For the first time in years, the Libyans fast without war and conflict, without hearing the sounds of artillery, machine guns, and indiscriminate missiles. They had been plaguing the country amid wars fought for various reasons, though most have been waged against transnational terrorist groups, which, as part of their constructive chaos plan, tried to redraw the region’s map according to their plan to divide Libya.
Libya remained an unscathed, indivisible state despite plans to divide it, the last of which is perhaps Sebastian Gorka’s. Indeed, Ramadan 2021 came at a time without war, though the pains are still there. The Libyans were able to agree on a national unity government, which, though it doesn’t meet demands and ambitions, remains, in the end, a united government that has ensured the integrity of Libya’s territory. Libya did not go along with calls for secession and division despite the viciousness of the foreign-funded hate speech, which had been spurred by news broadcast stations based in countries where the Muslim Brotherhood has used as a launching pad. With that, its deceptive discourse did not work, not even with the immense quantity of weapons, equipment, and even mercenaries who were being paid to perpetuate the war over the past ten years.
The Libyans can finally hear the call to prayer clearly, without the sound of missiles, warplanes, artillery, machine guns, or even a sniper muzzling it.
Views and assessments of the Libyan crisis vary between seeing it as a site of regional and international competition between Italy, France, and others, countries whose vision is centered in economic considerations as they vie to secure their share of contracts and deals, and we thus find them clinging to their military presence in Libya. Meanwhile, other countries engaged because of security and national security concerns; Egypt, for example, is adamant in its refusal of Turkey’s presence in Libya because it sees this presence as a threat to its national security, especially after the agreement between Ankara and the de facto authorities in Tripoli, the unconstitutional National Accord government whose mandate has expired.
The Libyans tried to spread joy this Ramadan through TV programs and series focused on social issues without getting into the wars. These include Shat Al-Huriya (Coast of Freedom), which has been the most viewed of these series in Libya and the neighboring countries despite the meager production budget and the simplicity of the script, most of which is improvised. The show put smiles on faces on the frowning face of Libyans suffering the repercussions of repeated wars, most of which were waged by proxy, while the victims were Libyans from both east and west.
The fact that the ceasefire has endured- though this a consequence of international pressure exerted on the belligerent parties- entrenched hatred for wars and established a collective rejection of any attempts by either side to recreate it under any heading or pretext. Today, with the state of political animosity and acrimonious rhetoric that prevails in Libya, the Libyans have to accept it so long as it remains political and does not devolve into a war.
Political rivalry is still in its early stage in Libya. In fact, it is akin to political adolescence, as most of the animosity is founded on personal or factional interests. There are no mature political programs to put hopes in, but this is normal in a country that had been a political desert for decades before it entered a state of war that went on for a full decade.
This year, Ramadan came without conflict and with an agreement on a national unity government in Libya, though it is still making mistakes as well as getting some things right. The ministers were appointed through regional and factional nepotism. It did not emerge as a result of election results, and it is not a government of specialists; nevertheless, it is better than nothing or the absence of a united government. The important thing now is that elections are held on December 24, which constitutes Libya’s independence day. We hope that it will be real independence, one that forces out mercenaries and foreign forces and generates an authority elected by the ballot box instead of the de facto authorities subordinate to militias and terrorists
