Libya’s post-Gaddafi era has, unfortunately, been characterised by chaos, instability, uncertainty and a lack of central government over the country.
The main problem is that Libya has hundreds of well-armed, politically aligned militias who are answerable to nobody but themselves and who are outside the control of the State.
The latest twist to Libya’s saga involved a group of gunmen led by a former rebel general, Khalifa Haftar, attacking Parliament on Sunday and demanding its suspension and replacement by a new emergency body that would run the country.
Libya’s Parliament is hopelessly divided between Islamists, who enjoy a slim majority, and liberals, each of which are backed by rival militias.
Gen. Haftar is also claiming that his actions were intended to purge the country of Islamists and restore order in the country. Two days earlier, forces that are loyal to the former general had attacked Islamist militants in Benghazi, resulting in the death of 70 people.
Libya’s army chief has now ordered the deployment of Islamist militias to Tripoli in response to the renegade general’s actions, paving the way for a possible showdown between rival militias and a further escalation of an already very volatile situation.
The commander of Libya’s special forces, on the other hand, as well as the country’s Ambassador to the UN, the Culture Minister, the head of Libya’s navy and the head of an air force base in Tobruk have all decided to ally themselves with Gen. Haftar.
The potential for all-out civil war is therefore very real and the international community, particularly the EU and the US, must focus more attention on this very worrying state of affairs.
A deterioration of the situation in Libya would be of particular concern to Malta; increased migration flows as well as al-Qaeda (to which some of the Islamist militias are allied) having a foothold in Libya threatens our national security. The Maltese government needs to be focusing more on Libya and demanding that the matter is urgently discussed at EU level.
The transformation to a proper democracy was always going to be very difficult in Libya. Under the rotten, corrupt and brutal dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya had absolutely nothing: no civil society, no political parties, no proper standing army, no rule of law and very few State institutions. As a result, Libyans have had to start to rebuild their country from scratch, which was never going to be an easy task.
Unfortunately, the consequence of the West’s lack of a long-term strategic vision for Libya after Gaddafi’s overthrow is now all too evident as the country enters a security vacuum. The West was determined not to send troops to Libya, and this is perhaps understandable, but why was nothing done to prevent the Gaddafi regime’s many arms depots falling into the hands of the militias?
The world cannot stand idly by as Libya heads towards a failed State.
The West, for a start, should call on both Islamists and liberals to de-escalate the situation, enter into proper negotiations and avoid conflict at all costs. Tunisia, the only beacon of hope in the Arab Spring, should be advising the Libyans on how consensus between Islamists and liberals is indeed possible.
Libya’s Election Commission has proposed a June national election to resolve the latest crisis. This might help calm the situation but whether a free and fair election can be held in such a volatile situation remains to be seen. Ultimately, it is up to the various Libyan political groupings, and the militias they are allied to, to see common sense, compromise and realise that there is space in the country for all sides to co-exist and work together.