04-12-2015, 05:19 PM
Libya crisis: Foreign intervention is 'part of the problem', says Algerian minister Ramtane Lamamra
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...55096.html
Ramtane Lamamra calls for regional diplomacy on Libya, by [size=12]Yasmine Ryan[/SIZE]
Monday 30 November 2015
Military intervention across the Middle East risks destabilising countries and increasing terrorism, Algeria's foreign minister said, as regional foreign ministers meet to discuss Libya on Tuesday.
"Foreign military intervention can become part of the problem and not part of the solution," Ramtane Lamamra told The Independent in a rare interview before a peace conference on his country's war-torn neighbour. "It increases the likelihood of having more terrorist activity and of having more destabilisation in the countries that are opposed to foreign intervention."
Mr Lamamra, a career diplomat, is leading efforts to forge a role for Algeria as a regional mediator, promoting quiet diplomacy and dialogue over foreign military intervention, as it emerges from its 10-year battle with an Islamist insurgency. But his message also has relevance for other nations considering how far to engage in Syria.
Before he was appointed minister in 2013, Mr Lamamra, 63, spent the previous five years as the African Union's Commissioner for Peace and Security. His attempts to push for a peaceful solution through dialogue in Libya in 2011 were, he felt, ignored by Nato powers intent on helping the rebels to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi by military force.
Echoes of that period have informed Algeria's coolness toward the Arab Spring. Its officials have not forgotten the arms embargo imposed on its army by the international community in the midst of the civil war a reaction to widespread allegations of human rights abuses by security forces.
In 2011, the country refused to support the Arab League's decision to expel Syria over the atrocities committed by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and kept its embassy open as other countries began to close theirs from 2012 onward.
Meanwhile, as Libya reached a crisis point last summer, Algeria worked behind the scenes to mediate talks between the many rival groups. "Algeria believes discretion is always key to the success of mediation," said Mr Lamamra.
He contrasted the "fragmented" and unsuccessful Libyan agreements co-ordinated by the UN with its own talks in Mali, which led to the Algiers Accord signed earlier this year. The recent attack in Mali's capital, Bamako, by gunmen linked to the extremist al-Mourabitoun armed group was believed to have been aimed at derailing that agreement.
Today, the UN's new Libya envoy, Martin Kobler, is expected to meet foreign ministers in the region in an attempt to further talks. Mr Lamamra said Algeria would encourage Mr Kobler to give Libya's neighbours a more active role in discussions. "[Neighbouring countries] are better placed to understand the culture, the habits, the traditions," he said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/...55096.html
Ramtane Lamamra calls for regional diplomacy on Libya, by [size=12]Yasmine Ryan[/SIZE]
Monday 30 November 2015
Military intervention across the Middle East risks destabilising countries and increasing terrorism, Algeria's foreign minister said, as regional foreign ministers meet to discuss Libya on Tuesday.
"Foreign military intervention can become part of the problem and not part of the solution," Ramtane Lamamra told The Independent in a rare interview before a peace conference on his country's war-torn neighbour. "It increases the likelihood of having more terrorist activity and of having more destabilisation in the countries that are opposed to foreign intervention."
Mr Lamamra, a career diplomat, is leading efforts to forge a role for Algeria as a regional mediator, promoting quiet diplomacy and dialogue over foreign military intervention, as it emerges from its 10-year battle with an Islamist insurgency. But his message also has relevance for other nations considering how far to engage in Syria.
Before he was appointed minister in 2013, Mr Lamamra, 63, spent the previous five years as the African Union's Commissioner for Peace and Security. His attempts to push for a peaceful solution through dialogue in Libya in 2011 were, he felt, ignored by Nato powers intent on helping the rebels to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi by military force.
Echoes of that period have informed Algeria's coolness toward the Arab Spring. Its officials have not forgotten the arms embargo imposed on its army by the international community in the midst of the civil war a reaction to widespread allegations of human rights abuses by security forces.
In 2011, the country refused to support the Arab League's decision to expel Syria over the atrocities committed by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, and kept its embassy open as other countries began to close theirs from 2012 onward.
Meanwhile, as Libya reached a crisis point last summer, Algeria worked behind the scenes to mediate talks between the many rival groups. "Algeria believes discretion is always key to the success of mediation," said Mr Lamamra.
He contrasted the "fragmented" and unsuccessful Libyan agreements co-ordinated by the UN with its own talks in Mali, which led to the Algiers Accord signed earlier this year. The recent attack in Mali's capital, Bamako, by gunmen linked to the extremist al-Mourabitoun armed group was believed to have been aimed at derailing that agreement.
Today, the UN's new Libya envoy, Martin Kobler, is expected to meet foreign ministers in the region in an attempt to further talks. Mr Lamamra said Algeria would encourage Mr Kobler to give Libya's neighbours a more active role in discussions. "[Neighbouring countries] are better placed to understand the culture, the habits, the traditions," he said.
Martin Luther King - "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Albert Camus - "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion".
Douglas MacArthur — "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."
Albert Camus - "Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."
Albert Camus - "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion".
Douglas MacArthur — "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons."
Albert Camus - "Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."