Blames foreign interference, directed media and politicians for the split; criticises House of Representatives and State Council return to “procrastination square”
Libya – Political analyst Hussam al-Din Al-Abdali said the root causes of Libya’s division are many, but the foremost, in his view, is foreign interference that has sharpened the split, especially some Arab interventions.
Directed media and damage to the social fabric
Al-Abdali told Sputnik in exclusive remarks that media directed from abroad was a main cause of the country’s division and the damage to its social fabric, which he said led Libya into several civil wars, alongside Libyan politicians failing to take responsibility for steering the country to safety.
The constitutional track and the start of the split
He said that after the General National Congress a constituent body should have been formed to draft a permanent constitution, then stable institutions established, but foreign interference, the media and security breakdowns produced further stages and political bodies, including the House of Representatives, and from there the dispute and division between two sides began, in his words.
From Skhirat to Geneva
Al-Abdali pointed to intervention by the United Nations mission and other international parties that forced Libyans into dialogues, starting with the Skhirat talks in Morocco, which defined the House of Representatives’ powers and created the State Council after excluding members he said held extreme positions.
He added that those bodies began extending their stay from that point, through to the Geneva agreement that produced the Government of National Unity headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah after the Government of National Accord, while Libya still suffers political, military and institutional division.
An exhausted country and interference that exploits officials
Al-Abdali said the country is exhausted economically and in other respects, and that regional and foreign interference was among the reasons it reached this state.
He stressed that external interference plays an important role in the political crisis, and that the proliferation of initiatives and international intervention has not provided a healthy climate, alongside poor performance by Libyan officials who do not put the national interest at the top of their priorities.
He added that the situation allowed outsiders to exploit officials until Libyans became, in his words, “stripped of will” and no longer know whom to bring down or against whom to protest, holding every Libyan official partly to blame.
The Boulos and 4+4 initiatives
Al-Abdali said the two initiatives currently on the table are that of Massad Boulos, senior adviser to the US president for Arab and African affairs, and the “4+4” initiative sponsored by the United Nations mission.
He argued that Boulos’s initiative is not separate from the “4+4” agreement, and that each complements the other, stressing Libya’s need for an initiative that moves it forward and breaks the political deadlock.
More than 101 members approved the agreement
Al-Abdali said the House of Representatives and the State Council should revisit the “4+4” agreement in light of new developments, noting the State Council’s rejection of the draft agreement, against a welcome from the House of Representatives’ presidency and approval by more than 101 members, which in his view means the House of Representatives is regarded as having approved the agreement.
A return to the 6+6 square
He argued that the “4+4” agreement addresses the main problems around presidential elections and the candidacy of military personnel and dual nationals, yet the track has returned to the first square — the “6+6” committee and procrastination.
Al-Abdali said that proves the House of Representatives and the State Council want to share power, whether through Boulos’s initiative or the “4+4” agreement, stressing that bodies described as national have become objects of criticism among Libyans, and that they declare a desire to reach elections while their actions do not prove that, calling the situation regrettable.
