Today, Saturday, for the second day, Libyan talks are continuing in the Tunisian capital aimed at unifying the military and security establishment, as part of efforts aimed at ending the military and institutional division that has been ongoing for more than a decade between the “National Army” forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in the east of the country, and military and security formations linked to the existing authorities in the west.
The talks, held under the name “National Committee to Unify the Military and Security Institution in Libya,” which began on Friday, are gaining importance in light of the wide scope of participation, which includes representatives of the United Nations mission and the “5+5” Joint Military Committee.
The discussions of this dialogue are also gaining broader momentum in light of the participation of members of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State, along with representatives of the security track within the “structured dialogue,” and a number of civilian institutions, according to a military leader participating in the meeting and local reports.
Recent weeks have witnessed renewed moves to enhance coordination between the two sides. The city of Sirte hosted military meetings, in which officials from the East and West participated, including Chief of Staff Salah al-Din al-Namroush and Khaled Haftar, along with members of the “5+5” Joint Military Committee and the “3+3” mechanism, with the participation of Stephanie Khoury, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs.
In one of these meetings, the participants agreed to organize a joint field exercise in southern Libya, and to hold monthly meetings for the heads of the specific staff with the aim of enhancing coordination and expanding cooperation between military units.
In a parallel move, Presidential Council member Musa Al-Koni, in his capacity as Supreme Commander of the Army, discussed with the members of the “5+5” Joint Military Committee for the Western Region the latest developments in the security and military situation and the steps required to unify the military institution. Al-Koni stressed the necessity of building a unified military institution on professional and national foundations.
The unification of the military institution is one of the main files related to ending the transitional phase and creating conditions for holding national elections, but this path faces disagreements regarding the unified leadership, restructuring the forces, merging the armed formations, and the limits of the relationship between the military institution and the civilian authority.
The Skhirat Agreement, concluded under the auspices of the United Nations in 2015, established a framework for resolving the political crisis, but it did not end the division between the competing centers of power, nor did it result in the unification of the military institution.
On the other hand, the Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commemorated on Friday evening the twelfth anniversary of the entry of its forces into the city of Benghazi on October 15, 2014, in a prominent milestone in Operation “Dignity,” which Haftar launched to confront extremist groups in the east of the country.
During a military parade organized by the Special Forces Department, “Thunderbolts and Parachutes,” in Benghazi, Haftar described the events of that day as a turning point in the fight against terrorism, praising the support of the city’s people for the armed forces, and the sacrifices made by the officers and soldiers of the Special Forces during the battles.
Haftar also praised the efforts of his deputy and son Saddam in developing the capabilities of the special forces and enhancing their readiness. For his part, Saddam praised the level of discipline and combat readiness of its members, and said in a post on Facebook that the General Command is working to develop its combat and technical capabilities, and its training and qualification systems, within the framework of Vision 2030 to modernize the military institution.
Benghazi, the second largest Libyan city, witnessed bloody confrontations between forces loyal to Haftar and armed groups, in light of the security unrest that followed the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, and was characterized by assassinations, bombings, and a struggle for influence.
Haftar launched Operation “Dignity” in May 2014, before his forces entered Benghazi in October of the same year and took control of key sites, including the February 17 Brigade camp, amid violent clashes. The battles in the city continued for years, leaving dead, wounded, displaced and widespread destruction, until Haftar announced in July 2017 that he had completely regained control of it.
The authorities in eastern Libya are celebrating this anniversary, as it is a milestone in the fight against extremist groups, consolidating the influence of the General Command, while highlighting the role of the Special Forces in military operations.
Thousands of Tunisians poured into the streets of the capital, today, Saturday, in a massive protest to demand the restoration of democracy and freedoms, in a move that reflects growing anger at the policies of President Kais Saied, amid accusations that he has miserably failed to address the worsening economic crisis. This protest, which was led by the Labor Union and prominent organizations, including the Human Rights League, the Deanship of Lawyers, and the Journalists Syndicate, is the largest of its kind in several years, and constitutes a strong challenge to President Saied after years that witnessed divisions that weakened the ability of his opponents to mobilize.
