acknowledged that some parliamentary delegates from his administration were taking part in the talks in apparent defiance of him, but urged the Libyans “to freeze this dialogue until the offensive is halted.”
He called for “an inter-Libyan dialogue on Libyan soil to resolve the Libyan crisis, leading to a settlement that satisfies all parties while respecting the aims” of the revolution.
Talks were stopped for a few days on Tuesday after UN envoy Bernardino Leon told the delegates that there would be no more room for extension of the negotiations and the warring sides should provide a straight yes or no answer to the plan when they return next Sunday.
Repeated efforts by the Spanish diplomat have failed to create an agreement between the two administrations and allow the formation of a single government which could tackle the country's woes, including the rising violence and a growing wave of human smuggling across the Mediterranean toward the European shores.
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