/** headlines: 107.0 **/
** Topic: Libya: OAU Demands UN Lift Sanctions **
** Written 9:41 AM Jul 8, 1996 by newsdesk in cdp:headlines **
/* Written 11:50 PM Jul 7, 1996 by isolem in igc:mideast.news */
/* ---------- "LIBYA: OAU DEMANDS UN LIFT SANCTION" ---------- */
OAU TO DEMAND UN LIFT SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBYA
Reuters reported from Yaounde today that in the upcoming OAU summit African countries are expected to adopt a resolution calling for the immediate lifting of United Nations sanctions against Libya. The African leaders will further suggest that, should the Security Council fail to remove the sanctions, the OAU countries may find themselves compelled to act on their own to restore normal air links and trade with Libya in order to spare the Libyan people further suffering.
In a draft resolution prepared for the OAU summit which begins in Cameroon on Monday, July 8, foreign ministers also expressed their concern that the UN Security Council may be planning to move to widen the scope of the sanctions against Libya. The US delegation is known to have sought to extend the sanctions to ban the export of Libyan oil during several recent Security Council reviews of the measures, but its efforts have thus far been blocked by European countries which are dependent on imports of Libya's high-quality petroleum. Russia and China have also opposed any broadening of the sanctions and have called for a solution to the current impasse over the Lockerbie matter. However, the United States has refused all suggestions that American representatives meet with Libyan diplomats to discuss possibilities of finding a negotiated settlement to the dispute.
Written by Ingrid Solem and placed by her in the public domain.
Please distribute freely.