Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Mustafa Fetouri
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Lockerbie’s only convict may be exonerated posthumously
The only man to be convicted of the infamous Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, died in 2012 and protested his innocence until his final breath. His fellow Libyan and co-defendant, Lamin Khalifa Fhimah, was acquitted and is still living in Libya. The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in December...
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Why Egypt’s meddling in Libya’s affairs is worrying
Of all Libya’s neighbours Egypt stands out as the most dangerous. Cairo now holds huge sway over Khalifa Haftar’s camp as his main regional backer to take the capital Tripoli from the Government of National Accord. The Egyptian role in Libya has surged since President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ascended...
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Is France changing its position on Libya and starting to support Haftar?
Last Monday, the French government hosted Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on a brief, unannounced, visit to Paris. Accompanied by his top political advisor, my ex-academic colleague turned politician Fadel Ed-Deep, he met President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. After the meeting an Élysée official said that, “Marshal Haftar...
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Another UN envoy to Libya resigns, betrayed by local politicians and international powers
The UN Envoy and head of its Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has resigned after two-and-a-half years in the job. A UN spokesperson confirmed that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has received Ghassan Salame’s resignation. Guterres will be “discussing a smooth transition” so as not to lose the momentum that Salame...
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Why has Libya’s Interior Minister asked the US to establish a base there?
Fathi Bashagha is the Interior Minister in Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), although many observers believe that he is the real power behind the throne. He rarely misses an opportunity to strengthen this perception, and despite his clumsy handling of the media he seems to enjoy the spotlight. Originally...
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Yet another Security Council resolution, but there’s no change in Libya
On 12 February, the UN Security Council adopted its long-awaited resolution 2510 on Libya endorsing the recommendations made by the Berlin Conference last month. International and regional powers met in the German capital and committed themselves to stricter policing of the arms embargo imposed on war-ravaged Libya since February...
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While some Libyans are kidnapped or displaced, others are celebrating
Next Monday marks nine years since the start of the foreign-backed uprising in Libya that toppled and then killed Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, plunging the country into ongoing chaos and lawlessness. The day has been remembered annually by Libyans, not as a day of celebration but, mostly, as a...
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Libya’s UN-recognised government has become a headache for the West
On 17 December 2015, the Libyan Political Accord (LPA) was signed in Skhirat, Morocco to the cheers of major powers, regional actors and Libya’s immediate neighbours; it was hailed as a major breakthrough, putting Libya on the road to redemption. In a ceremony hosted by the Moroccan Foreign Ministry,...
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Why major powers continue to watch as Libya burns
The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to meet yesterday to consult about Libya but the meeting was re-scheduled for today. The meeting was agreed to during 19 January’s Berlin Conference co-hosted by German leader Angela Merkel and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Berlin Conference’s long list of commitments...
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Berlin Conference on Libya was different, but hypocrisy could derail it
Twelve world leaders, the UN, the EU, the Arab League and the African Union attended the Berlin Conference on Libya last Sunday. They produced a very detailed communique of more than 50 points, most of them about basics like adherence to UN resolutions, while emphasising a peaceful settlement for...
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Why Haftar refused to sign the Moscow ceasefire document
Diplomatic activities between Moscow, Ankara, Tripoli and Benghazi finally yielded some kind of lull in the nine-month war over control of Tripoli, the Libyan capital. On Sunday 12 January, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Vladimir Putin called on Libya’s warring sides to declare a ceasefire, which they did. On...
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Haftar takes Sirte, threatens Misrata, but wants Tripoli
Last Monday marked a turning point in the ongoing battle for Tripoli. The Libyan National Army (LNA) entered the coastal city of Sirte, the home town of former ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Commanded by Libya’s strongman, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the LNA took the city, 500 kilometres east of the...
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What are the consequences of Turkish boots on the ground in Libya?
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is submitting a bill to the Turkish parliament seeking approval for its plans to send troops to Libya. The parliament is expected to approve the bill today because the president’s AK Party has a majority in the chamber. The vote was originally planned for 7...
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Algeria sees business as usual despite weeks of protests
Millions of Algerians cast their votes on 12 December and chose 74-year-old former Prime Minister Abdelmadjid Tebboune as their country’s first freely-elected President since independence from France in 1962. The turnout was said to be around 40 per cent, and Tebboune won with a little over 58 per cent...
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How Libya’s UN recognised government is doing everything but its job
Last Tuesday, 17 December, marked four years since the Libyan Political Accord (LPA) was signed in Skhirat, Morocco creating the Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj. That government was supposed to be a caretaker authority for a two-year transitional period at most. It was tasked with...
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Why Libya’s maritime accord with Turkey has ignited anger
Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) signed on 27 November two documents with Turkey. One deals with security while the other draws out the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. While the first document went almost unnoticed the second one created confusion and triggered...
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How the Trump impeachment investigation turned Ukraine into a US open testing grounds
On Tuesday the United States House Intelligence Committee, investigating President Donald Trump, issued its report on the impeachment of the republican. Yesterday, the process of impeaching him moved to the House Judiciary Committee where actual charges against the president will be articulated. The drama is expected to continue for the...
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Remembering Yasser Arafat
This month marked 15 years since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat passed away in what remain suspicious circumstances. Arafat came to symbolise not only the Palestinian struggle for independence but also went on to become an international icon as a freedom fighter against oppression. In his rise to the Palestinian leadership...
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Will Libya back away from allowing Gaddafi to stand trial at the ICC?
It appears that Libya’s Minister of Justice, Mohamed Lamloum, underestimated the public reaction to his statements before the International Criminal Court (ICC) last Tuesday. The ICC was hearing an appeal from the defence team of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s who were disputing the case’s admissibility before the international court. During...
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Libya’s day of shame at the International Criminal Court
On Monday and Tuesday this week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) held a hearing for Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s challenge to the admissibility of his case before the court. Gaddafi junior is accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity during the revolt against his father’s rule in 2011. Representing...
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Algerian demonstrators are calling for a second revolution
Sixty-five years ago, the people of Algeria rose in great numbers and picked up arms against France, the local colonial power. Thus began one of the bloodiest national struggles in modern history. When the Algerian revolution started on 1 November 1954, despite being four times the size of France,...
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Arms and sovereignty are priorities for Russia’s return to Africa
Better late than never sums up Moscow’s newfound interest in Africa. While Russia is no stranger to the continent, Moscow’s African policy stalled after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union’s presence in Africa, which Russia basically inherited, goes back to the earliest days of...
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Libya’s GNA is linked with notorious criminals, including human traffickers
In February 2017, after less than a year in office, Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti managed to reduce the flow of illegal migration out of Libya by 87 per cent. He visited Libya and signed a deal with the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj...
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Tunisia’s new president is an independent, but he will have to work with the political parties
Kais Saied is the new President of Tunisia after a landslide election victory with 72.71 per cent of the votes cast. Saied received 2.7 million votes while his rival, businessman and media mogul Nabil Karoui, polled just over a million. The Election Commission confirmed the results on 14 October,...