Libya is a country close to Europe's neighbourhood. Europeans helped Libya oust a tyrant just three years ago. The country took a not so unexpected downturn in governance, after a popular revolution with international assistance overthrew Muammar Gaddafi and left a nation without many institutions, including no security forces.
Europe, despite pledging to help build up democratic capacities, did wretchedly neglect Libya in the aftermath of Gaddafi's expulsion.
The governance downturn has accelerated for nearly a year now, when the then prime minister was kidnapped by militia, and got worse in the last few weeks since the brutal murder in Benghazi of Salwa Bughaigis. She was a courageous democracy/human/women rights campaigner and leader of the revolution; she was murdered just after she went to cast her vote in democratic elections.
Extremist groups with international and financial support have taken advantage of the deteriorating situation; they have infiltrated militia, and seized arsenals left by the tyrant while trying to impose pseudo-Islamic obedience to oppress the Libyan people, women in particular. Recently, militia infighting escalated, forcing the shutdown of both Tripoli and Misrata airports. All these developments were expected and, actually, were predicted.
Nevertheless, the EU chose to ignore the pressing needs and appeals of the Libyan authorities and civil society to help them with massive governance capacity building, in particular to organise proper national security forces. Instead of working together under European articulation and strategic orientation, some EU member states returned to the 'business as usual' way under which they operated with Gaddafi, placing their 'advisers' randomly to sell equipment and services.
"The EU chose to ignore the pressing needs and appeals of the Libyan authorities and civil society to help them with massive governance capacity building, in particular to organise proper national security forces"
A year ago, the EU finally sent to Libya a common security and defence policy mission to help train staff to secure the huge maritime and land borders - that mission came too late and is conspicuously insufficient to tackle the deep-rooted internal security problems, namely the absence of any centrally accountable and professional security forces, compromising any chance of democratic transition.
This shows how poor and inefficient the EU has been not just in external action but in its own internal security policy, especially if every second week there's another human disaster in the Mediterranean resulting in more people shoring up at European beaches after having made their way through Libya. But, people in despair are certainly not the only export that will continue to come from Libya, if the EU doesn't help it decisively to build security and governance.
It is actually not only the security and peace of Libyans that is in question: it is our very own security that, one way or another, is threatened by the unbearable human tragedy that is unfolding in Libya. Should Europeans expect the US to come and help? How often have Americans already stressed that Libya, in Europe's vicinity, is primarily a European responsibility?
Only last week the Libyan Foreign Minister stood before the UN Security Council begging for international assistance. Can Europeans continue to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear?