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A decade since the Arab Spring swept across North Africa and the Middle East, Libya remains torn between opposing factions battlingto fill the power vacuum left by fallen dictator MuammarGaddafi. Paris Perspective looks at how Libya has become a hub for human trafficking,engulfed by lawlessness and impunity, and how France helped to make it that way.

Two rival governments now control thefaction-riven battleground that isLibya. There's theinternationally recognised administration in Tripoli, in the west, and the oil-rich parallel administrationcontrolledby rebel General Khalifa Haftar, in the east.

Positioned at the crossroads between Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, Libyalacksany fundamental state structure. Thus, it's become a breeding ground fortrafficking vulnerable migrants risking their lives in the hope of crossing the Mediterranean to start a new life in the EU.

French anthropologist andwriter Jrme Tubiana recently travelled to atown recognised as the people-smuggling capital of Libya. An authority on the Sahel, Tubianatransformed his encounters with an enigmatic doctor, who runs a safe-house for migrants, into a graphic novel: The Curse of You-Know-Where.

Meetthe 'doctor'

The doctoris a former English interpreter for Colonel Gaddafi who, according to Tubiana, was traumatised by the 2011 NATO military intervention in Libya. His hometown,a Gaddafi stronghold, was heavily bombed and remains a rare enclave of nostalgia for the ancienrgime.

Tubiana says the doctoris neither a hero nor a main character in the novel, but a guide. Hes actually been a real help to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), setting up a little clinic in a safe house ...He's really helping migrants who end up in this town.

Between 2018 and 2020, Tubiana visited the safe house four or five times, and gradually began extending his stays there as he was welcomed by the doctor.

Why Transform The Story Of Migrants In Libya Into A Graphic Novel?

The residents of the town, whichremains unnamed, have a mixed sense of pride and shame. They are proud that some Libyans are helping migrants there which is not that common but they are also tetchily aware of their reputation as Libya's migrant traffickingcapital.

The termtrafficking is very loaded in Libya. It's a generic word for a very widespread phenomenon," explains Tubiana."Migrants arecommonly captured and held prisoner for months, in very difficult situations, in crowded places. There they are tortured for ransoms that are supposed to be sent by their families.

And so, the locals bow their heads in shame. They dont want the name of their town to be revealed. In Libya there is a collective omerta, or code of silence, regarding migrant torture.

The migrant 'safe house'

Some 4,000 migrantsare thought to have crossed the threshold of this one safe house, which can host up to 80 people at a time. Thesmall comforts foundwithin its walls are rudimentary, at best.

They have food, clothes, places to sleep and some level of protectionbut that protection isnt perfect, says Tubiana.

There is a guard with a gun, but the protection isnt the gun it'sthe place is run by that Libyan doctor and somehow its protected by social cohesion. But that has its limits.

Just aday after Tubiana leftthe town, a series of shootings targeting a migrant couplewere reported. They involved a woman who had been forced into prostitutionby a smuggling gang that wasnow attempting to recapture her.

Events such as this highlight the sense of isolation and helplessness that is endemic among migrants crossing the desert to the sea. Nobody is coming to help, says Tubiana. The UN in Libya are not doing their work. They're not efficient at evacuating people,even people who are threatened.

The execution of a Sierra Leonean man by traffickers wanting to set an example to others is a stark reminder of what migrants are forced to endure.

MSF hasrecordedtestimonies ofexploited migrants who say such killings are regular practice among the ringleaders of trafficking networks. People are also killed if they can't pay their captors, butthis isn't always the case.

Atthe safe house, people are free to leave when they want to; its not a prison," says Tubiana, adding the doctor alsohelpsmigrants by using a local radio station to send messages to the traffickers telling them: "We know who you are, we know what you're doing. Please don't kill them."

The doctorencourages traffickers to send migrants who cannotpay for their lives to the safe house. Some have been dropped off in appalling condition. Dehydrated, skeletal, broken. And some die.

