National Accord Government “stillborn” if rushed warning.

By Libya Herald reporters.

Tripoli, 12 December 2015:

On the eve of tomorrow’s Rome conference, . . .[restrict]the International Crisis Group has warned that a Government of National Accord  formed before security was tackled and public opinion consolidated could be “stillborn” if it is recognised prematurely.

While welcoming the Rome meeting, the ICG, a non-government organisation, said “there are risks associated with a precipitous rush to anoint a government without consolidating domestic support or addressing urgent security concerns”

“Ending negotiations”, it said, “will strengthen hardliners; granting recognition to a government that has insufficient backing will condemn it to irrelevance”.

The ICG suggested that more time was also necessary to rebuild trust in the UN, which had been damaged by what it considered October’s premature announcement of the composition of the Government of National Accord. This, it said, had been coupled with allegations of impropriety against  Bernardino Leon, the previous UNSMIL chief who had driven through the Political Accord.

The ICG said that security, economic and humanitarian support had to take priority over a new government.

In a statement issued today, it warned the Rome meeting “ a Government of National Accord is likely to be stillborn if prematurely recognised. It not be able the be seated in Tripoli due to security concerns and might trigger renewed fighting for control of the capital”.

The ICG said it believed the UN’s Tripoli security plans should be made countrywide, involving talks between  all armed groups.

It suggested these include militias from the Jebel Nafusa, Misrata, Tripoli and Zintan in the west, the Libyan National Army,  the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council and the Petroleum Facilities Guard in the east and Tebu, Tuareg and Arab groups in the south.

The ICG insisted that it believed that the prospect of security and economic deals would be threatened, if a hard push on the political track led to polarisation or further political fragmentation. [/restrict]