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LIBYA: Confusion Over Suspension

LIBYA: Confusion Over Suspension The Interior Minister will not accept his dismissal. Claims and counter claims regarding the suspension, dismissal and investigation – or the lack thereof – of Interior Minister Umar Al‐Sinki is the source of continuing confusion. The official pro‐House of Representatives (HoR) news agency LANA (Libyan News Agency; also WAL) said on February 13th that the HoR was investigating Al‐Sinki. The head of the HoR Defence and National Security Committee, Fathallah Al‐Sayti later denied the LANA report. Al‐Sayti posted on his Facebook page late on February 13th that Sinki was ‘‘still carrying out his duties’’, adding that ‘‘the cabinet was working on solving this problem and the HoR will announce its position on the issue.’’ ‘‘Minister of Interior Al‐Sinki was given a vote of confidence by the HoR’’, Sayti added, ‘‘and the withdrawal of confidence from him or any other minister is in the jurisdiction of the HoR. This also applies to the appointment of a replacement. The government can only nominate,’’ he added. ‘‘In my role as the head of the HoR Defence and National Security Committee, I had received a letter from the Interior Minister directed to the Prime Minister and urgent action will be taken on it.’’ Sinki had reportedly been sacked by the Prime Minister Abdullah Al‐Thani on February 9th, after Al‐Sinki had given a controversial interview on February 4th to Le Monde when he was in Paris for talks with the French government. In the interview, Al‐Sinki had accused General Khalifah Haftar of being a dictator and called for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) dialogue to be held in Misratah, his home town. However, the Interior Minister did not accept his dismissal and posted on his ministry's Facebook that only the HoR had the authority to remove him. The Al‐Sinki episode only serves to provide further evidence that the nascent Libyan legislative and executive organisational structures and systems are still very weak and disorganised, comments the Libya Herald (14/2) . It will also be seen by some as further demonstration of the factionalism and tensions that exist both within the HoR and the cabinet, as well as between the HoR and the Al‐Thani government. (Sources as referenced in text) Earlier in February the HoR had voted to suspend a controversial law that barred officials from the era of toppled dictator Mouammar Gaddafy from holding political posts. “The House of Representatives voted in favour of suspending the law of political exclusion until the adoption of a permanent constitution,” lawmaker Tarek al‐Jerushi said, adding that the law could now be considered “annulled”. However, it is unclear how the authorities will be able to apply the law since HoR's legitimacy is disputed by a rival coalition that seized Tripoli in 2014. The Islamist‐led Fajr Libya group reinstated the General National Congress (GNC) and formed a rival government, forcing the elected parliament and government to take refuge in eastern Libya. In May 2013, the GNC passed the law banning officials who had served under Gaddafy between September 1st, 1969 and the fall of his regime in October 2011 from holding any political position. Its opponents have argued that it was adopted under pressure from armed groups which besieged government buildings in Tripoli for days until it was approved by the then transitional assembly. (© AFP 2/2 2015) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

LIBYA: Confusion Over Suspension

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2015.06141.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

The Interior Minister will not accept his dismissal. Claims and counter claims regarding the suspension, dismissal and investigation – or the lack thereof – of Interior Minister Umar Al‐Sinki is the source of continuing confusion. The official pro‐House of Representatives (HoR) news agency LANA (Libyan News Agency; also WAL) said on February 13th that the HoR was investigating Al‐Sinki. The head of the HoR Defence and National Security Committee, Fathallah Al‐Sayti later denied the LANA report. Al‐Sayti posted on his Facebook page late on February 13th that Sinki was ‘‘still carrying out his duties’’, adding that ‘‘the cabinet was working on solving this problem and the HoR will announce its position on the issue.’’ ‘‘Minister of Interior Al‐Sinki was given a vote of confidence by the HoR’’, Sayti added, ‘‘and the withdrawal of confidence from him or any other minister is in the jurisdiction of the HoR. This also applies to the appointment of a replacement. The government can only nominate,’’ he added. ‘‘In my role as the head of the HoR Defence and National Security Committee, I had received a letter from the Interior Minister directed to the Prime Minister and urgent action will be taken on it.’’ Sinki had reportedly been sacked by the Prime Minister Abdullah Al‐Thani on February 9th, after Al‐Sinki had given a controversial interview on February 4th to Le Monde when he was in Paris for talks with the French government. In the interview, Al‐Sinki had accused General Khalifah Haftar of being a dictator and called for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) dialogue to be held in Misratah, his home town. However, the Interior Minister did not accept his dismissal and posted on his ministry's Facebook that only the HoR had the authority to remove him. The Al‐Sinki episode only serves to provide further evidence that the nascent Libyan legislative and executive organisational structures and systems are still very weak and disorganised, comments the Libya Herald (14/2) . It will also be seen by some as further demonstration of the factionalism and tensions that exist both within the HoR and the cabinet, as well as between the HoR and the Al‐Thani government. (Sources as referenced in text) Earlier in February the HoR had voted to suspend a controversial law that barred officials from the era of toppled dictator Mouammar Gaddafy from holding political posts. “The House of Representatives voted in favour of suspending the law of political exclusion until the adoption of a permanent constitution,” lawmaker Tarek al‐Jerushi said, adding that the law could now be considered “annulled”. However, it is unclear how the authorities will be able to apply the law since HoR's legitimacy is disputed by a rival coalition that seized Tripoli in 2014. The Islamist‐led Fajr Libya group reinstated the General National Congress (GNC) and formed a rival government, forcing the elected parliament and government to take refuge in eastern Libya. In May 2013, the GNC passed the law banning officials who had served under Gaddafy between September 1st, 1969 and the fall of his regime in October 2011 from holding any political position. Its opponents have argued that it was adopted under pressure from armed groups which besieged government buildings in Tripoli for days until it was approved by the then transitional assembly. (© AFP 2/2 2015)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 2015

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