By the Gazette Editorial Board The Declaration of the four Libyan rivals in Paris this week set the political framework for ending the country's seven-year-old conflict. One cannot claim, however, that matters will be simple and that all parties will co-operate on reaching the main goal, that of holding presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10, the results of which would hopefully end the serious division the country has suffered since the toppling of Gaddafi. The statement has been endorsed, but not signed, by Fayez al-Sarraj, the Prime Minister of Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli; the military leader of the east of the country, Khalifa Haftar; the president of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh; and the head of the Council of State, Khaled al-Mishri. According to the Paris statement, the four parties would by September 16, establish the constitutional basis and adopt the necessary laws for the elections. This timetable seems very optimistic as it puts too much emphasis on elections as a solution to the neglect of the military, security and economic dimensions governing conditions in Libya. There is also doubt that the chief factions based in the east and west of the country would be able to agree on a constitutional base for the elections in such short period of time when they have failed to make a new constitution for two years. The biggest dilemma, however, is the instability the country suffers. This results from the presence of a huge number of military factions. Some are controlled by local powers, others by foreign powers who work on destabilising Libya and its Arab neighbours. This could impede such an agreement. Herein emerges the importance of unifying the Libyan military institution to work on restoring stability of the country and ending presence of the foreign militias such as those affiliated to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda who won't spare any effort to abort the Paris agreement. The international community, especially Europe seems more than ever serious about settling Libya's chaotic situation today. It is true that Europe and other Western powers are partially responsible for the state of chaos that overtook the North African country since the Nato-supported military operation that toppled Gaddafi. This is not, however, why Europe, especially France's Macron, moves today to bring a peaceful settlement to the Libyan crisis. One couldn't deny the catastrophic impact of the Libyan crisis on the entire Mediterranean region. Europe, especially, faced a tsunami of illegal migrants. Around 400,000 Africans were trafficked through Libya to reach the southern European countries, especially Italy, by boat. The negative effect of this flow of illegal migrants to Europe brought power to rule within the reach of populist and far-rightist groups in some countries in Europe. This could justify the major interest the different world powers show today in attending Paris conference. It could be the start of having the international community, led by the UN playing a bigger role in forcing the different Libyan factions to end the turmoil which had allowed fanatic militants to gain a foothold and migrant smugglers to flourish. The Paris conference should be the start, not the end of this international push to restore security and stability to war-torn Libya. The Declaration of the four Libyan rivals in Paris this week set the political framework for ending the country's seven-year-old conflict. One cannot claim, however, that matters will be simple and that all parties will co-operate on reaching the main goal, that of holding presidential and parliamentary elections on December 10, the results of which would hopefully end the serious division the country has suffered since the toppling of Gaddafi. The statement has been endorsed, but not signed, by Fayez al-Sarraj, the Prime Minister of Libya's UN-backed government in Tripoli; the military leader of the east of the country, Khalifa Haftar; the president of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh; and the head of the Council of State, Khaled al-Mishri. According to the Paris statement, the four parties would by September 16, establish the constitutional basis and adopt the necessary laws for the elections. This timetable seems very optimistic as it puts too much emphasis on elections as a solution to the neglect of the military, security and economic dimensions governing conditions in Libya. There is also doubt that the chief factions based in the east and west of the country would be able to agree on a constitutional base for the elections in such short period of time when they have failed to make a new constitution for two years. The biggest dilemma, however, is the instability the country suffers. This results from the presence of a huge number of military factions. Some are controlled by local powers, others by foreign powers who work on destabilising Libya and its Arab neighbours. This could impede such an agreement. Herein emerges the importance of unifying the Libyan military institution to work on restoring stability of the country and ending presence of the foreign militias such as those affiliated to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda who won't spare any effort to abort the Paris agreement. The international community, especially Europe seems more than ever serious about settling Libya's chaotic situation today. It is true that Europe and other Western powers are partially responsible for the state of chaos that overtook the North African country since the Nato-supported military operation that toppled Gaddafi. This is not, however, why Europe, especially France's Macron, moves today to bring a peaceful settlement to the Libyan crisis. One couldn't deny the catastrophic impact of the Libyan crisis on the entire Mediterranean region. Europe, especially, faced a tsunami of illegal migrants. Around 400,000 Africans were trafficked through Libya to reach the southern European countries, especially Italy, by boat. The negative effect of this flow of illegal migrants to Europe brought power to rule within the reach of populist and far-rightist groups in some countries in Europe. This could justify the major interest the different world powers show today in attending Paris conference. It could be the start of having the international community, led by the UN playing a bigger role in forcing the different Libyan factions to end the turmoil which had allowed fanatic militants to gain a foothold and migrant smugglers to flourish. The Paris conference should be the start, not the end of this international push to restore security and stability to war-torn Libya.
