UN envoy Bernardino Leon speaks during a press conference in Tunis yesterday.
AFP
Tunis
UN envoy Bernardino Leon insisted yesterday that efforts to clinch a political deal to end the turmoil in Libya will carry on although the key parties have rejected his proposals.
“The process goes on. There is no chance for small groups or personalities to hijack this process,” Leon told a news conference in Tunis.
“The political solution is the only real alternative,” he said, adding that further meetings would be held in the coming days.
The nation descended into chaos after the October 2011 ouster and killing of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with two governments vying for power and armed groups battling for control of its vast energy resources.
On October 9, after almost a year of arduous negotiations, Leon put forward a list of names to head a power-sharing government, but both sides rejected the proposed appointments.
Leon said yesterday that the parties that rejected the proposals had not come up with any alternative. “It’s just a negative message; it’s just a ‘no.’”
“What we’re seeing today... is a small group of people, hardliners in both camps and specific personalities taking the decision to use the power they have not to allow... a democratic vote.”
“The majority of Libyans want a political solution,” he said.
The UN Security Council has threatened to impose sanctions on those who block a peace deal or undermine any political transition in Libya.
Commenting on that, Leon said “let’s see what happens in the coming days... but I’m sure that we will see them thinking of these sanctions.”
These could include travel bans and restrictions on bank accounts, he said.