In a rare scene of unity, opposition parties from across the political spectrum, including parties that have witnessed rivalries for years, joined lawyers, doctors, journalists, the unemployed, and civil society organizations in the protest.
The demonstrators gathered in Mohammed Ali Square, the stronghold of the Labor Union, before they roamed the streets of the capital towards Habib Bourguiba Street, a focal point in the demonstrations that sparked the Arab Spring 15 years ago.
Hundreds of police personnel were deployed in the streets and neighborhoods of the capital, while many of them were closed. The protest raised the slogan “Tunisia first...the people above all else,” and the demonstrators waved Tunisian flags.
Salah al-Din al-Salmi, Secretary-General of the Labor Union, said in a speech to the crowds: “Tunisia’s crisis today is essentially the monopolization of all powers by one person.”
According to what was reported by Reuters, the participants chanted demands calling for freedom and independence of the judiciary, to stop prosecuting opponents, and to stop violating union rights. They also raised banners and slogans expressing growing dissatisfaction with widespread unemployment, poor public services, and what they described as false promises, stressing in their slogans that “there is no democracy without freedoms,” “no dignity with poverty,” and “no to criminalizing civil and political work.” They chanted with one voice, “Oh failure regime... Leaving is the solution.”
Yassin Al-Gharsalawi, one of the protest participants, said: “The country is collapsing at all levels... We are suffering one crisis after another, from thirst and frequent power outages, while the crises are being thrown at conspirators and traitors.”
Al-Gharsalawi added to Reuters: “I am here to defend my freedom, and I am not ready to give it up even if I am the last voice screaming in the country.”
For his part, Dean of the National Lawyers Authority, Boubacar Thabet, said that the efforts of civil society “are united today to defend the citizen’s right to live in dignity and work freely in accordance with what is guaranteed by international conventions and the constitution.”
The protesters also chanted angry slogans, including: “No fear, no terror... The street belongs to the people,” and “The freedoms of the police state are dead (ended).” They revived the most prominent slogan of the Tunisian revolution, which later resonated in countries in the region: “The people want to overthrow the regime.” They also launched slogans denouncing the Ministry of Interior and the government's performance, describing it as a "government of failure" and demanding its departure.
The protest comes in the midst of a worsening economic crisis and a sharp deterioration in public services, including frequent water and electricity outages, and shortages of medicines and some basic goods. This march also comes with the increasing protests of the unemployed demanding job opportunities, and the accelerated implementation of a law issued a year ago that allows the employment of those who have been unemployed for more than ten years. At a time when the opposition is demanding the release of dozens of politicians opposed to the rule of President Saied, who have been imprisoned for more than three years.
Local and international human rights organizations accuse President Saied of launching an escalating campaign of repression against civil society organizations and throwing journalists and opposition leaders behind bars, accusing him of turning the country into an open prison. But the president rejects accusations of tyranny and oppression, and says that he is not a dictator, and that he is continuing to cleanse the country of those he describes as traitors, corrupt, and conspirators. He also accuses his opponents of creating economic crises with the aim of inflaming social conditions and igniting the country from within.
In 2021, President Saied tightened his grip on most of the authorities, and later dissolved the elected parliament, began ruling by decrees, dissolved the Judicial Council, and removed dozens of judges in steps that his critics described as a coup.
In conjunction with the 65th anniversary of the “massacres of October 17, 1961” in Paris, Algeria announced the preparation of a draft law related to “national memory,” while about 30 mayors in France demanded that these bloody events be recognized as a “state crime.” These two steps reflect the faltering issue of colonial memory, and the 2022 “reconciliation” file remaining hostage to historical differences and the ongoing diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Today, Saturday, a “minute pause of silence” was organized, as announced by the Algerian Ministry of Mujahideen, in all official agencies and bodies inside the country, and in Algerian diplomatic representations abroad, to commemorate the souls of Algerian immigrants, who were killed by the French police in the early sixties of the last century, at a time when the Liberation Revolution (1954 - 1962) was about to resolve a long conflict with colonialism, which lasted 132 years.
