News behind the News – 08 July 2019

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26 News the Newsbehind JULY 08, 2019

SPECIAL FEATURE BY THE EMBASSY OF THE STATE OF LIBYA

There was hope and optimism

among most of the Libyans at the

beginning of April 2019 when the

preparations were under way to hold

Libyan national conference for which

the United Nations Mission led by

UN Special Envoy Mr. Gassan Salama

had made progress as part of the eff ort

to bridge the gap between the Libyan

parties to solve the crisis and put an

end to the political division. Th e crisis

over the last fi ve years had resulted in

devastating wars and deterioration of

living standard of Libyan citizens. It

has also adversely eff ected the country’s

economy and its infrastructure.

Th e hope was short lived as Libyans

and the international community

were surprised by the forces of Khalifa

Hafter advancing toward Tripoli the

Libyan capital on 04 April. Th at led the

internationally recognized Government

of Libya and people of Tripoli to

defend their city and immediately repel

the attack of aggressive forces.

It is to be noted that the attack

coincided with the Secretary-General’s

visit to Libya in order to get support

and mobilize the eff orts for the United

Nations plan to put an end to the crisis

in Libya.

Despite the attempts by some to

show that the war in Libya has an

ideological or regional dimension or

to use the pretext of the war against

terrorism, the truth is that all Libyans

reject these allegations and are eager

to end the crisis as soon as possible.

In fact they have expressed anger and

distress against these wars for having

negatively aff ecting their lives and for

the destruction of their properties and

the resources of their country. Also the

suff ering of illegal immigrants who are

caught in this war and neglected by

the international community, cannot

be ignored.

Th e Libyan people are also surprised

and pained by the silence of the

international community over the

continuation of this war and the

absence of any Security Council

resolution calling for a cease-fi re and for

supporting the return to the political

track that the Council has previously

supported on more than one occasion.

At the same time, there is surprise over

the inability of the Security Council

to put an end to the violation of its

resolutions related to the arms embargo

to Libya that has fueled the war and

plunge it into a continuous crisis and

political divisions. Th is silence and

the inability of any action from the

Security Council not only shows the

lack of support to the UN Secretary

General and his Special Envoy, but also

contradicts its own decisions.

The question raised by the

overwhelming majority of Libyans

and observers today is how long

the silence of UN Security Council

will be on the crimes and violations

committed in Libya. The Libyan

people also demand an explanation

to the silence over the involvement of

some countries including Members

Sates of the Security Council in the

support of the attacks on Tripoli.

What Libya needs today is not

more weapons nor the continuing

fueling of rhetoric of war, hatred and

division. What is really needed are solid

and tangible international steps that

would put an end to the interference in

the country’s internal aff airs and arms

smuggling. It also needs support to the

national reconciliation eff orts and the

UN-sponsored peace process to end the

crisis that would lead to the formation

of a unified national government

with the objective to achieve peace,

fi ght terrorism and enhance the living

conditions of its people, establish a

civil prosperous country that adheres to

the international principles, respects of

human rights and the rule of law.

LIBYA NEEDS A UNIFIED INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO END THEIR CRISES

COMMENT

A STRATEGIC SHIFT IN INDIA-

SAUDI TIES? TRANSCENDING

THE BUYER-SELLER DYNAMIC

Dr Cauvery Ganapathy
Bilateral relations, where the indices
of energy or economic needs and stra-
tegic considerations coincide, exhibit
a robustness which usually outlives the
everyday fl ux of international politics.
India’s relations with Saudi Arabia
represent such an intersection. Indo-
Saudi ties presently are defi ned by the

large Indian diaspora, the attendant

remittances (11.6% of total infl ow in

2018), the $28bn bilateral trade and

the 800,000 barrels of Saudi crude that

New Delhi buys per day. Th e depen-

dence on oil imports is only expected

to increase with India anticipated to

overtake China as the world’s largest

importer of oil by 2024- with a depen-

dence of between 80 and 83%.

Increasing proximity between the

two countries may be attributed to

three chief developments:

• A more defi nitive West Asia policy

that New Delhi appears assertive

about.

• Th e newfound conviction on the
  part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  that their export basket needs to be
  diversifi ed - an end to which India
  off ers a large and stable avenue.


• India’s decision to comply with the
  sanction regime levied by the US
  upon trade with Iran. Over the
  past month itself, New Delhi has
  negotiated an additional purchase
  of 250,000 tonnes (mt) of crude
  per month from the Saudis (in