Libyan newspapers focus on dialogue of parties in Morocco, Egypt and follow-up meeting of the Berlin Conference

03 Octobre 2020

Tripoli, Libya, October 3 (Infosplusgabon) - Libya's long-running unrest and the spiking coronavirus pandemic have left thousands of people in this North African country fending for themselves with little help from outside.

For them, survival is more important than ever as they turn their eyes and ears to the inter-Libyan dialogue meetings in Bouznika, Morocco, Montreux in Switzerland and Hurghada in Egypt.

Local newspapers this week focused on this latest development in the search for peace  after the consensus momentum that followed several events relating, in particular, the proclamation of a cease-fire and the announcement by Presidential Council Chairman Fayez Al-Sarraj of his intention to hand over power to a new authority in October.

All are eager to hear the participants of this dialogue and the Berlin Conference renewing their  commitment to support a political solution in the country.

The Libyan press has been interested in the  internal public debt which has reached exaggerated proportions, in the context of the oil blockade imposed by forces of Haftar for more than 8 months, the existence of two governments and the division of state institutions in the country.

Under the headline 'From Bouznika to Hurghada ... the return', Al-Wassat  weekly  wrote that many observers of the Libyan question believe that the results of the negotiations by parties to the Libyan crisis in Egypt (Hurghada) and in Morocco (Bouznika), and later in Germany, may constitute a "thermometer" as an indicator of success or failure.

That would also indicate the possibility of reaching a broader agreement among the Libyans at the October meeting in Geneva on funds to prepare the formation of a new presidential council with the designation of a government of national accord.

The United Nations, which is sponsoring the meetings, pursues a policy of ambiguity and obscurity over names, the newspaper claimed.

The pace of diplomatic movement between the parties concerned by the Libyan crisis has accelerated in order to implement a permanent armistice agreement that will ultimately lead to the unification of sovereign institutions despite the presence of points of friction likely to disrupt the perceptions of a solution, especially in security and military issues, on which depends the success of other political, economic and social aspects which were the aim of the talks in Hurghada, Egypt, underlined Al- Wassat.

The newspaper said that perhaps the most important breakthrough achieved is the agreement between two delegations which include army and police officers representing both the government of national accord and the general command of the Libyan National Army led by Haftar to refer the issue of the duties and responsibilities of guarding oil installations to the 5 + 5 Joint Military Commission in order to take steps to ensure the regularity of the production and export process, and an agreement on immediate release of all detainees without any conditions or restrictions.

Taking urgent measures to exchange detainees due to military operations before the end of October was in the recommendations of the meeting in Egypt, the newspaper said, citing the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The newspaper mentioned the delay in the holding of the second round of the Moroccan talks in Bouznika citing "logistical reasons", while information indicated that the Council of State has changed the members of its delegation. A request from the Parliament delegation was introduced to set the agenda and understand the reason for the change.

The dialogue in Bouznika, Morocco, resumed Friday evening after three postponements.

The Al-Wassat stressed that the Moroccan authorities are stepping up efforts to make these talks a success by bringing together the presidents of the High Council of State and the Parliament, respectively, Khaled Al-Mechri and Aguila Salah to sign the results of " Bouznika ", relating to the determination of the mechanism for selecting the personalities who will assume the leadership of positions of sovereignty in the State and the new restructuring of the Presidential Council and the next government of national accord.

In the context of the struggle for influence in Libya, the newspaper reported that Turkey has taken a step back on several files which had witnessed tensions with France, deciding to make another concession and declaring its will to cooperate with Paris on Libya, citing Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who said that the phone call that took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron was positive, explaining that Turkey could cooperate with France and other countries in Libya.

In this situation. the newspaper said, arrangements are being made to organise the next Geneva round of Libyan political talks, without renouncing caution regarding the movement of arms and "mercenaries" in certain areas of Libya, notably Sirte and Al-Joufra, which will be enshrined in the next results as two demilitarized zones.

For its part, the Afrigatenews wrote that Germany is pushing for an "acceleration of efforts" to resolve the conflict in Libya and seeks a meeting to be organised on Monday, to urge the parties to the conflict to respect the results of the Berlin Conference, foremost among which are the cease-fire mechanisms.

The electronic newspaper clarified that Germany hopes that a video conference meeting on Libya that it organises on Monday (October 5), on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, "will speed up efforts to reach a ceasefire" between the two parties to the conflict in Libya.

The e-newspaper quoted Germany's Deputy Delegate to the United Nations Günter Sautter as saying that "this meeting comes at a sensitive time and we have recently seen encouraging developments in Libya", hoping that a "strong message "would be sent on Monday.

Afrigatenews added that Germany will demand the renewal of commitments made earlier this year, in particular their implementation, noting that all countries that participated in the Berlin Summit in January 2020, in addition to countries in the region, will participate in the meeting, but without the presence of the Libyan parties to the conflict.

"We hope (on Monday) to put an end to the continuing and flagrant violations of the arms embargo" imposed on Libya since 2011, as well as "to strengthen" the role of the United Nations as "central mediator in the political dialogue in Libya" Sautter said, as quoted by the newspaper.

Addressing the issue of Libyan public debt, Al-Wassat claimed that fears about the country's rising public debt have grown, after recent data from the Central Bank in , Tripoli, which estimated the public debt for the current year 2020, at 84 billion dinars (about 60 billion dollars), representing 260% of the gross domestic product (GDP), which requires, according to the experts what they described as an "extinction strategy".

The newspaper quoted the Central Bank which warned, in a statement published recently, against "the maintenance of the public debt which will lead to a fall in the rates of economic growth and a negative impact on the private sector".

Oil revenues represent more than 90% of budgetary revenues, recalled the newspaper which specified that they have considerably decreased due to the closure of oilfields and ports.

The Libyan National Oil Company lifted force majeure status on fields and ports it called "safe," a day after Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced that it will lift the oil blockade, Al-Wassat recalled.

The economic analyst and founder of the Libyan Stock Exchange, Souleiman Al-Chouhoumi, said, according to the newspaper, that the public debt of Libya is "unorganised" and that its procedures do not comply with the law, in particular from the government of national accord and the Central Bank of Tripoli.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/OCT/GABON2020

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