By Abdullah Alkabir, Libyan political writer and commentator
The Great Sin of the Government
Revelation of the secret meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Unity and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the state of occupation was not expected at all, so the public opinion was shocked by the news immediately after it was widely circulated by the media. Angry demonstrations broke out in condemnation, rejection, and denunciation of the move, and indeed all political forces agreed to reject this step, calling on the government to retreat, and even resign, while some political parties tried to exploit the event to bring down the government. This is an old demand that has been renewed by the House of Representatives (HoR) the High Council of State (HCS), and some opportunistic figures who were waiting for such a chance.
Justifications made in the Foreign Ministry's statement were not convincing, and no one believed that Al-Mangoush would take this step on her own, and through her personal efforts. Rather, most observers believed that the Prime Minister arranged this meeting through Italian mediation and American encouragement.
The meeting, which was supposed to remain secret, confused the government and weakened it, while all lurking parties were prepared to direct the demonstrations to overthrow the government.
Over the two days that followed the revelation, the government took several measures to appear coherent and sought to work to absorb popular anger. The calls to overthrow the government did not receive a strong response despite the state of popular anger. This was due to several reasons, the most important of which was the refusal to give the HoR and the HCS the opportunity to extend the transitional phase by forming an interim government, and the spread of news about meetings between other Libyan figures with officials from the State of Occupation that had previously been published by major reliable newspapers.
The majority of people have become convinced that their leaders, who lack internal legitimacy, are seeking to obtain such legitimacy from abroad, and because the State of Occupation has wide influence in decision-making circles in the USA, some took the initiative, and others prepared, to communicate with the government of the State of Occupation, race to appease it, and make promises to establish diplomatic relations, and develop them until full normalization, in exchange for leveraging the US decision-maker to empower these parties to assume power in Libya.
However, the move to real action is the greatest sin, which will destroy any politician, whether a person or a party. The Libyans know their historical enemy, and they know their highest interests, despite all prevailing difficult circumstances.
Disrupting elections and forming another government was and is still the goal of the majority of the parties in power, but there is no international consensus on this approach yet. While Bathily talks about a unified government, but without clarifying the unification mechanisms. Moreover, no progress has been made by the track of the 6+6 committee, and all of these are indicators that the people’s desired change, whether through a new political agreement or through elections, is not on the offing in the foreseeable horizon.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer
