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Op-Ed: New names for Libyan GNA may be ready by deadline

The nine-member Council was in session today Friday, Feb. 12, in Skhirat, Morocco. The final decision could be made today as the prime-minister designate Faiez Serraj is to travel to a security conference in Munich Germany that starts today and runs until Sunday. The GNA has acted as if it were already a functioning government. and has been accepted as bound to be such by the international community. Serraj has often met with international figures. UN meetings have been held to plan aid for the government, even though the term of the GNA does not start until the HoR gives it a vote of confidence.

The first GNA government was presented to the HoR after the deadline for submission. It was turned down as being too large. The Presidency Council was given another ten days to present a new list. This deadline was also missed. The new deadline is for February 14th, Sunday. If the list is given to the HoR by then, it could be voted on the following Monday.

HoR President Ageela Salah is also going to Munich. There could very well be discussions between the two on the composition of the new GNA, even though Salah is personally opposed to Serraj as prime minister. The Libya Herald notes there have been strong differences of opinion and personality clashes, with even physical violence between two members of the Presidency Council. The Libya Observer is more graphic: The reports claimed that some members pushed and shoved each other over some government portfolios, while Ali Al-Gotrani, a strong ally of renegade General Khalifa Haftar, slapped Ahmed Mitig in the face for comments he made about Haftar. On Monday, Al-Gotrani revealed that members of the Presidency Council are in complete disagreement over the posts. Al-Gotrani wants Haftar or someone approved by Haftar to be appointed defense minister. This would never be accepted by many of those who signed the LPA from the rival General National Council (GNC) government. Even if there is some final deal that enables the GNA to receive a vote of confidence in the HoR, the nine member Presidency Council appears to be hopelessly split between supporters of Haftar and those who want him out of the GNA entirely.

Haftar remains commander in chief of the Libyan National Army even though a section 8 in additional provisions of the LPA gave that function to the Presidency Council back on December 17. This section has been ignored but there is another section that would do the same thing whenever the HoR gives a vote of confidence in the GNA. The HoR is demanding that this section be deleted before they will approve the LPA. Of late, this matter is not even discussed. If there is not some sort of deal on this issue, the HoR will not likely give a vote of confidence in the GNA. One possibility is that Haftar will stay in his position temporarily and that the section will simply be ignored as has happened with the other section 8. You would think the press would pick up on this but that appears unlikely given past reporting on Libya. On the issue of who will be defense minister a decision could be made just to leave the position vacant for now.

There is all sorts of pressure being put on the GNA to quickly come up with the new list of names and for the HoR to approve the GNA. Even Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has chimed in to urge the GNA to iron out the final issues and submit a list of members soon. He did not mention the deadline: The Secretary-General emphasized the urgency to form a Government of National Accord, so that Libyans can address together the many challenges they are facing, including the threat of an expansion of Da’esh and economic decline. A plethora of articles will no doubt implant in the public mind the dangers of an expansion of the Islamic State, including narratives about a huge influx of fighters and leaders from Iraq and Syria. Estimates of the number of fighters will also be on the increase. All this media coverage will work to manufacture consent for foreign military intervention. The creation of the GNA will allow western powers to ask for their intervention and provide legitimacy to their operations. The US plans a third front against the Islamic State in Libya but other countries such as Italy and the UK are also ready to intervene.

The GNA wants to set up headquarters in Tripoli so that it can gain control of the Libyan Central Bank and the National Oil Company. Once it can control these key institutions plus obtain multi-billions in frozen Libyan assets, it can buy off opposition, and starve the GNC government and militia the GNA does not approve of funds. However, there is no sign that the GNC or its allied militia such as the Libya Dawn will go along with this plan. There is little discussion of this security issue or what is being done to address it.

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