France won the battle but lost the peace

Following the ongoing accounts of abuse, racketeering, forced prostitution and slavery how has Europespecifically France dealt with the situation in Libya?

Back in 2011, France positioned itself at the diplomatic forefront of the Arab Spring, becomingthe first country to recognise the National Transitional Council. It also co-led the NATO mission to protect Libyan civilians.

The town where the novel takes place, like some other communities, remembers Gaddafi era with great nostalgia. But thats not a common feeling across most of Libya.

NATO brought a great deal of freedom, unprecedented freedom, explainsTubiana. But now people are disappointed by the state of the economy, the militia presence andthe corruption, as well as a lot of other problems.

Why French diplomacy failed in Libya

Once the air strikes ended, France failed tofollow throughon its promises which is notuncommon with western military interventions. Post-conflict, France didnt help secure Libyas future.

In 2017, when President Emmanuel Macron hosted Libya'stwo rival governments, the talks collapsed amid the absence of a coherent strategy to bring the warring parties together.

European quarrelling

Libya has also suffered because European countries have been unable to agree a common approach to dealing with the waves of migrantsthat are launched on skiffs from the North African coast.

Diplomatic relations between France and Italy, in particular, have been at a low ebb in recent years, with conflicting strategies in dealing with migration exacerbatingcommunication problems between Paris and Rome.

To make matters worse, theEuropean neighbourswere almost engaged in a proxy war on the ground in Libya.

Has the Covid-19 pandemic been used as a barrier to help trapped or stranded migrants?

Clearly France and Italy were on opposite sides of the fighting, especially during the toughest battles. Italy wassupporting the Government of National Accord and France [supporting] Haftar, says Tubiana, but with a caveat.

People wondered how much this rivalry was actually real, or staged. In other parts of the region, where European anti-migrant policy and oil interests were at stake, relations were not so bad."

The tug of war between France and Italy was only part of the problem, Tubiana adds. An "international incurrence" on Libya efforts by other nations to exploit its position and resources has probably been thestrongest forceagainst peace.

And, asoutsiders increase their ambitions in a country that is 90 percent dependent on oil,Libya's future will remainvery uncertain.

Watch full video here

This edition was produced andpresented by David Coffey

Sound engineering by Ccile Pompeani

Vision mixing and editing by Vincent Pora

Libya, human trafficking and the French connection - Full Interview

Jrme Tubiana is anthropologist, journalist, writer & Sahel specialist who has worked with the Small Arms Survey and Doctors Without Borders andco-wrote the graphic novel The Curse of You-Know-Where and the short film "Des nouvelles de Yonas" for ARTE.

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Paris Perspective - Paris Perspective #6: Libya, human trafficking and the French connection - RFI

SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Scores of Libyan parliament members from both sides of the divided country arrived in the frontline city of Sirte on Sunday for a session this week to debate a proposed unity government.

The parliament has been split - as have most state institutions - since soon after it was elected in 2014, as Libya broke between warring factions in the east and west.

It is meeting this week to debate giving confidence to a government announced by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, who was designated as prime minister last month through a political dialogue held in Geneva by the United Nations.

Under that process, his government is intended only to oversee the run-up to an election planned for the end of this year and then to cede power to the new authority it creates.

A military ceasefire under the same U.N. process has held since the autumn, after the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) turned back an assault on Tripoli by Khalifa Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA).

The ceasefire was supposed to include reopening the main coast road through Sirte, which is held by the LNA. However, groups on the GNA side have refused to do so, saying pro-LNA foreign mercenaries remain near the frontline.

It is not clear how many of the 200 parliament members elected in 2014 will attend the session, with about 75 having arrived by late on Sunday, parliament spokesman Abdullah Belhaq said. Some members have died, others have resigned and some have threatened to boycott the meeting.

Debate on Monday will include discussion of what constitutes a legitimate quorum, and what majority is needed to confer confidence, the parliament rapporteur Saleh Galma said.

