Questions are increasing within Libyan political circles about the future of the “American initiative” to resolve the country’s crisis, after insulting statements made by President Donald Trump to Libya, before he hastened to retract them.
At a time when Massad Boulos, President Trump’s senior advisor for Arab and African affairs, is working on activating an initiative aimed at ending the political and military division in Libya, questions are being raised within political circles about the mechanisms and contexts of his reception in a country that Trump had described as “filthy.”
A member of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, Zahraa Lenqi, asked about the basis for an envoy receiving a president who “insults those who mediate between them, and with what credibility is a peace initiative proposed that does not respect the dignity of the peoples concerned with it?” “There is no mediation with contempt.” Lenqi said through her Facebook post that “respect for peoples is a moral and political condition for any mediation, and it is not possible to separate the mediator’s speech from his approach,” adding: “There is no peace built on insult, and no mediation can be achieved with contempt.”
Although political voices considered Trump's "blog" an implicit apology, it was not enough to end the anger towards the US administration and its policies in the country. Former Libyan diplomat Faraj Zarrouk described it as a “political apology and a tactical retreat.” In this context, the head of the National Council on US-Libyan Relations, Dr. Hani Shanib, ruled out that the American initiative would be affected by Trump’s statement, which he described as “random,” and which came in the midst of the enthusiasm of the election campaign.
Libya is experiencing a political division between two competing governments: the first is the interim “National Unity”, headed by Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba in Tripoli, and a government appointed by Parliament, headed by Osama Hammad, and enjoys the support of the commander of the “National Army”, Khalifa Haftar. At the end of last August, the UN mission announced the “4 + 4” mini-committee agreement, which stipulates the formation of a new executive authority, which includes a presidential council and a unified government for the country, paving the way for elections within two years.
The Criminal Chamber responsible for examining terrorism cases at the Tunisian Court of Appeal decided today, Thursday, to set a hearing for next November 19 to consider what is known as the file of the secret apparatus of the Ennahdha Movement. The Criminal Department had issued its rulings in this case, which ranged from life imprisonment to 10 years in prison. This case, classified as “terrorist,” included 35 defendants, including the head of the Ennahdha movement, Rached Ghannouchi (detained), and his deputy, Ali Al-Arayedh (detained).
Algeria is trying to restore its position in the African Sahel region by sending military forces to Niger, in a precedent of its kind in more than half a century, after it gradually lost the great influence it had in this region. Last Sunday, both chambers of the Algerian Parliament announced its approval to send forces to Niger, with the aim of protecting energy facilities, paving the way for the first official deployment of the Algerian army outside the borders since the Arab-Israeli War in 1973.
