Mithat IŞIK
With the assassination of Libyan Leader Gaddafi on October 20, 2011, Libya witnessed the bloodiest actions of the Arab Spring. Although Libya has partially stabilized in the intervening 14 years, we cannot say that it has fully recovered and stabilized.
A single State authority has not yet been formed in Libya. The country is divided into East and West. Western Libya is based in Tripoli and governed by the Government of National Unity. Eastern Libya, on the other hand, is based in Benghazi and ruled by the Libyan National Army under the leadership of Haftar. The conflict between these two authorities continues in Libya.
Due to this conflict, some countries, especially Egypt, support Eastern Libya under the rule of Khalifa Haftar. Along with Turkey, some countries also supported and stood by the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity. At the point reached today, many countries, especially the United Nations, want the unification of Eastern and Western Libya.
Egypt and Turkey, which were rivals in Libya at the beginning, are now making efforts together to unite the East and the West. Due to the aging of Khalifa Haftar, who rules Eastern Libya based in Benghazi, there are difficulties in the efforts to unite Eastern and Western Libya through his sons.
Khalifa Haftar has 5 sons. Khalifa Haftar’s power is shared among his 3 sons. The distribution in the Parliament is in parallel with this. Among Haftar’s sons, Saddam Haftar stands out and is seen as the successor of Khalifa Haftar.
Haftar’s other son, Khaled Haftar, controls internal security and intelligence. There are conflicts between the two brothers, especially regarding public appointments. Bel Kasim is more interested in economic issues. Activities such as infrastructure, construction and development are carried out under Bel Kasım. Omar Haftar, on the other hand, is still behind the scenes.
Not all Haftar brothers have the same opinion. They act separately. Siddiq Haftar is working in parallel with Omar Haftar. Saddam Haftar is looking for an international solution to end the civil war in the country and rebuild the country. He wants to establish good relations with Turkey.
Turkey supports Saddam Haftar’s efforts. While Saddam Haftar acts in line with Turkey and the USA, Khaled Haftar keeps his distance from Turkey and closer to Russia. While Bel Kasım was close to Turkey at first, he took a stance against Turkey under the influence of Egypt. However, with the improvement of Turkey-Egypt relations, Bel Qassem seems to have started to get closer to Turkey.
While President Akile Salih displayed an anti-Turkey attitude in the past, he now displays a more moderate image towards Turkey. Turkey has signed a maritime jurisdiction agreement with the Government of National Unity in the past. Due to the positive development between Turkey and Eastern Libya, the news that the Eastern Libyan Assembly will approve this memorandum took place in the press.
Contacts between Turkey and Eastern Libya have become more frequent. It is very important that Eastern Libya supports the agreement. The political picture in the Eastern Parliament is currently disorganized. MIT Director İbrahim Kalın’s meeting with Libyan National Army (LNA) Leader Khalifa Haftar is a very important meeting as it is the first high-level contact. This meeting in Benghazi is very important in terms of revealing Turkey’s intention to keep communication channels open with all important actors in Libya.
The fact that the 2019 maritime jurisdiction agreement signed by Turkey with the Tripoli Government was examined by the technical committee formed by the East-based House of Representatives is an indication of a broader softening in relations between Turkey and Libya’s Eastern administration.
If the agreement is approved, Libya will both increase its political weight and strengthen the possibility of its implementation by ensuring the support of the Eastern and Western administrations. This will be an important turning point.
The joint support of rival governments in Libya to the agreement may encourage Turkey to actually start seismic research and drilling activities. This situation may also help end the crisis in Libya and lead Cairo to seek a similar arrangement with Turkey.
Libya needs a comprehensive reconciliation and reconstruction process. For Ankara, the opening towards both Tripoli and Benghazi is in line with its strategy to legitimize the 2019 Maritime Jurisdiction Areas Agreement and expand across the Mediterranean. Therefore, Turkey’s work and efforts to ensure stability in Libya are very valuable and important.
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