TRIPOLI 17.2.2015
It is worth while noting that terrorist groups like Ansar al-Sharia and Daesh (in English Islamic State) have been around ever since the Qaddafi regime was overthrown in 2011, but the threat they posed received little attention from successive Libyan governments or the countries of the West — at least until the killing of U.S. Ambassador in 2012. The reluctance of the international community to play a more active role in post-Qaddafi Libya is partly to blame for the country’s descent into chaos.
In addition to securing the country’s borders, any intervention in Libya should also focus on protecting vital oil infrastructure. Rebuilding the security and defense sectors should also be a top priority — but without ill-advised efforts to appease militias or their leaders by trying to integrate them without proper vetting, training, or discipline. One British effort to train members of Libyan militias, which resulted in a string of criminal acts in a town near the U.K. training facility, offered an excellent example of the sorts of disasters that can occur. That experience should service as a valuable lesson for both Libyan and international partners seeking to train members of the security forces in the future. For their part, Libyans have to ensure that economic and governance opportunities are fairly distributed, pushing back against post-revolutionary policies that institutionalized exclusion, injustice, and lack of accountability. Only by uniting can Libyans face the challenges of the future.
The crisis in Libya is becoming less of a local problem and more of a regional and international one. Both Libyan leaders and the international community must acknowledge this reality. While a homegrown solution to the crisis would have been the preferred option, Libyans now lack the capacity to address their problems on their own. Their country needs the help of the outside world. It is crucial that any solution must be coordinated with trustworthy Libyan partners who can join the international community in the struggle against the rise of the Islamic State and who stand for inclusion, democracy, and the rule of law. Such Libyan voices are indispensable to any international or regional solution.
Life looks normal in Tripoli. Cafes are bustling with customers sipping cappuccino, while well-stocked shops sell anything from Italian underwear to French cheese.
But as in the days of Muammar Gaddafi, many residents prefer to avoid talking politics in Tripoli, where a self-declared government has ruled since an armed faction called Libya Dawn seized the capital by expelling its rivals in August.
Across Libya to the east, where the internationally recognised government operates and a former general is battling Islamist militants, many Libyans are just as wary, fearing any criticism will see them branded as traitors or worse.
In fact heavily armed groups have been fighting on different fronts for territory and control of oil ports. Hundreds of civilians have been killed and 400,000 displaced inside Libya since the summer, according to the United Nations.
With the country polarized between the two rival factions who dismiss each other as traitors, terrorists or war criminals, many Libyans explain that, as in the Gaddafi era, it's best to say little and avoid trouble.
"I keep politics at home," said an entrepreneur who gave his name as Mahmoud. Like other Tripoli residents interviewed he preferred not to use his full name for fear of reprisals.
"You don't want to get into trouble criticizing the government or armed groups," he said, sitting with family members in the large reception room of their Tripoli home. "In Libya the political atmosphere is now you are with me or against me."
Diplomats and foreign companies have mostly pulled out of Tripoli since the summer when Dawn forces battled rival armed groups to drive them out of the city in weeks of rocket fire and shelling that destroyed the airport.
Human rights activists, journalists and supporters of Thinni or of an armed group from Zintan, which was expelled by Dawn, have fled the capital after facing threats or attacks, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said.
Rights groups have also documented similar cases in East, where Thinni teams up with Khalifa Haftar, former general who used war planes to attack civil airports in his self-declared battle against Islamists.
Fearing for their security, supporters of Libya Dawn have escaped to Tripoli from Benghazi and other eastern cities where they say they faced persecution.
"I didn't feel comfortable any longer," said a journalist who was based in Benghazi until October. "You could not criticise Haftar or you get framed as an Islamist."
POLITICAL GRAFFITI
With people avoiding talking about politics, the debate in Tripoli has shifted to walls, where both sides attack each other with graffiti -- a legacy from the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi when scared residents sprayed slogans at night.
"No to Karama", is written on one wall, referring to Haftar's campaign against Islamists. Someone else has overwritten the "no" and added "yes". Yet another spray-can artist added "Libya Dawn" next to "Haftar".
Focus points for Karama graffiti are the central district of Fashlum and the Tajoura suburb, areas which revolted early against Gaddafi. But there is also no shortage of graffiti supporting Libya Dawn or Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Ansar al-Sharia, which is branded a terrorist organisation by Washington.
Tripoli's new rulers are trying hard to show that life is normal, inviting foreign journalists to visit. Some African and Asian diplomats have returned though they avoid dealing in public with the non-recognised government.
Some foreign businessmen stayed, but there is little activity as money transfers out of Libya are very difficult. The central bank is trying to conserve its depleted dollar reserves due to a loss of oil revenues because of the fighting.
"I have little to do those days," said Mohamed, head of a company
which helped foreign
investors with their paperwork. Adding to a sense of isolation is the departure
of foreign airlines -- the few foreign connections run by Libyan carriers are
booked out for weeks.Main hotels like Rixos and Radisson Blu, had already closed after Corinthia killing.
Police have shown a more robust presence in Tripoli since the attack, but many residents prefer to stay home at night with shops closing early and people staying off the streets. "I don't go out much at night any more to visit my friends," said a Libyan government employee. "Either I sleep at a friend's place or I leave very early."
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emaco-group-Libya/179598482132721?ref=hl
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