Libya’s High Council of State calls for cancelling French deal

The Libyan High Council of State (HCS) on Sunday called on the government to cancel the Total-Marathon deal and end cooperation with French companies in response to France’s insults against Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

In a statement, the HCS urged the Council of Ministers to assume its religious, legal and moral responsibilities, and respond to the insults by ending deals with French companies.

The council called for the cancellation of the suspended agreement which would see France’s Total purchase a share in Marathon Oil Libya in the Waha Oil Company, affiliated with the National Oil Corporation (NOC).

The statement also called on the Libyan judiciary to decide on an appeal submitted by the HCS against this “suspicious deal”.

Last Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country will not give up on the offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

READ: Macron’s real crisis has more to do with French values than Islam

The statement added that it “sadly followed the irresponsible statements of the French president, in which he insisted on continuing to publish the offensive cartoons of the noble Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, calling it freedom of expression.”

The HCS stressed that these “statements and positions are harsh insults to more than one and a half billion Muslims worldwide.”

At council also condemned the decapitation of a French teacher, saying it “contradicts the teachings of Islam,” stressing that it is “a result of Macron’s racist policies”.

The Council held Macron responsible for “the consequences of any other serious repercussions that may occur between people of different religious backgrounds in France and the rest of the world.”

Calls for boycott of French products – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]