If parliament is unable to agree on approving the new government, the U.N. talks forum has said it can do so instead.

Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali in Sirte and Reuters Libya newsroom; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Frances Kerry

Continued here:
Libyan MPs arrive at Sirte to debate unity government - Reuters

A protester holds an anti-regime placard in Yangon as soldiers deploy in February. / The Irrawaddy

By The Irrawaddy 12 March 2021

Disbanding Myanmars hated military risksdestabilizing the country, in the same way that the Western invasions of Iraq and Libya and the subsequent disbandment of local military forces left security vacuums that were filled by Islamic State, said former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo.

Yeo acknowledged that the Tatmadaw (Myanmars military) are hated by many Myanmar people. The reaction to removing the army from the equation would be euphoria, he said.

[But] what happens five years, 10 years from now? I think theres a fair chance that Myanmar will become Libya and Iraq, the South China Morning Post reported him saying.

Myanmar has seen daily anti-regime protests across the country following the militarys Feb. 1 coup. In an attempt to stop the protests and the growing civil disobedience movement, the security forces have resorted to lethal force with at least 70 civilians killed.

Instability in Myanmar could also drag down its neighbors, includingChina,India and Bangladesh, as well as affecting Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) warned Yeo, who was Singapores foreign minister between 2004 and 2011. He added that we will have years, even decades of trouble.

In the first week of March, Asean called for all parties in Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint as well as flexibility as the crisis in the country worsens.

Singapores current Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan proposed that the U.N. secretary generals special envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, be allowed to visit the country as soon as possible to meet all key stakeholders, including ousted leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who he said should be released from detention.

The only way youre going to get a long-term, sustainable, viable solution is for national reconciliation to occur, and in particular we call for the release of the President Win Myint and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the other political detainees.

Balakrishnan also stressed that Singapore has not recognized the regime as Myanmars government.

We have not recognized the military leaders as the government of Myanmar, he said. We do recognize, however, that under the 2008 Constitution, it provides for a special role for the military as an institution in the body politic of Myanmar.

Yeo described the situation in Myanmar as heartbreaking and an enormous setback, given Myanmars transition to democratic rule in recent years.

The immediate priority must be to step back from a rapidly deteriorating situation. It is not too late, Balakrishnan said, while admonishing Myanmars security forces for using lethal force against unarmed protesters.

Instability in any corner of Southeast Asia threatens and affects the rest of us. Its such a pity because, in fact, the prospects on Myanmar were bright, the prospects for Southeast Asia are robust in the next 20, 30 years, he said.

In 2007, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable quoted Singapores founding father and late statesman Lee Kuan Yew describing Myanmars ruling generals as stupid and dense.

The cable quotes Lee telling U.S. diplomats in 2007 that dealing with the junta leaders was like talking to dead people. He is quoted saying that they had mismanaged the countrys natural resources and that he had given up on them a decade ago.

The cable, released by the website WikiLeaks, recorded a conversation between Lee and two senior U.S. diplomats. It says Lee held out little hope for improvements in Myanmar until a younger generation of less obtuse generals takes power.

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If the Army is Disbanded Will Myanmar Become Like Libya or Iraq? - The Irrawaddy News Magazine

By Sami Zaptia.

Caretaker Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni said he considered his government as a caretaker government at his first press conference in March 2014 (Photo: Sami Zaptia).

London, 10 March 2021:

The eastern based Libyan government led by Abdalla Thinni announced today that it too is ready to hand over power to the new unified Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) headed by Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba.

The announcement came after the reunified and quorate House of Representatives (HoR) passed a vote of confidence in the Aldabaiba GNU. It also came as the Serraj-led Presidency Council and Government of National Accord said it was ready to hand over power to the GNU.

The Thinni government of March 2014 was initially the caretaker government after the Zeidan government lost a controversial vote of confidence. The Thinni government took over as caretaker awaiting a new government to be approved by the newly elected parliament, the HoR.

