The list of invitees, submitted by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), to next month’s Tunisia Dialogue Forum on Libya has stirred controversy in the conflict-ridden country.
Some parties have spoken out against the inclusion of figures loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood and the exclusion of other sides.
Head of the reconciliation committee at High Council of Libyan Tribes, Zeidan Matouq al-Zadme, was quick to announce his withdrawal from the list of 75 names submitted by the UN.
In a message to the UNSMIL, he said he did not want to be included along with “controversial names, as well as Muslim Brotherhood figures who support terrorism and others who have brought suffering to the Libyan people.”
He added that the list seeks to restore favor to figures who are “unwelcome” by Libyan society, questioning the sincerity of the UN in resolving the country’s political problems.
Meanwhile, militias in Tripoli, under the banner of the Tripoli Protection Force, also expressed their reservations over the list.
They expressed their “wonder at the inclusion of controversial names that had at one time been the cause of strife and chaos in Libya”.
They slammed the list for omitting the “representation of several military and political forces, especially Tripoli and the western region, and the inclusion of figures who have been added to achieve a certain agenda.”
It urged the UN mission to amend the list and choose figures “who represent the people and cities.”
It noted that several of the chosen figures “have no political or military weight and others only represent themselves or the interests of some countries.”
MP Mohammed al-Abani said Acting UN representative to Libya, Stephanie Williams, “outdid herself in choosing figures who represent the Muslim Brotherhood and corruption, which will allow the organization to infiltrate the state even further.”
Factions in Sirte and al-Jufra echoed the criticism against the UN list, saying the mission should “cease meddling with the lives of Libyans.”
“It has no right to impose anything that we reject. It is necessary to include support forces on the ground in any future dialogue, otherwise the consequences will be terrible,” they warned.
