The remains of the destroyed 'Resisting House' that once belonged to Col Muammar Qaddafi. AFP
The remains of the destroyed 'Resisting House' that once belonged to Col Muammar Qaddafi. AFP
The remains of the destroyed 'Resisting House' that once belonged to Col Muammar Qaddafi. AFP
The remains of the destroyed 'Resisting House' that once belonged to Col Muammar Qaddafi. AFP

Why Turkey is blocking Libya's path to peace


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At a key point during last week's Berlin II negotiations on Libya's political future, Turkey's foreign minister intervened to deal a blow to the communique as the conference concluded.

In the long oak-panelled room in a leafy part of the German capital, Mevlut Cavusoglu targeted Article V on the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. The result was a single footnote to the entire document. “[1] Turkey introduced a reservation,” it said.

Officials who attended the meeting said Turkey insisted that its military forces in Libya enjoy exceptional status with a formal invite from the governing authorities preceding the current interim government. Turkey makes a distinction between these troops and the mercenaries – many of them Syrian rebel militia members it has flown there and directed in frontline fighting.

Few need to be convinced that the Turkish government was flat out keeping its toehold in Libya. At a time when the whole Libyan diplomatic process is posited on the removal of foreign forces, Turkey is a stumbling block. After all, the clock is ticking on pledges to hold elections under a new constitution on December 24.

Amid the turmoil since the demise of Col Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has suffered two fundamental challenges: the encroachment on its sovereign ability to run its own affairs and a spread of extremist militias.

For once in a sorry decade, there is more than a sliver of hope in Libya. The German government has worked hard through the Berlin meetings in 2020 and 2021 to put the political process back together. Jan Kubis, the UN Secretary General's special envoy, has gained valuable backing for his efforts through the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

There have been false dawns. Even compared with the elections in 2012 for Libya’s national congress and those in 2014 for the House of Representatives, the current process is admittedly still in the gestation phase. The perils of trying to cobble together a national government from a peace accord process has already been illustrated in the failed 2015 negotiations in Morocco.

All the factions in Libya can somehow trace their authority – such that it is – from one of these episodes. All are now pretty much exhausted entities. That has given an opening to the interim government to work with the diplomats for a new start for the country.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu waves during the Berlin II negotiations in Berlin earlier in the week. AP Photo
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu waves during the Berlin II negotiations in Berlin earlier in the week. AP Photo

Turkey appears wedded to the old structures that allowed it a landing point in Libya. Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush wants to see the withdrawal right away. When she last said that, government buildings were occupied in Tripoli in a clear act of intimidation.

Turkey sees a period of bartering ahead. Either directly with Russia or through diplomatic circles supporting the interim government, it could withdraw 300-odd Syrian mercenaries in return for a like-for-like concession.

The Turks, however, can count on a certain weariness on the side of others who nevertheless might see this as a tangible first step. After all, the UN Security Council's call for an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces hasn't worked. Neither has the 2020 ceasefire agreement's 90-day deadline for withdrawal.

Turkey is a deadweight on Libya's efforts to escape a dark period in its history

In the clashes in the state room in Berlin, Mr Cavusoglu made several efforts for expanded language protecting the Turkish troop presence. His first push would have applied to the withdrawal of mercenaries only. Having failed to gain traction for that open door, the Turkish foreign minister moved for additional language to say that the withdrawal should be aligned with the terms of the ceasefire agreement thrashed out in Tunisia last year. That was rejected, too. The conclusions went ahead with the square brackets footnote above stuck at the end.

What the development demonstrated was how the energy behind the reconciliation process can be sapped by just one heavyweight player.

Turkey seeks not only to keep its uniformed presence on the ground in Tripoli and Misurata. It has also carved up the eastern Mediterranean basin by agreeing a deal for a common exclusive economic area in a Maritime Boundary Treaty it agreed with the defunct Government of National Accord last year. The European Parliament Research Service produced a report saying that the deal was breaking with republican tradition of Kemal Ataturk in Turkish foreign policy and a return to the imperial overreach that typical of the erstwhile Ottoman Empire.

“The Turkey-Libya MoU effectively drew a dividing line between the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean, threatening maritime security, natural gas exploration and new infrastructures such as the EastMed pipeline,” it said. “Turkey's behaviour, beyond its geoeconomic interests, reflects a more ambitious geopolitical 'neo-Ottoman' agenda intent on remodelling the whole region by spreading the country's influence from northern Iraq and Syria to Libya and leaving behind the Kemalist tradition of secularism and regional neutrality.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, attends a meeting with Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Berlin earlier in the week, AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, attends a meeting with Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh in Berlin earlier in the week, AFP

The opportunity for driving a solution in Libya is open. The moment is a good test of US President Joe Biden's claims to offer serious and well thought out leadership. What it will take is pressure to stand up for the principles of the Libyan state governing itself as a grown-up regional actor.

After Berlin, Libya's Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah travelled to Downing Street to meet UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The two men were reported to have discussed the return of a looted statue of the goddess Persephone to Libya, which in its own way is an act of normalisation.

According to Greek legend, Persephone straddles the seasonal turning points between darkness and light. She escaped the underworld to bring the bounty of harvests but when the season changed, she had to return to hell.

That is as good as any summation of Libya’s recent course. Turkey is a deadweight on its efforts to escape a dark period in its history.

Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief at The National

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SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court (4pm UAE/12pm GMT)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) v Heather Watson (GBR)
Rafael Nadal (ESP x4) v Karen Khachanov (RUS x30)
Andy Murray (GBR x1) v Fabio Fognini (ITA x28)

Court 1 (4pm UAE)
Steve Johnson (USA x26) v Marin Cilic (CRO x7)
Johanna Konta (GBR x6) v Maria Sakkari (GRE)
Naomi Osaka (JPN) v Venus Williams (USA x10)

Court 2 (2.30pm UAE)
Aljaz Bedene (GBR) v Gilles Muller (LUX x16)
Peng Shuai (CHN) v Simona Halep (ROM x2)
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x13) v Camila Giorgi (ITA)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x12) v Sam Querrey (USA x24)

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Kei Nishikori (JPN x9) v Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x18)
Carina Witthoeft (GER) v Elina Svitolina (UKR x4)

Court 12 (2.30pm UAE)
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Kevin Anderson (RSA) v Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)

Court 18 (2.30pm UAE)
Caroline Garcia (FRA x21) v Madison Brengle (USA)
Benoit Paire (FRA) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)

BOSH!'s pantry essentials

Nutritional yeast

This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.

Seeds

"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."

Umami flavours

"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".

Onions and garlic

"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."

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Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."

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The biog

Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.

Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.

Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.

Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill

Favourite food: Dim sum

Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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'Outclassed in Kuwait'
Taleb Alrefai, 
HBKU Press 

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Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

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Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

Favourite things

Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery

Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount

University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China

Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai

Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China

Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs

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MATCH INFO

Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)

Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18

Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)

Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no

Australia win series 2-0

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

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Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence

Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads

Stage: 1 ($800,000)

Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC