The United Nations General Assembly, which kicked off on September 12 at UN headquarters in New York has just ended. During the meeting, the priority was given to the issues of global security and combating terrorism. The settlement of crisis in Libya was also touched upon.
On September 20, the UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame at a closed meeting proposed an action plan for resolving the Libyan conflict. Mr. Salame told journalists that the plan was (allegedly) based on the needs of the Libyans who deserved the cessation of uncertainty and unpredictability. The plan for resolving the crisis implies amending the current Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), namely the reduction of Presidential Council to three members, forming new transitional government, holding a constitutional referendum and general parliamentary elections.
Libya is still a fractured country after the beginning of hostilities, the military intervention by NATO states in 2011 and the following civil war. The Gaddafi’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya fell and the democracy promised by the western states has never been established in the country.
Currently there are two key powers in Libya: the Government of National Unity led by Fayez Al-Sarraj in Tripoli and the House of Representatives, which is allied with the powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Judging by the actions of the Western countries regarding Libya, there is no guarantee that the plan will be really focused on the needs of Libyans and would radically change the situation for the better.
In its turn, Washington tries to pretend that it takes an active part in the further fate of the previously prosperous country. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert stated that the United States has welcomed the September 20 United Nations announcement of an action plan to advance political reconciliation in Libya and help the Libyan people achieve lasting peace and security. Obviously, the presented document meets the financial interests of the White House. Moreover, America and its true allies are interested in establishing full control over natural energy resources, which Libya is rich in.
The U.S. military intervention in Libya was essentially the beginning of a profitable military campaign for Washington to seize Libyan ‘black gold’. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, after the beginning of the hostilities, the American oil imports from Libya increased approximately six-fold: from 3 thousand barrels in 2011 to 20 in 2012. This is just approximate figures, but the amount of cheap oil obtained by the U.S. will remain a mystery.
The true attitude of the U.S. authorities towards the Libyan people is reflected in Donald Trump’s travel ban, which prohibits the entry for the citizens of Libya and five other Middle East countries, who are fleeing from hostilities and chaos.
Apart from the western countries, the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, took part in the destabilization of Libya. This June, the Libyan army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Al-Mesmari presented video and audio evidence confirming Qatar’s official involvement in financing and supporting terrorist groups. The Libyan army leadership also blamed Ali Sallabi, the spiritual leader of the Libyan opposition, for close ties with the Muslim Brothers and the Qatari Royal Family.
Colonel Ahmed Al-Mesmari also presented evidence that the Qatari authorities initiated the dispatch of its army units on the territory of Libya to impose control over the oil-rich Mu’tika and Misurata areas. At the same time, Libya was used as a transit point for the Qatari military aviation delivering arms and weapons to Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Syria.
Obviously, the United States and its partners are doing their best to slow down the political settlement of Libyan crisis. Instead of concrete steps, they look for opportunities to legalize their actions and seize the natural resources of the former Jamahiriya. However, despite all the Western intrigues, the Libyan people are capable to resist any external threat independently.
All images in this article are from the author.
