Members of the Preparatory Committee for National Reconciliation criticized the Committee Chairman Abdullah Al-Lafi’s refusal to include the dead fighters of Khalifa Haftar’s forces in the General Authority for the Care of Martyrs’ Families, considering this refusal a clear bias.
The members - who represent the delegation of Haftar’s forces - said in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the African Union High-Level Committee, Sassou Nguesso, that Al-Lafi’s behavior is away from the principle of neutrality, and an undermining of the African Union’s efforts to achieve national reconciliation.
Haftar's delegation also considered Al-Lafi's behavior a clear obstruction to the work of the Preparatory Committee, denouncing what they called procrastination, prolonging work on the reconciliation file and delaying its completion under many pretexts.
The members pointed out that Al-Lafi’s repeated postponement of the Preparatory Committee meetings more than once makes the meeting of the comprehensive conference next April unlikely. They called on the high-level committee to reconsider Al-Lafi’s assumption of supervision of the reconciliation file, which cannot tolerate exclusion, evasion and procrastination.
The members also called on the Head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, or his deputy, Mossa Al-Koni, to take over the preparatory committee, or for the High Commission for National Reconciliation to activate the reconciliation file. They noted that they are in the process of studying the announcement of suspension of participation within the preparatory committee, and extend it to withdrawal permanently if it is not possible to change the agreement.
They confirmed that they would demand that the United Nations withdraw the file from the Presidential Council as a basic condition for their continuation in the committee if their request is rejected.
Al-Lafi asked Menfi to withdraw his decision to include the dead fighters of Haftar’s forces to the lists of martyrs in the Authority for the Care of Families of Martyrs, Wounded and Amputees, explaining that the decision was issued in violation because he did not obtain approval, calling for adherence to the outcomes of the political dialogue.
