A Haftar delegation plans meeting with Dbeibé in Paris
Attempts by Marshal Khalifa Haftar to talk some sense into Libya's acting Prime Minister Dbeibé to allow parliament-appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha into the government are continuing.
Dbeibé refused to relinquish the post, despite the parliament's order, making it clear that he would only hand over power to a candidate democratically elected at the ballot box. Dbeibé has international support from Turkey and the international Muslim Brotherhood movement.
According to information published by the Africa Intelligence news portal, a meeting is planned to take place soon in Paris between a delegation of Marshal Haftar and Dbeibé. France has shown its support for Haftar on a number of occasions, so the Marshal's clan may have chosen the venue for the meeting. The aim of this meeting would be to convince Dbeibé to relinquish power to Fathi Bashagha and abide by the parliament's mandate.
Since Dbeibé has refused to implement the transfer of power, Libya has been in a serious political stalemate that has only further aggravated the already dire situation that the country has been experiencing since 2011.
According to Africa Intelligence, Haftar's delegation is headed by his own son, Belkacem, who has already represented his father on a number of occasions. According to Africa Intelligence, Belkacem flew to France several times in March to prepare for the meeting between the two delegations. On one of these trips, he met with Najla Mohammed El Mangoush, Libya's foreign minister, without much success.
Turkey is also reportedly present in these negotiations, through Erdogan's intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan. According to the article, Fidan also met with Belkacem Haftar at the end of March. Maintaining negotiations with Turkey must be an imperative step for Haftar's side in order to reach an agreement, with Erdogan being Dbeibé's main international supporter. The Turkish military presence in Libya continues to be one of the major impediments to normal political development in the country.
The Turkish military mission has, in addition to its peacekeeping functions, the objective of keeping Dbeibé, who would otherwise have been deposed by now, firmly in power. When Dbeibé announced his decision not to relinquish power despite the parliamentary mandate, it was with the implicit support of certain military sectors. French President Macron has repeatedly denounced the role of Turkish military intervention in Libya.
Negotiations in Cairo
From Wednesday 13 April, negotiations will take place in Cairo between the House of Representatives in Tobruk and the Higher State Council in Tripoli, the two main factions that are dividing Libya. One from the east, the second from the west. The Cairo negotiations have been organised under the aegis and at the behest of the UN special mission in Libya, and the special envoy heading it, Stephanie Williams.
The aim of the negotiations is to find consensus and reach agreements on which to build a democratic process that will lead to the holding of democratic elections with the best possible guarantees in Libya.
The international community and the United Nations hope to obtain sufficient consensus between the House of Representatives and the Higher Council of State in Cairo to move forward with the constituent process
