Month: June 2014
Tunisia’s kidnapped diplomats released
Tunisia’s diplomats Mohamed Ben Cheikh et Laroussi Gantassi, who were kidnapped in Benghazia and Tripoli last March and April respectively, were released over the weekend.MongiHamdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in a press conference that the Tunisian government did not...
An outspoken Human Rights Activist silenced for good
Salwa Bugaighis, a Libyan lawyer and outspoken human rights activist, was shot dead at her house in Benghazi short after voting last Tuesday. Bugaighis was a member of the National Transitional Council that led the uprising that deposed Qaddafi in...
Tunisian Academia ponders Salafism
There has been growing interest among Tunisian research centers in the study of Salafi movements in the country and the region. Two weeks ago the Ministry of Interior announced that around 400 Salafi Tunisians had been killed in Syria and...
The Stalemate Continues
Clashes between Libya’s Shield and Gen. Hafter’s loyalists continued with a bloody confrontation at a Benghazi port and an air strike at the Ansar al-Sharia base in Derna. On Saturday June 22, Hafter issued a 48 hour ultimatum for all...
Ennahdha’s Proposal for Consensus on a Presidential Candidate Stirs Debate
Ennahdha’s proposal for consensus among political actors and social stakeholders to agree a candidate for the presidential post has stirred debate in Tunisia, especially after a calendar was agreed for the elections (legislative on 26 October, and presidential on 26...
Consensus to Hold Legislative Elections First
After months of political wrangling and manoeuvring on whether to hold presidential elections before legislative ones or simultaneously, twelve parties voted for holding legislative elections first against six parties who preferred otherwise. Despite the agreement, on Wednesday, by Ennahdha and...
Stalemate Continues
In what was understood as a blunt response to Ban Ki-moon’s call on all Libyan actors to start dialogue under the auspices of UNISMIL, Gen Khalifa Hafter told Saudi-funded Al-Hadaath TV that his Dignity Operation would continue and that there...
No Military Solution to Libya’s Crisis
Despite the intensification of the bombing strikes on what the pro “Dignity Operation” claim to be terrorist targets, retired General Hafter, who survived an attempt on his life last Wednesday, seems unable to achieve his campaign’s goal. A dialogue backchannel...