Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/437144
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 DECEMBER 2014 10 News MIRIAM DALLI THE saga of two rival Libyan admin- istrations has spilled over to Malta which is now caught in a diplomatic battle – two men, both claiming to be the authorised charges d'affaires at the Libyan embassy in Malta, want to enjoy the sole recognition of the Maltese government. The dispute started after two par- liaments were set up in Libya: the first, which is recognised by both the European Union and the United Na- tions, is the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR); the second is the National Salvation Government (NSG) based in Tripoli. The Tobruk parliament, led by Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni, was elected in June. In August, the General National Congress (GNC) appointed Omar al-Hassi as prime minister and formed "a salvation government" based in Tripoli. Elected in June, the HoR replaced the GNC, ending the political domi- nance that factions linked to the Muslim Brotherhood had in the leg- islature. But the outgoing Islamist- dominated parliament had refused to recognise the new parliament, which is dominated by liberals and federal- ists, and the NSG was formed. Malta, which always enjoyed friendly relations with the North African country, has followed the European Union and the United Na- tions in recognising Al-Thinni's par- liament as the sole representative of the people of Libya. But a recent decision of Libya's Su- preme Court has now put into ques- tion the legitimacy of the Tobruk government, claiming irregularities in the elections held. Only 2% of the 1.5 million registered voters took part in the elections. Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella has already made it clear that Malta would not be forced to choose sides, as this was neither Malta's duty nor competence. Instead, Vella called for both sides to come togeth- er round a table and discuss matters, with the help of UN special envoy Bernardino Leon. But yesterday morning, Hussain Misurati accused the Maltese gov- ernment of interfering in Libyan af- fairs by not recognising the Tripoli- based government. Misurati is the charge d'affaires appointed by the NSG. "We are building a nation and it will be unprecedented if Malta ex- pects us to be an anarchy. We re- spect the rule of law. Now that there has been a decision by the Supreme Court, Malta must respect this deci- sion," Misurati, who took office in November 20, said. "The Maltese government has been for a very long time encouraging dia- logue in Libya, which is what the Sal- vation Government is also doing." He said, that the verdict of the court had to be respected, warning that if the judiciary were to fall, the entire country would fall too. Misurati accused the Maltese gov- ernment of taking sides, after the lat- ter recognised Al-Habib Al-Amin as the official representative of the Lib- yan government in Malta. Al-Amin is the representative of the Tobruk- based HoR, which so far enjoys inter- national recognition. He also said that repeated requests to meet the Foreign Affairs Minister have gone unheeded. According to Misurati, the NSG was in contact with other European and African states and would soon be recognised as the legitimate government. Newsrooms yesterday morning al- so received an email from Al-Habib Al-Amin saying that Misurati was "occupying the embassy illegally", adding that he was the legal repre- sentative of the internationally-rec- ognised government. In a reaction, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Maltese govern- ment had no intention of interfering in Libya's internal affairs. "The Maltese government has al- ways acted in conformity with and guided by the recommendations of the United Nations and the Euro- pean Union. This is a delicate situa- tion and the Maltese government has been taking part in serious attempts to strengthen dialogue in Libya," the ministry said. This dialogue, the ministry added, would result in a transitory govern- ment built on peace and a constitu- tion that was still being written. "The Maltese government remains committed to seeing the people of Libya living in peace and serenity. It is with regret that we witness this division in our neighbours," the min- istry said. TWO 'persons of trust' employed by the previous Nationalist government were granted indefinite contracts to- wards the end of the government's tenure, without reference to the Public Service Commission, which described the decision as "invalid". The contracts were awarded in terms of a memorandum of under- standing that the government had signed with the Union Haddiema Maghqudin on 14 January, 2013. In its annual report for that year, the PSC pointed out that it had Libya's two parliaments battling for Maltese government recognition Malta accused of interfering in Libyan affairs by not recognising the Tripoli government Indefinite contracts granted Service Commission approval