In France, the Elysee Palace published today, Saturday, on its website regarding this anniversary: “65 years after the events of October 17, 1961, France remembers the Algerian victims of the bloody repression, which was organized under the authority of the police prefect, Maurice Papon... This wounded memory is part of our common history, and the Republic looks at it with awareness and clarity.”
In the same context, about 30 mayors in France demanded recognition of the “massacres of October 17, 1961,” which targeted hundreds of demonstrators, most of them factory workers, as a “state crime.” In a joint statement published in French newspapers yesterday, Friday, these elected officials called, in particular, for October 17 to be included in the official calendar of national days and official ceremonies.
* Demands fairness and truth
It included a joint text signed by the mayors, published by Radio France Internationale on its website, demanding full and frank recognition of the massacres of October 17, 1961, as a state crime, given the responsibility of the public authorities for organizing and managing the campaign of repression. The majority of those who hold the initiative belong to the French Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the Green Party.
65 years ago, specifically on the night of October 17, 1961, thousands of Algerian men and women went out in peaceful demonstrations in Paris and its suburbs, in response to the call of the National Liberation Front, to protest the discriminatory curfew imposed on them, only to be subjected to extremely violent repression at the hands of the French police, under the authority of the Paris police governor at the time, Maurice Papon, according to what was stated in the statement. According to estimates by historians, including Jean-Luc Enaudi, about 300 Algerians were killed, while many victims were thrown into the Seine River.
The mayors also called for these bloody events to be included in the official calendar of national days and official ceremonies, “so that the French Republic annually commemorates and honors the victims of this repression.” They also called for continuing to open the archives related to these events, and facilitating access to them, in addition to the archives related to the Algerian War in general, “so that researchers, families, and citizens can continue documenting the facts and transmitting them to future generations.”
The signatories stressed the necessity of launching and supporting “spaces of memory,” and launching “initiatives aimed at transferring this historical memory, especially to younger generations, so that the history of October 17, 1961 is fully studied and becomes known to everyone.” They also called for the recognition of victims, survivors and their families, and providing them with the necessary support, after their testimonies and memories remained marginalized and ignored for many years.
The statement said that acknowledging these massacres “does not mean reviving the wounds of the past, but rather it means confronting our history with courage, and doing justice to those who were the victims of this oppression,” adding that this “also represents recognition of the testimonies of families, and the efforts of all those who have been struggling for decades to uncover the truth.”
* A faltering reconciliation path
The former French President, François Hollande, had acknowledged in 2012, during his visit to Algeria at the end of the same year, the reality of the bloody repression witnessed by the events of October 17, 1961. In 2021, President Emmanuel Macron, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of these massacres, acknowledged these facts, and declared that the crimes committed that night under the authority of Maurice Papon “cannot be justified by the Republic,” without yet issuing a confession. It was officially declared a “state crime.”
The mayors who signed the appeal considered that these confessions “constituted important milestones, but they are not sufficient,” stressing that they “should not be the last word on this file.” They called on the French state to “continue the path it started until its end, and bear its full responsibilities towards these historical events.”
These events were addressed in an official report, received by President Macron on January 20, 2021, prepared by the famous historian Benjamin Stora, which touched on the memory of colonialism and the Algerian War. This step took place at the request of Macron. The document included proposals to enhance recognition of historical memory and calm differences between the two countries. It also touched on the October 17 massacres in the context of addressing the legacy of French colonialism.
In August 2022, Macron's visit to Algeria constituted a prominent milestone in the process of reconciliation between the Algerian and French memories, as he agreed with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to establish a joint committee of Algerian and French historians to study the history of colonialism and the war of national liberation, and work to address the outstanding historical issues between the two countries.
However, the work of this committee was permanently halted, after it held several meetings, due to the severe tensions witnessed in bilateral relations, following Paris’ recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara at the end of July 2024.
