Libya’s two ‘governments’ have finally agreed to put aside their differences and set up a single unity government, with the hope of helping the beleaguered nation get back on its feet.
Aside from a few months long honeymoon, Libya has been wracked by violence since the ouster of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in February 2011. Soon after Tunisia’s Arab Spring, which has seen more success than other Arab nations aspiring for democracy, Libyans began to demonstrate in the East and before long, the people had taken the country into their own hands.
But from there, it has gone South. The vacuum that Gaddafi left, given that there was absolutely zero in terms of institutional infrastructure, was impossible to fill with a first attempt at democracy after decades of tyranny and erosion of every single aspect of social, judicial and enforcement structures.
And so, the rival militias began to trade barbs, then blows and in the end, a state of quasi civil war ensued. Libya was awash with weapons abandoned by the regime and its mercenaries from Africa. The militia, still in a mental state of war, having battled the regime, quickly fortified their positions.
Libya voted, but the results did not convince the people of Tripoli. The internationally recognised government had to retreat to Tobruk and frequent skirmishes broke out between the two sides.
In the meantime, Daesh sensed the opportunity in Libya and obeyed Al Baghdadi’s call for another branch of the Caliphate and affiliates sprouted up in cities such as Sirte, Dernah and Al Bayda. Incidentally, Sirte was once a Gaddafi stronghold, but what began as ‘resistance’, very quickly turned into Daesh.
When the beheadings of foreign workers surfaced on the media, it jolted the Libyan factions into action and very soon, meetings were scheduled. It is clear that Syria’s Daesh is sending fighters to Libya, and Tunisian jihadists are also taking up arms.
What the two sides really need to figured out is how to mould Libya into a united nation. Libya, in reality, was two kingdoms in antiquity – Tripolitania and Cyrenacia in the East. They were hammered together in the early 20th century and Gaddafi consolidated that unity. But as the factions began to fight, it became clear that while sectarianism is not that much of a problem in Libya, but tribalism and division was.
It is good to see that the two sides have finally agreed to push for a unity government. It is only then, when East and West Libya pull together, that they can hope to drive Islamic State out. The people of Libya should take heart. When it seemed that all was doomed to fail, sense prevailed and now some sort of a future can be hoped for. Malta has played an active role in trying to bring the two sides closer to agreement and this is positive. Malta’s mantra has always been that there cannot be peace in the world without peace in the Mediterranean. That also means that there cannot be peace in the Mediterranean without peace in Libya. This, surely, is the first step forward for Libya’s fledgling democracy.