Haftar declares LPA “obsolete”, its institutions “void”, and that his forces will “only follow the orders of the Libyan people”. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi signals intent to run in potential 2018 Presidential elections. The UN urges an extension of the LPA, and rejects any notion of a “military solution” to the crisis.
Dec. 18, 2017
With the two-year anniversary of the United Nations (UN)-backed Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) struck in Skhirat on December 17th 2015, the heads of Libya’s contested political factions have utilized the symbolic date as an opportunity to reveal their hand in the current game of Libyan power politics.
Commander of the Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar, announced on Sunday 17th December 2017[1][2][3] that the LPA was now “obsolete”. In a televised address, Haftar declared that "The 17th of December has arrived and brought with it the end of the so-called Skhirat agreement” and that "…all institutions created by this agreement are void". He added that “My army forces and I will only follow the orders of the Libyan people”, “…the signs show that Libya will enter a very perilous stage that is ominous of deterioration on all levels locally and this serious situation could spill to the region and the world” and that “All dialogues from Ghadames to Tunisia, let alone Skhirat and Geneva were all ink on paper”.
On the same day, a spokesman for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi told Egyptian news[4] that he intends to run during any potential Presidential elections in Libya next year: “Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former Libyan president, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya so he can run for the upcoming presidential elections due in 2018”.
The Government of National Accord set up in Tripoli by the UN, and Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, faces a dilemma in its attempts to impose its authority and reconcile differences in the midst of the competing factions, further complicated as it still refuses to acknowledge the amnesty granted to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in July 2017.
Meanwhile, both Ghassan Salame of the UN Support Mission in Libya[5], and the UN Security Council[6] have stressed that the LPA is still the only framework to reach a political solution to Libya’s crisis. The latter also saying “The Security Council underscores that there can be no military solution to the crisis and reaffirms the need for all parties in Libya to exercise restraint and refrain from any violence or actions that could undermine the UN-facilitated process.”
The BIC is concerned that the December 17th deadline has been utilized for symbolic purposes, and that there should still be attempts to mediate a dialogue between all rival factions. The BIC strongly advises against any armed confrontation, or other uses of force, to establish any particular player in power, and emphasizes that the priority for all parties involved must be the overall peace and well-being of the Libyan people who they purport to represent. In this, the BIC supports an extension of the LPA agreement beyond the 17th December and that urgent efforts should be made to implement a political negotiated solution.