Once again, US President George W. Bush has approved a one-year extension of American sanctions against Libya. The embargo has been extended repeatedly since 1988, when the Libyan leadership was held responsible for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Bush stated that although the Libyan government handed over the two suspects involved in the bombing, the leadership has not met its full obligations in accepting responsibility for the actions of its officials in the attack or paid the due compensations, as outlined in the UN Security Council resolutions, reported AFP.
In light of Libya’s transfer of the two suspects in 2001, the UN Security Council dropped its sanctions against the North African country. However, the Bush administration demands that Libya pay some four billion dollars in reparations to the families of the 270 victims before any trade restrictions are lifted.
US economic sanctions against Libya have been extended annually since 1986, when former President Ronald Reagan labeled the North African state as “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States." The Lockerbie bombing was added to the list of conditions for the embargo, in which most of the victims were Americans. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
