During a visit to Libya in July, the European Union’s special representative for the southern Mediterranean, Bernadino Leon, stressed that a genuine democracy takes time. In the past he has mentioned that his own country, Spain, suffered under 40 years of dictatorship and that it took seven years to establish a more stable democracy there.  He suggests how democracy can happen in the Arab Spring countries in relation to Libya as well as recent events in Egypt.

During a visit to Libya in July, the European Union’s special representative for the southern Mediterranean, Bernadino Leon, stressed that a genuine democracy takes time. In the past he has mentioned that his own country, Spain, suffered under 40 years of dictatorship and that it took seven years to establish a more stable democracy there.  He suggests how democracy can happen in the Arab Spring countries in relation to Libya as well as recent events in Egypt.

Mr. Leon, what is the European Union’s response to human rights violations in Libya?

The European Union has many programs that support civil society and human rights organizations and, on many occasions, it has expressed concern over such sensitive issues. The process of democratic transition can’t succeed without the rule of law and respect for human rights. We are aware of certain human rights violations as well as the extremely complex situation in Libya. And the Libyan government is not to blame for human rights violations committed by others.

Your media statements indicate that you’re in touch with the Libyan government and also the Libyan opposition. So do you think that an opposition actually exists in Libya?

The EU is definitely in touch with all involved political parties and I am going to meet many of their leaders. As an EU delegation we hold dialogues with all concerned political parties and consultants in the host country. We don’t exclude any faction.

But there are really only two main streams of political thinking in Libya – firstly the conservative Islamic stream and then the civic society, or more liberal, stream. Both are part of Libya’s coalition government. Which means there’s no real opposition, doesn’t it?

I think Libyans should be patient during a transitional period like this. They have fought a war, conducted a revolution and toppled a dictatorship – and still they expect changes overnight.

We’ve been through this in Europe too. In my homeland, Spain, people were even less patient after a revolution. You cannot expect an ideal democracy to simply appear overnight. Libya’s situation is far more complex [than Spain’s] and Gaddafi not only destroyed civil society, he destroyed the whole state. Everything needs to be rebuilt.

At this stage, Libyans should be focused on drafting an inclusive, strong, consensual Constitution – regardless of what’s happening with the government and any opposition. This was the problem in Egypt: there they had a government and a very real opposition. They couldn’t work together to come to any agreement.

I believe it is up to Libyans to rebuild their country. And from a European point of view, we believe all parties need to be included in that rebuilding.

EU leaders have said that democracy is not just about who wins an election, it’s also about respect for human rights and minorities. So what are your thoughts on the latest events in Egypt: are they conducting a coup or a second revolution?

Talking about any transitional processes in the region should start with talking about the transitional processes within the political movements themselves. For example, the Muslim Brotherhood was banned for many years and its leaders were either in prison or exile. There is difficult transitional phase to go through before it can become a fully-fledged, modern political party that is able to manage a country, in a modern democracy.

I am simplifying the situation , which is very complicated.

Basically it is very hard to say whether the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule was democratic.

Of course, democracy does not only mean to win the elections. You cannot have a full and comprehensive democracy without a Constitution that is agreed upon by all political forces. You cannot achieve one when 25 percent of your people do not vote on it, when the Parliament is dissolved by the judiciary and the Shura council [Egypt’s upper house] is elected by only 10 percent of the Egyptian people; this led to a particularly singular Shura council that featured Islamic parties and no liberals.

That is not an ideal democracy. However, if you asked whether the Muslim Brotherhood were on the right track, I would answer yes, they were. And if you asked the same question about the liberals, I would certainly tell you yes, they were too. But they all failed to be inclusive, and that’s the one component a democratic process cannot do without.

Concerning your question about a coup, the answer must be nuanced. On July 3, between 2pm and 4pm, a president who came to power through free and fair elections was removed by the military in a coup. However you cannot separate this from the whole Egyptian scene.

You need to look at the big picture – and this leads us to describe what happened in Egypt as another revolutionary wave, as millions of Egyptians – and that’s according to independent sources – took to the streets to demand that President Morsi step down. Even some Islamic currents demanded that he go in order to avoid any bloodshed.

The media want quick answers to these questions but in such complicated cases, you can’t have them.