“Italy firmly supports the democratic process in Libya but now a real change of pace is needed in relations”, including on the part of the rest of the international community. This was the comment of Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi at the close of his meeting with his Libyan colleague, Ashour Bin Khayal. Terzi underscored that he will discuss the issue on Monday 14 May at the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels and again in New York in a couple of weeks time, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Immigration: an urgent issue. An EU plan is needed
Immigration is “an urgent issue that needs to be addressed in the EU context”, continued Terzi after his meeting with his Libyan colleague, who set out the risks of a deterioration in the situation. “I’ll discuss this in Brussels on Monday. We need a plan”, Terzi added.
“We fear a deterioration on the illegal immigration front”, explained the Libyan minister. He underscored that “for now, the situation is not too serious but various indicators suggest that things could change for the worse. […] African immigrants have reached the border between Egypt and Libya: so far, not in great numbers, but they could increase”, he added. He explained that he had discussed this with Minister Terzi. “We wanted to give Italy and the EU a signal, a warning, so that they can address the issue together”, Bin Khayal continued. He reiterated that he had impressed upon Terzi “the desire to collaborate on this issue because it affects the world and the European Union”.
Stopping the militias in the run-up to the elections
The Libyan foreign minister underscored that his country has decided to take action against the militias, not least in view of the need to prepare the ground for the forthcoming elections. “Some groups proclaim themselves to be militias but in actual fact are outlaws: brigades formed after the released of about 17,000 prisoners armed by the Ghaddafi regime”. Bin Khayal pointed out that the government in Tripoli had initially “chosen not to challenge them to avoid bloodshed. But they have now gone too far and created an entirely unsustainable situation”. The Libyan Government has therefore “decided to take action to bring an end to this situation and create a positive climate for the elections”, explained Bin Khayal
