Benghazi 'Rebel Council' refuses to join talks between parliament and opposition

The Shura Council for the Benghazi rebel group of revolutionary Islamists has joined the ranks of several other parties that are refusing to participate in the dialogue process that took place on Monday in the western border city of Ghadames between members of the Libyan House of Representatives, the parliament in Tobruk and the opposition that has been boycotting the government, Anadolu news agency reported.

The council declined to participate, saying that it was a “suspicious invitation”.

Anadolu quoted a statement issued by the Benghazi rebels on Tuesday saying that: “The initiative held in Ghadames, which called for political dialogue, was not based on legitimate foundations. Rather, it is a weak attempt to convince the people to surrender their rights and to allow tyrants to return to power under the guise of national reconciliation.”

The council said the call to participate in the dialogue process was “an attempt to convince the people to applaud the tyrannical regime and drum for them”, and explicitly stated that they “will not be a party to this initiative”.

The Rebel Council also described the dialogue as an “attempt to oust the rebels from the scene, even though they are already excluded from it”, adding that they “have been working tirelessly on the ground to preserve the country’s interests and protect it from foreign military and political intervention”.

The Libyan government’s Fatwa Council and the Libyan Scholars Association issued a joint statement on Wednesday rejecting the Ghadames dialogue, while the Dawn of Libya, a military group in Tripoli, also expressed its rejection of the dialogue in favour of a “military solution”.

An agreement was signed on Monday between the two main parties to the dialogue for ending the political crisis in the country. The meeting in Ghadames came at the request of the United Nations, which felt that action was needed to end the on-going violence in Libya.

The parties at Ghadames agreed to a ceasefire in the country and to treat the wounded, as well as to open security corridors for civilians, until the talks can resume after Eid Al-Adha. The meeting was attended by representatives from the US, Britain, France and Italy.

The people of Libya are suffering from an armed conflict across several cities, especially in Tripoli and Benghazi. The country is polarised between armed brigades that are trying to take over the country with divisions between “liberals” and Islamic militants. Dividing the country even further was the establishment of a parliament in Tobruk under the government of Abdullah Al-Thani and the Army Chief of Staff, Abdul-Razzaq Nazwara.

The second source of authority in the country, which is unrecognised by the international community, is represented by the General National Congress along with its Prime Minister Omar Hassi and Army Chief of Staff Jadallah Al-Obaidi, the latter who was ousted by the House of Representatives.