The progress of the Libyan National Dialogue will be the focus of today's discussion of the Conference of Friends of Libya that has just begun in Rome. Dialogue – the ability for people to speak frankly, openly, without fear of reprisals – is precisely what was suppressed under Gaddafi, and it is something we as a people are still getting used to. But dialogue is the only option we have if Libya is to exploit its potential as North Africa's most prosperous nation, and as a key partner for Italy on issues ranging from energy security, immigration and the spread of democracy in the Arab world. Casual – and even observant – readers of European news might come to the conclusion that Libya is in a state of lawlessness: armed attacks against the General National Congress, declining oil revenues, widespread insecurity in the south, and low turnout to vote for the Constituent Assembly.
But consider this: Yesterday we successfully staged an event in Derna, a nightmare city associated almost exclusively with Ansar al Sharia. Yet hundreds of people came to express their views on topics ranging from their personal vision of Libya's future, to sharia law, to potholes in the streets. There is clearly a thirst for dialogue, bottled up throughout the 42 years of the dictatorship. The event was the second in a nationwide Participation and Engagement tour of thirty Libyan cities undertaken by the Preparatory Commission for National Dialogue. But by giving people a non-political forum in which to be heard and taken seriously, we do more than try to achieve catharsis from the past: we build consensus about the future. There is no guarantee that the development path for the countries liberated from the Arab Spring will match any precedent, however comforting it may be to believe that there are models of democracy. Because, after all, democracy isn't just the ticking of ballots: it's the collective consequence of millions of conflicting self-interests working towards unanimity.
In a country where a tsunami of weapons has flooded the market, and old and important identities – regional, tribal, ethnic – have been suffocated for so long, it is no wonder that many people resolve their conflicts by resorting to brute force . This does not mean, however, that Libya is on the brink of chaos or that the conflicts are unsolvably complex. But until everyone is given the opportunity and the alternative of dialogue, it will be difficult to make the case – to the international community, and to ourselves – that we have a singular and collective understanding of the ties that bind us together. That is why there are only two rules for participating in the National Dialogue: accept the principle of a unified Libya, whatever its form, and leave your guns at the door.
During the Participation and Engagement tour, we will ask Libyans who they trust to represent them at the National Dialogue Conference. With their contribution, 300 delegates to the Conference, coming from as broad a cross-section of society as possible, will be responsible for drafting a National Charter. The National Charter will be an extraordinary document: a codification not of how people believe they should be governed, but of who they believe they are. Shaped on the voices of ordinary Libyan citizens, it will cover four broad areas: a unifying vision for the future of the country, what it means to be Libyan, the values we believe in, and the responsibilities we have towards each other, towards our communities, and towards the world.
Starting a country from scratch is extremely painful, but it offers numerous opportunities. One of these is the possibility of carrying on a serious discussion about ourselves. Since the end of the Cold War, political history in the West has been driven by identity politics. In Libya, through the National Dialogue, we have the opportunity to simultaneously resolve many of the issues that the West will continue to grapple with. If we can achieve this result, and at the same time exorcise the ghosts of the former regime, I believe that soon Libya will truly take its rightful place as a stable, cultured and prosperous nation.
