“The conflict in Libya is getting worse. What we witness right now are several conflicts melting into something that, in the worst case, will turn into a civil war. What the people of Libya need to get past this violent phase is reconciliation and not revenge”, says Rhodri Williams ILAC MENA Programme Manager, when appearing in Swedish Radio talk show Studio Ett.
The current situation in Libya is the most violent since the 2011 ousting of the Khadaffi dictatorship, with broad coalitions of Islamist and nationalist militia groups squaring off against each other as a weakened Libyan government looks on.
– What we see now is several regional conflicts melting into one major conflict, that in worst case will turn into a civil war, said Rhodri Williams, when visiting the Swedish Radio talk show Studio Ett on 28 August.
Within the ILAC MENA Programme, there are several projects aiming at strengthening the Rule of Law in Libya. Given the current situation, these projects have become very difficult to implement. When asked about what can be done, Rhodri Williams simply stated:
– No matter what happens to the institutions that we work with, the individuals within these organisations are very committed and courageous. I’m sure that they will do everything in their power to continue working for a future Libya with a justice system based on the rule of law.
Since the revolution against the Khadaffi regime, eight thousand people remain imprisoned without trial on suspicion of being Khadaffi supporters. As described in ILAC’s 2013 Assessment of Libya, these types of injustices have both perpetuated the pattern of violations carried out by the Khaddafi regime and laid the ground for the current fighting. - What the Libyan people will need for a sustainable resolution of these issues is reconciliation. Not revenge.
Listen to the Studio Ett talk on the situation in Libya here.
