Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702975
4 JURGEN BALZAN FOREIGN minister George Vella described as untrustworthy re- ports that British, French, US and Italian forces are coordinating air strikes in support of a renegade general in eastern Libya. Air traffic control recordings obtained by the investigative on- line news portal Middle East Eye suggest Western forces have been coordinating air strikes in sup- port of Khalifa Haftar. Yet, while saying that these re- ports "cannot be confirmed," Vella said that such operations would be secret if they were tak- ing place. Although "it does not make much sense since this would defy the West's declared support for the Serraj government," Vella said stranger things have happened and he wouldn't be surprised if Haftar was indeed receiving help. "But from our end, we have no information about any Western powers using Maltese airspace. If they are, they are doing this with- out informing us," Vella said. The leaked air traffic tapes ap- pear to confirm earlier reports suggesting the existence of an in- ternational operations centre that is helping Haftar in his campaign to gain control of eastern Libya from groups he has declared to be "extremists." Conversations between Libyan pilots and the air traffic con- trollers at Benina airbase, one of Haftar's vital military facilities in eastern Libya, can be heard in the leaked audio, in both Arabic and English. French, Italian, Ameri- can and British accents are audi- ble. The leaks could prove damaging for the implicated Western pow- ers because Haftar has so far re- fused to support the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, which was installed earlier this year. Moreover, Haftar has been fighting some groups that have taken part in the Western-backed campaign against the Islamic State group, with the general, who holds US citizenship, insist- ing his forces are loyal to a rival government and parliament in Tobruk. "Haftar is an enigma. He is the elephant in the room," Vella said, adding that the maverick general has consistently refused to sup- port peace initiatives. Looking at the bigger picture, Vella told MaltaToday that the situation in Libya is convoluted and expressed disappointment at the failure of the UN-backed unity government to impose its authority. After participating in the Liby- an revolution in 2011, which saw Muammar Gaddafi deposed, Haf- tar faded into the background un- til February 2014, when he called on Libyans to rise up against the newly elected parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), which was controlled by Islamist factions. Backed by Egypt and the UAE, he then waged war against al- Qaeda affiliate Ansar al-Sharia after the group took over Libya's second city, Benghazi, and its surrounding towns and villages and the following year, in March 2015, Libya's House of Represent- atives, which replaced the GNC, appointed him the commander of the Libyan National Army. In the last two years, Haftar's men have pushed armed groups out of Benghazi to as far as Der- na, 250km to the city's east, but his potential role in any future national military has been one of the biggest road blocks in at- tempts to achieve Libyan unity. Haftar is reportedly unhappy with the line-up of unity govern- ment and is thought to be plot- ting to overthrow the fragile ad- ministration in Tripoli once the forces fighting the Islamic State are depleted. "This week I had a lengthy dis- cussion with (UN envoy in Libya) Martin Kobbler and it is clear that Serraj is not living up to ex- pectations and he is not deliver- ing," Vella said. But he added the circumstanc- es are hardly favourable, with the former internationally rec- ognised parliament in Tobruk refusing to recognise the unity government and the failure to approve the new Constitution by Libya's major players. In addition to this, Vella said, the situation in Sirte and Beng- hazi, where various forces are fighting against Islamic State fighters and other Islamist groups and the lax control of the southern border makes the coun- try very difficult to govern. Vella refuses to describe the unity government as a puppet administration imposed by the west but he does recognise that the Tripoli government does not possess the necessary resources and infrastructure to function properly. "The Serraj government is a good starting point," Vella said, however the conf licting interests inside and outside Libya make a peaceful resolution and the re- construction of the war-torn country a "bleak prospect." maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 JULY 2016 News Vella dubs maverick Libyan general as 'elephant in the room' Foreign minister George Vella says UN-backed government led by Fayez al-Sarraj has not lived up to expectations as unconfirmed reports say general Khalifa Haftar receives Western support despite his opposition to Tripoli government 1947 electoral register invoked to justify ODZ dwelling JAMES DEBONO THE 1947 electoral register was submitted as the definitive proof that a building abandoned 38 years ago was once used as a resi- dence. On Friday the Planning Au- thority issued a permit for the re- building of a two-storey dwelling set over a footprint of 141 square metres of land instead of a pile of rubble in Sqaq il-Fata, lying out- side the development boundaries in Zabbar. Roofless and long-abandoned countryside ruins can be trans- formed into villas – thanks to the controversial Rural Policy in De- sign Guidelines approved in 2014. All that an owner has to do is prove that the structures had served as a dwelling in the past. Moreover, according to the poli- cy, any building constructed be- fore 1978 is considered as legal. Therefore any ruin of such build- ings may now be rebuilt. Both the Planning Directorate and the Environment Resources Authority had objected to the proposal, the ERA arguing that the collapsed building "appears to be an old traditional rural structure characterized by tradi- tional features and was an inte- gral part of the character of the area". The ERA concluded that a "pre-1978 structure should never be considered as a justification for the development of a 140.8 square metre residence." A contract signed in 1952 sub- mitted by the architect had re- ferred to a room, an overlying structure and a yard containing a kitchen and two roofless struc- tures. "This seems to imply that the building was more likely used for the rearing of animals rather than as a dwelling," the case of- ficer concluded. In view of the lack of conclusive proof that the building served as a residence, the case officer called on the au- thority to refuse the permit. But on Friday architect Robert Musumeci presented a declara- tion signed by a notary confirm- ing that a property mentioned in another notarial deed he regis- tered in 1962 is the same one as the one mentioned in the 1947 electoral register. The electoral register confirms that an elector was registered as a resident of 5, Witches Alley, Zab- bar. "I am more than sure that the dwelling mentioned in the 1962 contract is the same one as the dwelling mentioned in the elec- toral register of 1947," the notary declared. The 1962 contract refers to the sale of a farm referred to as Tal- Basli and Tal-Patri. The contract did not include a site plan but re- fers to a property with the same address as that mentioned in the electoral register. In the signed declaration the notary also confirmed that the property listed in the 1962 con- tract is on the same site now ear- marked for reconstruction. General Khalifa Haftar has refused to swear allegiance to the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli and his men are fighting against militias who are combatting the Islamic State