Excerpts from SRSG for Libya Martin Kobler Press Conference in Tobruk, 21 November 2015

22 Nov 2015

Excerpts from SRSG for Libya Martin Kobler Press Conference in Tobruk, 21 November 2015

Mr. Minister, Mr. second vice president of the House of Representatives, Dear colleagues from the press, members of the House of Representatives. Thank you very much for receiving me here in such ... atmosphere. This is a great pleasure for me to be here today among you because there are problems to solve. This is my first week. I am working on this file and the first visit goes straight into Libya and to Tobruk.


I have started beginning of this week. I have taken over from Bernardino Leon. The next day he left the country, and this demonstrates, first, the consistency and the continuity of the United Nations negotiations in Libya but also it conveys a sense of urgency. This dialogue has been going on for quite some time, almost a year, and now I think it is the time to conclude an agreement.

I had a very interesting discussion with the foreign minister, but also with the second vice president and a very lively discussion with members of the House of Representatives, where I was told of the different views today. Now my message was very clear: I will take up the process where my predecessor left it. We cannot reopen the Libyan agreement now. I encouraged and I urged the members of the House of Representatives to go for a positive vote.

This country deserves better than being in a bad economic state like now. The United Nations never imposed. We always will respect your sovereignty. We will always respect dialogue. We will always respect what you wish. We are impartial but we are not neutral.

We do not want the Libyan people to suffer from the lack of medicines in hospitals. We do not want to have internally displaced persons. We want prosperity in this country; prosperity means that there must be security and a sound political development. That’s why I urge all those who have responsibility and the members of the House of Representatives who represent the people of Libya, I urge them to open the way, to go ahead now with a vote that we will have a Government of National Accord in the soonest possible time. I think three things are important: there is peace, there is security and there is prosperity. And I really urge all those who are involved, together with us to work on this way.

Once again, thank you very much for your hospitality; it was a true pleasure to be in Tobruk.

Questions:

Question 1 (Inaudible)

… I will pick up the process from where Bernardino left it. The text is on the table. This includes the annexes and also the names the Libyan themselves agreed upon. We do not impose names. We do not impose solutions. We help the Libyan partners to find a solution. It is a Libyan-Libyan dialogue facilitated by the United Nations and by Bernardino Leon so far. Only those solutions are sustainable if they are decided by the Libyans themselves and not coming from outside. Also, this reflects what I hear from the members of the House of Representatives who do not want to have imposition from outside, who want to have assistance, who want to have help, Yes, but the decision must be yours must be theirs.

On your second question, I will continue the good work of Bernardino Leon; it is a great achievement that the Libyans brought about by this agreement. It is important now to have a Government of National Accord as soon as possible in Tripoli. Yes, security is a problem but we are here to help you to solve the problems. And My approach is very clear: one cannot wait until all the problems are solved and then we have the government; No, the government is there to solve the problems. So, I encourage everybody to have this government in place because they have to have ministers and administrations and they have to solve then the problems.

Question 2 (inaudible):

I took up the process where Bernardino Leon left it, and Bernardino Leon is Bernardino Leon and Martin Kobler is Marin Kobler. The agreement … agreed by the interlocutors, by the Libyan dialogue with the amendments, this is the base of my work. I would urge all those who have responsibility in this country to go ahead on this basis now, not to go back, but also not to change it in the future. Now, I really urge everybody to have a positive vote and then we can have a government in place and we will assist the government to solve the problems, in particular security. I hear from both sides that nobody is hundred percent happy with the agreement, but this also you cannot expect with a compromise, you are here in a democracy and this is a good thing. … Before the government must go to Tripoli, there must be security arrangements, and I tell you very openly I also I am not happy here because I started my work in Tunis. I would love to have started my work in Tripoli.