Brussels, 26/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Mayor of Tripoli Abdlrauf Beitelmal called on Monday 26 October for Europeans to return to his town.
He invited the EU to re-establish its office in Tripoli and member states their embassies. “I can't see why they would not”, he said during a press briefing on the sidelines of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM). The international staff of the EU delegation and the EU border management assistance mission (EUBAM Libya) moved out to Tunisia on 31 July 2014 following the worsening in the security situation in Tripoli (see EUROPE 11134). “We need people to come here and experience the reality so that they can see exactly how it is”, he added.
Beitelmal said that the situation in his country was more stable than is depicted by the media. “The situation in Libya is not as bad as it is painted”, he indicated, stating that what the media say about the country reflected no more than 10% of the reality. “It's quite safe in Tripoli”, he said, acknowledging that that this was not the case in other parts.
Highlighting that he had heard the EU and the whole world make clear the intention to help Libya stay on its feet, Beitelmal said they had to “begin with local governance”. He said that local authorities in Libya had no sources of funding and had to learn from others. In his view, the most pressing issues are education, health, the environment and capacity-building. “There is a great problem with management”, he added. “We need Europe (to advise us) on how to manage organisations”, he said, calling on the EU to send experts. During the meeting, Beitelmal said that “emergency aid” was needed for “critical infrastructure”, such as medical services and support services for children and that his country had “huge needs” in terms of education. “Huge” resources were also needed to help cope with the problems linked to migration, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)