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Libya: Obstacles in Netherlands negotiations, Haftar resorts to alternatives

August 15, 2018 at 2:39 am

Retired Major General Khalifa Haftar

Well-informed sources have told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that the nearly 20 negotiators including politicians and deputies (about 12 deputies) have reached a near dead end that threatens the continuation of the ongoing negotiations in the Netherlands.

An informed source confirmed that the negotiations could be suspended at any moment, for a range of reasons.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi’s sources, which refused to be revealed, said that the negotiations could continue and they may also return to the starting point. A disagreement seemed evident to those present as a result of the complexity of the issues, especially in the after-field implementation of the agreements if there are theoretically applicable steps concerning them.

  • The same sources confirmed that there is progress on many points such as:
  • the composition of the presidential council,
  • granting of wide powers to the new prime minister and the need for guarantees such as the Western pressure, especially the US, external actors in Libyan affairs,
  • the agreement to control the border within the implementation of the protocols of the recent meeting of Sudan, which was attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior in the current and internationally-recognised Government of Fayez Al-Sarraj.

The sources estimated that the parties taking part in the negotiations are firmly sticking to their terms and their views on many issues. Sources close to some negotiators said that as soon as the identifications of names and logistics ways get close things to reach a dead end, return to the starting points, and get close to the tension areas of the dialogue. This is due to the use and abuse of most of the political names that might be agreed upon, or the fear that the proposed names might raise reservations such as the claim that they are close to the regional dimension, or there exist files that actually condemn them or through previous leaks, even though they are often falsified.

Read: Libya official: We will not object to Russian intervention

In tandem with the undeclared and the practically almost-stumbling negotiations in the Netherlands, the Presidential Council is accelerating the enactment of urgent measures to reduce the decline of services and focus on the concerns of the Western and Southern towns. Most government institutions in the eastern region are entirely loyal to the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar because he is the real controller of the parliament or at least a considerable number of the deputies.

Also, the entire government team led by Abdullah Al-Thani are loyal to him. Besides, he is the one able to continue to contain the stream of religious intervention that is deliberately and continuously replacing the intellectual opponents of all institutions and mosques, to the extent of pushing Haftar to close some institutions of Koran memorisation in the city of Darnah at a recent time.