Tunisia may recognize Libya rebels

Tunisia opened a trade office in Benghazi as part of increased ties with Libya's opposition.

By Monia Ghanmi for Magharebia in Tunis – 20/06/11

The chairman of Libya's Transitional National Council (TNC) visited Tunis on Saturday (June 18th) as part of efforts to win recognition of the rebel government.

"The humanitarian aid that the people and government of Tunisia have offered, and the brotherly positions that they have taken, far exceed the issue of recognizing the TNC," rebel leader Mustapha Abdel Jalil said after meeting with Interim Tunisian Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi.

The TNC chairman noted that several Arab states have recognized the council as the sole representative of the Libya people. Abdel Jalil added, "We've now come to matters that are much greater than recognition, and our arrival in Tunis at an invitation from the President of Tunisia is in itself recognition."

After lauding the assistance provided by Tunisia to displaced Libyans, the rebel leader expressed his optimism about the future of Libyan-Tunisian relations, noting that Tunisians would have the greater share in the reconstruction of Libya in the post-Kadhafi era. Tunisia opened an office in Benghazi on Monday (June 20th) to facilitate trade.

"The war has delayed many stages in Libya, and the country will certainly witness development in which Tunisian labor will play the greater role and will have the greater share because we need your experience," Abdel Jalil said.

He also praised the Tunisian revolution, describing it as the initiator of the Arab Spring.

However, no official position has been so far expressed by Tunisia to confer recognition of Libya's TNC although the head of Tunisian government said in interview with Al Jazeera satellite channel last week that the Tunisian government was prepared to recognize TNC as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

The TNC chief denied media reports that cited Libya's Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Hammoudi as saying that Tripoli had opened dialogue with TNC representatives.

"We won't accept any attempts of mediation or talks unless they are on Kadhafi's departure," Abdel Jalil said.

Abdel Jalil also met with Interim President Foued Mebazaa who confirmed that Tunisia would stand besides the Libyan people as they lived through a difficult time. Mebazaa said last Tuesday (June 14th) that "the Libyan danger is still there."

"In spite of all the security arrangements we have made, we still arrest infiltrators everyday sent by Kadhafi against us at the Tunisian-Libyan border," the interim president said.

Tunisia recently stepped up security on the border, with military reinforcements arriving at the Libyan frontier on Tuesday (June 14th) after renewed shelling by pro-Kadhafi forces, according to Tataouine resident Abdelbasset Jemni. Residents also said they saw Tunisian warplanes patrolling the skies above the border for the first time on Tuesday.

The Tunisian army remained along the border "supported by the necessary supplies to protect the sanctity of Tunisian national soil", according to Brigadier General Mokhtar Ben Naceur. He added that several military patrols were formed to conduct surveillance operations "to prevent any infiltration or smuggling to national soil".

But Tunisians living near the boundary said that they no longer felt secure with the continued war between the Libya rebels and pro-Kadhafi forces.

"We are afraid, especially of the battalions that are stationed in thousands near the border," said Mohamed Ali Brissi. "They have dangerous weapons that can destroy whole cities."

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/06/20/feature-01.