Libyans express resentment over Czech’s proposal to send troops

Both the Presidency Council’s government and the Beida-based interim government have now condemned statements by the new Czech Prime Minister that he was considering sending troops to protect Libya’s southern borders. Andrej Babis had said it was his country’s intention to send a military unit in an effort to prevent illegal migration.

“We condemn this statement which provoked the feelings of Libyan and affirm that our country is free and sovereign, and that it will extend its control over its territory through its army and security services,” a statement by the Beida foreign ministry said.

“We advise the Czech prime minister to work with his government’s mandate to fund development projects in the source countries with the rest of the EU to prevent the flow of migrants,” it added. The Beida foreign ministry also reminded that Czech government that the EU was considering sanctioning it for not taking in enough refugees. This refusal to take those in need would not come at the expense of Libya, it added.

On Saturday, the Presidency Council’s foreign ministry insisted that while it welcomed the international community’s help, this had to be limited to logistical and intelligence assistance and not military.

On the other hand, The House of Representatives (HoR) has elected Mohamed Al-Shukri as the new governor of the Central Bank of Libya to replace Saddek Elkabir. Shukri, from Khoms, received 54 votes. Beida-based acting CBL governor Ali Hebri was humiliated taking only three of the 107 votes.

Ahmed Rajab was given 38 votes, Abdul Hameed Sheikhi nine and there were 3 abstentions. So far there has been no reaction from the Presidency Council or its government. The process to replace Elkabir started earlier this year and the three of the four candidates made their presentations to the HoR back in April.

Shukri is a former director of the Jumhouria Bank. With over 30 years of banking experience, Shukri was also previously a deputy vice governor of the CBL. “He is very much a bureaucrat. He will follow the rules, he will follow the law,” said one former Libya-based banker. “He was the best of those who were on offer and he knows the banking sector well,” the banker said, adding that Shukri was far better than Ali Hibri.

“I don’t think he will be a brilliant governor but he will do the job reasonably well,” the banker predicted, but doubted whether Shukri would be a man of vision.

The HoR session had been interrupted after protestors outside called for a transfer of power to Khalifa Hafter. They wanted to stop it, claiming that the mandate of the HoR had expired with the supposed end of the Libyan Political Agreement on 17 December. They also accused the HoR of wasting time and contributing to the shortages of food, money and gas.