Libya-Egypt rift resolved
A high-ranking Egyptian delegation's visit to Libya helped soothe Cairo and Tripoli's recently troubled ties. Rasha Saad reports
Thousands of travellers were crossing the Egyptian-Libyan border at Salloum this week, after "restrictive measures" that had been put into place on both sides were lifted. The normal movement of hundreds of cars crossing the border -- which had been nearly deserted for the past few weeks -- has resumed in force.
On 9 January, Libyan border authorities began demanding that Egyptians wanting to enter Libya show that they had valid work contracts and at least $350 in their possession. In a reciprocal measure, Egyptian authorities required Libyans to obtain a visa and prove they had $500.
An 11 January Cairo visit by a high-ranking Libyan delegation did not fully resolve the crisis.
A high-level Egyptian delegation's 21 January meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli, however, seems to have done the trick.
Egyptians and Libyans are now crossing the border with just their identity papers, as they have done for years.
The Egyptian delegation included Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif and President Hosni Mubarak's Chief Adviser Osama El-Baz. Egyptian media reported that the delegation's task was to hand Gaddafi a message from Mubarak covering "Arab, regional and international issues", as well as the results of meetings Mubarak held this week with several Arab leaders.
The visit's timing, however, made it crystal clear that both sides were trying to contain the rift. Al-Mussawar magazine Editor-in-Chief Makram Mohamed Ahmed, who is close to Mubarak, said the delegation was likely tasked with "a de-escalation" that would help the 350,000 Egyptians who work in Libya.
During a meeting with Egyptian intellectuals last week, Mubarak dismissed the rift, saying, "Libya is a fraternal country. Even if there are differences from time to time, these do not affect the solid ties between the two countries and two peoples."
Other Egyptian and Libyan officials have maintained a similar stance, refusing to attribute the restrictive measures to official positions taken by each other's governments. Libyan officials described relations between Cairo and Tripoli as "special and intimate", while El- Sherif told journalists in Tripoli that the measures may have resulted from a misunderstanding "by some employees on both sides of the border".
Libyan officials said the measures were only designed to "check" traffic as part of Tripoli's efforts to stop illegal emigration to Europe. "Libya is suffering [as a result of] illegal immigration," said Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Rahman Shalgham. "Egyptians who enter Libya illegally risk drowning, and then it is reported that those persons are on Libyan territory. Libya is not responsible for illegal immigrants."
Over the past few months Libya has sent hundreds of Egyptians who were allegedly trying to travel to Europe illegally back to Egypt. "There should have been prior consultations so that the issue was not misinterpreted," Maher said after meeting Shalgham. "But in any case the issue is closed."
Diplomatic sources in Tripoli, meanwhile, allege that Libya imposed the restrictions after Egyptian newspapers, including those run by the government, said Libya's unilateral decision to come clean about its Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) weakened Arab efforts to force Israel to abandon its own undeclared nuclear weapons programme. The Libyan Embassy in Egypt even filed a complaint with the state prosecutor against 15 journalists from opposition and independent newspapers who allegedly criticised Gaddafi over his WMD decision.
In an attempt to contain the rift, the Egyptian Supreme Press Council issued a statement last week urging Egyptian journalists to refrain from insulting Arab leaders.
Libyan and Egyptian sources told Asharq Al- Awsat newspaper that Gaddafi had accepted an official invitation from Mubarak to visit Cairo. The sources said the summit would take place in the next few weeks, before the Egyptian president leaves for a US tour.
