At a time when tensions have rapidly escalated between Malta and the ‘two Libyas’, it is necessary to reflect on the facts.
The news media often incorrectly report there are two governments in Libya: one in Tripoli and one in Tobruk. Last week, this split was reflected in Malta when the two sides announced their own locations for their respective embassies, each accusing the other of being an “illegal” government.
Consequently, two chargés d’affaires appeared: the chargé d’affaires from the internationally-recognised, Tobruk-based government of Libya, who is housed in Ta’ Xbiex, and one representing Libya Dawn, a self-appointed, so-called government based in Tripoli, which has an embassy in Attard.
It needs to be made absolutely clear that there is only one official government and that is in Tobruk. It is internationally recognised, its appointed leader being Prime Minister Abdullah Al Thinni, and has a democratically elected House of Representatives.
The USA, the UK, France, Italy, the UN, all countries, even Russia, recognise there is only one government.
The Libya Dawn is a coalition that includes Islamist extremists from the town of Misurata and the Muslim Brotherhood, along with former affiliates of Al Qaeda, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Force (LIFG) and Tripoli’s ‘PM’, Omar al Hassi, a self-proclaimed supporter of terrorist organisations, who himself was a member of the LIFG.
People also connected with the IS are associated with Libya Dawn and the IS is now in control of the town of Derna.
Malta has an important role to play that is not readily recognised by the international community
Libya Dawn took Tripoli some months ago by force, destroying, among other things, Tripoli International Airport.
The tragedy we see in Libya is in part caused by the incompetence of the UN representative, Bernadino Leon, of UNSMIL, who is pursuing a policy hell-bent on failure. This is a tragic error of judgment on the part of the UN, the US and the UK.
Three months ago, the first ‘peace talks’ occurred in the small western town of Ghademis and were inconclusive. Ghademis 2 talks were scheduled for last Monday. Suddenly, the night before, UNSMIL announced they had not set a date for the talks, although Chad’s UN ambassador, who is the UN council president, had confirmed the January 5 date on December 22, following a video link briefing by Leon. Ambassador Mahamat Zene went further, adding that Leon had said that all the Libyan parties had agreed to “the road map”.
Also, British Prime Minister David Cameron appointed as his special envoy to Libya, Jonathan Powell. He was Tony Blair’s right hand, actively involved in the now universally recognised wrong decision to invade Iraq, which was the trigger that gave life to the new breed of hyper-terrorist.
Then, in an almost farcical aside to Powell’s credentials, he is the recent author of a book called Talking with terrorists and his new-found philosophy based on the very fragile peace he claims a good deal of credit for, with the murderers turned politicians of the IRA.
To compound his irrationality, Powell last month declared he thought America should “talk” to the IS and that that would be inevitable. No reasonable person can defend this stance.
Ordinary Libyans and the Libyan government in the East find it impossible to understand how they are being driven by the UN, America and Britain to negotiate with terrorists that include elements of the IS when in nearby Iraq and Syria a coalition of UK, USA, UAE, Jordan and Egypt is bombing it, trying to destroy that evil new manifestation of 21st century hyper-terrorism.
Also of note is the fact that America allowed Sadiq Al Kabir, former governor of the Central Bank of Libya, who was sacked weeks ago by the Libyan government and who now represents Libya Dawn, to visit Washington in late December. He met officials from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
This is another example of a distorted and confusing series of messages from, surprisingly, the leading western power.
Malta has a long history and close proximity to Libya. It has an important role to play that is not readily recognised by the international community.
The Maltese government has a responsibility to its citizens because, if Libya’s decline continues, Islamic extremists may well bring their fight against the West to Malta and, suddenly, not only will Malta have an influx of refugees but, more importantly, terrorism may come to this island.
What can Malta do to mitigate such a threat without adversely affecting the cash and business that naturally comes from Libya?
Primarily, Malta should be making it more difficult for Libyans to visit. It should also ensure all official border controls are beefed up along with strengthening patrols on its national waters.
The time to act is now, following the abject failure of western policy towards Libya. This can only be a military option.
The situation could not have been described better than by French President Francois Hollande when he said: “Libya’s chaos is the world’s responsibility; we need to bomb Libya to stop the terrorists we created last time we bombed Libya.”
Perhaps the Charlie Hebdo attack is the opening salvo of the European targeting by Islamic terrorists that will expose the futility of dealing with extremists.
Richard Galustian is a security analyst