Bernardino Leon (2nd left) with Imhhamed Shouaib (3rd left) in Tobruk (UNSMIL file photo)
In an abrupt about-turn, the House of Representatives voted today to suspend its participation in the UN-sponsored dialogue process because of Friday’s bombing in Guba in which 42 people died. The HoR instructed its four delegates, led by Deputy President Imhamed Shouaib, to return to Tobruk for discussions. They and the other delegates were due to fly to Morroco tomorrow for the latest round in the dialogue process.
Today’s decision follows a change of heart yesterday by two of the delegates who had earlier decided to boycott the next Morocco talks, also because of the Guba bombing. Sharif Al-Wafi told the Libya Herald this morning that he and fellow former member of Congress Tawfiq Shuhabi had agreed to reverse their decision to shun the talks following discussions with Shouaib.
The position of the HoR delegates is not yet known. However, this newspaper has been informed by the assistant of one of them that a plane ticket from Tunis back to Tobruk had now been booked for for him tomorrow, Wednesday.
The fast moving developments are seen as throwing the already fragile dialogue process into doubt. Anger in Libya at the Guba bombing, particularly in the east of the country, is increasingly translating itself into opposition to the dialogue, to the UN and to the US and UK, which are now widely perceived as favouring the Muslim Brotherhood and Libya Dawn. On Friday, demonstrators in Benghazi called for end to participation in the talks, and also burned American and British flags.
The US and UK have strongly denied that they back the Brotherhood or Dawn.
By Libya Herald staff.