However, the Libya Dawn Tripoli militia coup forced the Thinni government to flee Tripoli while a rump of the outgoing parliament, the General National Congress (GNC) formed a new Government of National Salvation.

This government received no international recognition, and it was not until the 2015 Skhirat Libyan Political Agreement that selected Faiez Serraj and his Presidency Council that a Tripoli government received international recognition.

However, the HoR and the new Serraj regime fell out and the HoR, whilst recognizing the Serraj Presidency Council in principle, refused until this day to recognize his government, deepening the west-east political and military split.

With the announcement by both the Serraj and Thinni governments that they recognized the new GNU and would be handing over power, it will be the first time that Libya has one unified and recognized government since 2014.

Congress rump appoints Omar Hassi as Prime Minister | (libyaherald.com)

Congress sacks Zeidan: elections for new legislature in July | (libyaherald.com)

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Eastern based Thinni Libyan government announces readiness to hand over power to new GNU | - Libya Herald

TRIPOLI -In divided Libya, the breakthrough appointment of a unity government has raised hopes for reconciliation among people exhausted by a decade of chaos but now daring to dream of peace.

After seeing a succession of ceasefires and peace conferences flake out over the years, Libyans had grown accustomed to their hopes for a better future being dashed.

This time, it looks like itll work out. Im very optimistic, Salah, a shopkeeper in Tripoli, says with a wide smile.

Like many of his compatriots, Salah watched a live television broadcast on Wednesday of the session in which parliament approved a unity government to lead Libya to December elections.

A day after, he welcomed the move.

We need unity, we are all brothers, we should no longer be divided, the 40-year-old adds, dressed in a traditional djellaba robe.

The vote was widely hailed as historic for a country torn apart by conflict since 2011.

In February that year, inspired by the Arab Spring and backed by Western air power, Libyans rose up against Muammar Gadhafi and ousted within months a dictator who had ruled with an iron fist since 1969.

The oil-rich country of seven million people has since descended into anarchy, with two rival administrations vying for control and a myriad of militias fighting over its resources.

Libyas infrastructure is now derelict, its economy in tatters and public services wretched. The situation has been complicated by foreign interference.

Mammoth task

The new administration, headed by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, faces a mammoth task.

The Libyan economy is at a standstill: the dinar has plunged in value, property prices have soared and electricity cuts are a daily occurrence.

Life must return to normal, says Salah the shopkeeper.

The priority should be to address the daily lives of citizens, to solve the problems of power cuts and cash shortages, he added.

Across Tripoli, endless queues stretch out in front of banks, and dozens of motorists wait for hours at petrol stations.

During power outages, the city vibrates to the roar of generators.

The rusty frames of huge cranes sit on top of unfinished buildings that are overgrown with weeds.

The new government will, God willing, unify the institutions, says Nader Mansouri, 46.

It now has to deal with the crises facing citizens, the lack of cash, the power cuts, the coronavirus vaccination campaign.

The most important thing is to succeed in organising elections in December, the civil servant says, adding, theres foreign interference; we must end it now.

Miftah al-Malis, 36, says the vote of confidence in the government was a wise decision.

The Libyan people are tired and fed up, he says.

The conflict has gone on too long and there is no need for it, he says, adding that he too is optimistic and wishes to see Libyans unite.

Glimmer of hope

There is also optimism in Benghazi, Libyas second city in the east, where the countrys uprising began 10 years ago.

Benghazi suffered badly from the violence that followed.

In the old town, bullet pockmarked walls and damaged buildings are a constant reminder that the conflict tore through.

Its a glimmer of hope on the horizon, says Osama al-Werfalli, a 50-year-old businessman in Benghazi.

Werfalli says he has grown tired of the situation that has led to a deterioration in the living conditions of all Libyans.

This is also the case for Sayida al-Sarrawi, who hopes to see a new phase, without the divisions that citizens have suffered for years.

We want a Libya without wars and conflicts.

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Libyans disillusioned but daring to hope after confidence vote | | AW - The Arab Weekly