The Libyan frontier

This week started with a historical step forward for Malta’s biggest neighbour: Libya. After 10 years of civil war, the United Nations-supervised peace process has finally gained enough momentum to lay the foundation for a peaceful future. An interim government led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has taken office on Monday. It promises to steer Libya towards democratic elections in December.

The palpable excitement in Libya and among the international community is not unreasonable. The holding of elections in Libya is virtually unprecedented. Most Libyans, including women, would vote for the first time. Though democratic elections are an important milestone, they can’t be seen as an end in themselves. Rather, democratic participation should be but another means to involve all Libyans in the arduous journey towards reconciliation and reconstruction.

The Libyan government will have to de-mine the country, rebuild roads and repair a constantly failing electricity grid. First, it will need to convince armed groups to give up their weapons. For years now, for many Libyans, being part of a militia has been a means to support their families. If Libya is to deliver basic needs and eventually create prosperity for all Libyans, it will need to rebuild its institutions from scratch, transform the war economy into one that creates jobs, and provide functioning health and education systems.

There has never been a more opportune moment for Malta to help its southern neighbour, both bilaterally and most importantly through the European Union. As a historic friend, Malta should primarily advocate for the peace dividend to benefit the Libyan people.

To do this we must make better use of our seat in EU institutions. I strongly believe that Malta should play a bigger role in EU fora to bolster wider support for an EU-Libya Partnership. For too long, EU relations with Libya were characterised by sporadic stints of energy dampened down with instability in our Libyan counterparts. Now that we should hope for a more stable outlook, we must rekindle all the EU machinery to focus on Libya as a main southern partner for the Union.

Tunisia and Morocco enjoy facilitated trade with the Union on a wide variety of goods. Further south, 14 African countries are part of an EU-Africa trade agreement. As yet, Libya does not feature in any of that. It is now time to catch up, and Malta can be the interlocutor to recoup on time lost.

As a matter of priority, Malta should first of all advocate for a package of peacebuilding measures that lend political support to the democratic transition. One practical example would be for Malta to call for extending the scope of operation IRINI (so far tasked with monitoring the UN arms embargo in Libya) to train and further assist a cross-section of Libyan services, from security to coast guard to general administration.

We must take an active role now if we want to be protagonists in Libya’s future relations. So far, we are absent across the board due to principled reservations on IRINI earlier last year. Meanwhile nine of our EU counterparts, including distant Latvia and Belgium, have boots on IRINI patrol boats while a good 22 EU countries participate in headquarter operations in Rome. Given the developments this week, should we not re-examine Malta’s reservations on IRINI?

The stakes and the risks in Libya remain high. There is a risk of spoilers, both domestic and foreign. The worse that can happen is that the current momentum gets lost. One party or another may be tempted to consolidate their positions in the status quo, and stall the process as a result. Foreign powers, notably those with stakes in the conflict, could also torpedo the peace process. Libyans are wary of foreign interests trying to shape their own politics. And who wouldn’t be? It would not be naïve to assume that the foreign powers involved in the conflict will be scrambling for their stake in the reconstruction of Libya.

Malta should not fall into this trap. Our interest should primarily be to help build a modern, well-functioning Libya that delivers prosperity for its own citizens. This should be the cornerstone of our foreign policy strategy for the peacebuilding and reconstruction of Libya.

For a time under Gaddafi, Maltese investment in Libya benefitted from a “special” relationship. Despite the well-known difficulties navigating Libyan bureaucracy, the Maltese found a way to work, do business and even create jobs. Maybe that Maltese ability to broker between cultures was after all the secret of success back then. Those qualities should be put to the test again in this new context.

Engaging with a democratic Libya will certainly be a different ballgame. It requires first and foremost a commitment to be part of the change. A commitment to be present, as an honest broker of peace and reconstruction.

The Maltese government would do well to devise a framework for systematic cooperation with Libya through concrete projects. The initiative to offer educational openings to Libyans through the University of Malta and MCAST is for instance a step in the right direction. Malta should pursue that kind of approach systematically, across several other fronts. Steering groups including Maltese stakeholders in healthcare, banking, finance and tourism could be set up to explore avenues for creative cooperation with Libya.

As friends of Libya we must extend the helping hand in rebuilding the country from the bottom up in all the different sectors where we have a good story to tell. Opportunities for investment will arise eventually. The first goal now should be to help rebuild the country for the sake of the Libyans themselves.

There are also other steps that Malta can take at home to reduce the risks to the peace process in Libya. One clear example is our duty to fight illegal oil smuggling in Maltese waters. Another is to fight money laundering. It is well documented that oil smuggled in Maltese waters has funded the civil war in Libya.

Friendship is founded on honesty and bold decisions too. Some of the Libyans I spoke to over the past years still recall with great admiration the decision of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to refuse to return the two fighter jets sent by Gaddafi to bomb his own people in an act of ultimate despair. Gonzi’s decision has come to symbolise the attachment of Malta’s interest to promote the cause of the Libyan people. It is now time to renew experiences and relationships as a new frontier of opportunity in Libya opens up.