United Nations special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame condemned on Sunday foreign meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
The envoy had made a surprise visit to the country, landing in Tamanhant airport on his way to Sebha at the head of a special committee for the South that was formed by the UN mission earlier this year.
This marks the first visit to Libya by the envoy since assuming his post.
In Sebha, he met with dignitaries, elders, academics and local activists from Fezzan.
Salame said that 2011 “was not the best scenario to deal with the situation in Libya.”
The recent years, he noted, have witnessed a lot of foreign interference in Libyan affairs, which is harming its sovereignty and raising doubts about its independence.
Libya needs mutual coexistence, but unfortunately the institutions that are running the country are “lacking” for several reasons. Most importantly, he said, were the disputes that were tearing them apart.
This applies to the Presidential Council, parliaments and Higher Council of State, continued Salame.
There is therefore a need to come up with alternatives, he proposed.
“These institutions do not work for or care about you. They do not care enough about security… You do not deserve this,” he stressed.
"We came to Libya to serve the Libyan people, not politicians.”
“Libyans need to meet in a national conference to articulate their will, which I will take to the Security Council and international community to formulate into binding resolutions for those preventing the UN and Libyans from reaching the political structure Libya deserves,” declared Salame.
Salame is set to tackle Libya during a meeting at the Security Council on Friday.
Moreover, he defended the recent security measures taken by the UN mission in the capital Tripoli,
He said that the mission played a central role in reaching a ceasefire in the city, adding that these measures were fundamentally different that previous steps.
The envoy added that more security changes can be expected on the ground next week.
In addition, Salame revealed that the UN mission will open an office in Bengahzi at the end of January, hoping that it can open an office in Sebha before the end of the year.'
This article has been adapted from its original source.
