By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 18 -- What has been the impact of the Contact Group on Libya last week deeming the National Transitional Council as the legitimate government?
At the UN, none. A spokesman for the chair of the Libya Sanctions Committee said that there are not changes to the sanctions or arms embargo. (In any event, as Inner City Press covered, France parachuted weapons into the Nafusa mountains.)
At Monday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky if the UN would change its decision to silence the NTC's representatives, Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgam and Ibrahim Dabbashi:
Inner City Press: with the decision by the Contact Group to recognize the National Transitional Council as essentially the Government of Libya, I wonder [what] that changes. I know that the UN Secretariat gave these courtesy passes to former Ambassador Shalgham and his deputy, Ibrahim Dabbashi. But then it imposed some conditions that they couldn’t speak at the stakeout, but they could come into the building. Does the Contact Group decision about who is the legitimate representative of Libya change anything about the Secretariat’s decision on these two diplomats that have gone to the Benghazi side?
Spokesperson Nesirky: Not to my knowledge, because the Contact Group is not responsible for recognizing or otherwise.
Inner City Press: Could we get Ian Martin? Is it possible, given Ian Martin’s now even more prominent role in this, you know, transition in Libya, to have him either do a stakeout or come to the this room just to describe what his work is and where it stands?
Spokesperson: We can certainly ask.
So far, nothing. Watch this site.
Footnotes: while Dabbashi most recently predicted to Inner City Press that Gaddafi would be "gone by mid-July," it's now July 18, and he's still there...A question put to the IMF's spokespeople on Monday, whether the Contact Group's decision changed in any way the Bretton Woods institution's previous stance of not working with the National Transitional Council has so far not been answered. It will be asked at the IMF's next briefing.
