In Libya, Italy only makes upholstery
Libya is a strategic country for Italy, but both Draghi and Di Maio appear disinterested. Here's what happens. The analysis by Francesca Musacchio, director of Ofcs
Libya is not in fashion right now. Protests have broken out in various parts of the country since Friday, including violent demonstrations due to the political stalemate, the non-vote in December, the conditions of impoverishment of the population, the lack of electricity. The protests affected various cities, from Sirte to Tobruk, Sebha and Misurata and some citizens took to the streets wearing yellow vests.
But in Italy and Europe they turn a deaf ear despite the country's strategic role in terms of energy (oil and gas) and the flow of migrants . Everyone agrees that the country is a powder keg and that stabilizing Libya is essential. But at the moment the issue does not seem to enter the agendas of the European chancelleries.
Mario Draghi appears disinterested in the issue and the Foreign Minister has other things to think about amidst the war in Ukraine, NATO bridges and splits of the M5S. Yet on the Libya dossier it seems that Luigi Di Maio has asked for exclusivity. And Draghi would have granted it, perhaps trusting too much. And so, Italy has appointed a special envoy to Libya, Nicola Orlando. A capable and prepared person but “they won't let him do it”, local sources say. Furthermore, the head of the Farnesina would also have ignored our military presence in Libya: "No visits or support", they complain in those parts. And even if the Minister of Defense has often expressed the desire to deal with it, Di Maio allegedly asserted his exclusivity on the dossier preventing him from taking action. As always, therefore, from Rome there is a lack of political input from the men on the ground so that they can work to build a role for our country in Libya.
Even at the negotiating tables in Egypt and Morocco, again on the Libyan question, we have made upholstery. We continue to suffer the decisions of others, especially Russia and Turkey who, despite their commitment in Ukraine, do not give up on the North African country. And Italian politics would not even be worried about the agreement between Russia and Algeria which have decided to support Saif Gaddafi 's candidacy in the south of the country. The project would be to divide Libya into 3 areas, the old way: Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan.
Meanwhile, local Libyan and extraterritorial entities try to ride the protests. According to Libya Observer, 31 political parties have appealed to the State Council of Tripoli and the Tobruk House of Representatives, to define a date for the vote as soon as possible. The "expired" premier Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, placed there by the UN, does not give up his chair despite his mandate ended in December when he should have voted. But then the electoral round was skipped and the situation became incandescent, more than usual. Fathi Bashagha, former interior minister of Sarraj, was appointed prime minister by the Tobruk parliament and attempted to enter Tripoli in May, but things went badly resulting in an armed clash between the factions in support of Dbeibah and Bashagha.
Today in Ankara, Mario Draghi will participate in the Italian-Turkish intergovernmental summit together with 5 Ministers, including that of Defense and Foreign Affairs. The goal is to relaunch cooperation between the two countries. And then commercial agreements will be signed accompanied by big smiles and handshakes for the photo opportunity. Then we will talk about Ukraine and the food crisis. And Libya seems to be in a corner of the agenda. Who knows if they will have time to talk about it … Erdogan and Draghi will meet, even if diplomacy has struggled to mend after the premier's sentence pronounced at a press conference a few days after his inauguration at Palazzo Chigi: "With these dictators – he said, speaking of the Turkish sultan – let's call them for what they are, which is needed, however, one must be frank in expressing one's diversity of views and visions of society; and he must also be ready to cooperate to secure the interests of his country. We need to find the right balance ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/italia-libia-proteste/ on Tue, 05 Jul 2022 14:11:17 +0000.