Supporters of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are betting on widespread participation in the celebrations commemorating the “Fatih September Revolution” this year. The event is the first political and organizational test for their movement following the assassination of his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi last February in the city of Zintan.
According to observers, loyalists to the former regime are seeking to prove that their movement is not based on a specific personality, but rather on the ideas of the “Jamahiriya” and its legacy, which they say is present in the conscience of a wide sector of Libyans, while using the occasion to demand that the circumstances of the killing of Saif al-Islam be revealed, whom many of his supporters considered “the potential political heir to his father.”
In a step that reflects the desire of this movement to gather momentum and confirm its presence ahead of the date, media sites and communication platforms close to it and affiliated with it were filled with clips and pictures documenting early preparations in some cities, represented by preparing green flags and raising banners bearing the most prominent sayings and pictures of Muammar Gaddafi, as well as pictures of Saif al-Islam before his death and even printing them on some pieces of clothing.
Ali Misbah Abu Sabiha, head of the “National Reconciliation Team” of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s movement, expected that this year’s celebrations would gain “broad popular momentum compared to previous years,” given the killing of Saif al-Islam.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Supporters of the Gaddafi regime in general, and specifically supporters of Saif al-Islam, will seek to be present forcefully in the squares to deny what some say that his killing weakened the popular movement and that it will gradually disappear,” noting that “the increase in the number of participants expected this year cannot be separated from the crises that the country is going through.”
For years, Libya has been experiencing a division between two governments: the first is the interim “National Unity” government headed by Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and the second is appointed by Parliament and headed by Osama Hammad and runs the east and parts of the south with the support of the commander of the “National Army,” Khalifa Haftar.
Abu Sabiha, who is “President of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Cities of Fezzan,” does not rule out the presence of parties that “may try to abort the celebration,” explaining that there are voices that have explicitly declared that they “will resist this celebration and try to prevent it.”
Syrian diplomacy ended nearly 14 years of absence from Libya following discussions held by the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Asaad Al-Shaibani, on Sunday, in the capital, Tripoli, with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and developing areas of joint cooperation between the two countries.
During the visit, Al-Shaibani will inaugurate his country's embassy in Libya. He and his accompanying delegation also met with a number of Libyan officials.
The Syrian embassy in Tripoli was closed in 2012, months after the fall of the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011, following the recognition of the Syrian revolution by the “National Transitional Council” that was formed in Libya at that time. Since then, relations between the two countries were cut off during the era of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The new Syrian administration, headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, sought to open channels of communication with Libya through an official visit conducted by Syrian officials to Tripoli, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations and prospects for joint cooperation in various fields, in a step that observers considered aimed at establishing “new relations that benefit the two countries.”
