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By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 14 April 2017:
Libya’s “armed youth” have to be incorporated into state institutions, Presidency Council (PC) deputy Ahmed Maetig has said. But this does not necessarily mean the police or the armed forces, he added in an interview with Egyptian newspaper Al-Watan.
He was speaking following the Arab League’s ministerial meeting in Cairo earlier this week on youth and sport, which he co-chaired.
Referring to Khalifa Hafter and his Libyan National Army forces, Maetig, who has since returned to Libya, also said it was unacceptable to think that the country’s military forces should be seen as above the government.
He further explained that in its efforts to resolve the Libya crisis, Egypt and its President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had put forward solutions in keeping with with the Libyan Political Agreement. Sisi had also spoken of the need to unify Libya’s state institutions – something Maetig said the PC saw as reason for believing it could count on Egypt’s support.
Egypt would, moreover, always have a major role in building united military institutions in Libya, he added. He claimed that had been the case even during the period of King Idris.
The PC deputy also welcomed the efforts of Algeria to find a solution to the Libya crisis, praising its “active role” and “professional diplomacy”.
Maetig was in Cairo this past week for a number of meetings, the most important being with Egyptian foreign minster Sameh Shoukry who threw his weight behind the Dialogue and LPA, describing it as the only way to ensure reconciliation and stability in Libya.
Egypt had long been seen as Hafter’s principal supporter. However, following his snubbing of PC head Faiez Serraj at a meeting organised in Cairo by the Egyptians in January, Cairo’s backing for Hafter is seen as waning.
