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Libyan government to repatriate illegal migrants in jail
The Libyan government is to repatriate Ghanaian and other African illegal migrants languishing in Libyan jails to their home countries.
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However, those who were arrested for supporting the late Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi would be prosecuted.
“We caught a lot of people and they confirmed that Gaddafi paid them to fight for him. The law will deal with all these people but for those who entered the country without proper documentation, we send them back to their countries,” the Charge d’Affaires of the Libyan Embassy in Ghana, Mrs Warda Y.A Nasef, told the Daily Graphic in an interview on the fringes of the country’s 61st independence celebrations in Accra.
A number of sub-Saharan Africans including Ghanaians were reportedly killed or thrown into Libyan jails, in the heat of the Libyan version of the Arab Spring,for being hired as mercenaries by Gaddafi.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration figures, about 640 Ghanaians were languishing in Libyan prisons as at 2010 for attempting to stow away to Europe. The actual number, however, remained unknown to the government.
Mrs Nasef said Libya would continue to play a leading role in Africa to bring to fruition the objectives of the African Union, a cause championed by Gaddafi but which Mrs Nasef described as a charade.
A former Roman colony originally inhabited by Berbers and settled by Phoenicians, Libya saw invasions by Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks and more recently, Italians before gaining independence on December 24, 1951.
The day was celebrated until 1969 when the late Colonel Gaddafi toppled the government of King Idriss in a bloodless coup, leading to the abolishment of the monarchy system.
In 2011, the colonel's government was brought to its knees by a six-month uprising and ensuing civil war, which resulted in his death.
In October of that year, the main opposition group, the National Transitional Council (NTC), declared the country to be officially "liberated" and pledged to turn Libya into a pluralist, democratic state.
In August 2012, the NTC handed over power to Libya's newly elected Parliament, the General National Congress.
Even though the civil war ended with the killing of Gaddafi, the oil-rich North African country has been struggling to cope with violence championed mainly by pro-Gaddafi elements.
But the Charge d’Affaires said the security situation in the country had improved drastically.
In a speech earlier, Mrs Nasef, said the celebration had a special significance as the celebration coincided with the victory of the February 17 uprising which resulted in death and injury of thousands of Libyans.
Ghana-Libya diplomatic relations dates back to the 1980s. This relationship was, however, restricted in many ways due to United Nations sanctions imposed on Libya as a result of the Lockerbie bombing in which Pan Am Flight 103 was brought down allegedly by two Libyans.
In the late 1990s, Gaddafi sought to lead Libya out of its long international isolation by turning over to the West two suspects wanted for the 1988 explosion.
In response, the United Nations lifted sanctions against Libya. The United States removed its own embargo in September 2004. After years of rejection in the Arab world, Gaddafi also sought to forge stronger relations with non-Islamic African nations such as South Africa, remodelling himself as an elder African statesman.
With the sanctions lifted, Ghana and Libya restored their Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) meetings in Accra in 2003 with a fresh commitment to lay the framework for effective trade and economic ties.
In that respect, Mrs Nasef said the new Libya sought to improve relations between the two countries for the benefit of their citizenry.
“We affirm to you Libya’s commitment to improving her political, economic and cultural relations with Ghana, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s affairs,” she said.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Leslie K. Christian, commended Libya for its support to Ghana when fire destroyed the ministry in 2009.
He expressed Ghana’s commitment to ensuring that relations between the two countries were strengthened for the benefit of the two countries.
Story by Seth J. Bokpe