Seven years of sanctions did not destroy Libyan living standards
Libya, Politics, 9/3/1999

Libya, which celebrated on September 1 the 30th anniversary of leader Moammar Gaddafi's rule, could eliminate the effects of seven years of UN sanctions, thanks to continuous exportation of its oil.

Libya, whose population is estimated at 6 million, including 2 million foreigners, had a GNP of $32 billion US in 1988. Half of this amount is from oil revenues. Libya exports some 1.25 million barrels of oil per day out of its production of 1.4 million barrels, representing 90% of the country's total oil exports. Official figures say that the annual income per capita in Libya reached US 7,000 in 1998.

Doubtless, seven years (1992-1999) of air and military embargo, which was also backed by diplomatic and economic sanctions included equipment linked to oil industry had an adverse impact of people's living conditions, who live under a nationalized economy at a rate of 90%.

The UN imposed sanctions pushed Tripoli to suspend donations to tens of countries and political and military organizations and parties and forced it to minimize military expenditures.

With the improvement of oil prices, oil revenues are expected to increase this year by 22% over the figures from 1998, yet this rate is 20% less than the figures of 1997.

Western estimates say that Libyan oil revenues will be US $10 billion for this year and will ensure 67% of the expenditures in the state general budget.

Experts living in Libya estimate the Libyan foreign debts at US $3 billion and stress that Libyan assets of hard currency in international financial markets are important and invested effectively.

A European diplomat says that Libyan sums deposited abroad "are invested secretly and studiously" and that Libya is far from "corruption and atmospheres of wasting money."

However, the suspension of the UN sanctions in April this year will avail the importation of necessary oil equipment. An oil expert said this sector "does not, in fact witness a strong technical recession despite the embargo."

It seems that the past seven years have been costly to Libya. Tripoli has repeatedly spoken about losses estimated in billions of US dollars every year in the sector of agriculture and industry, which constituted 54% of the GNP before the year 1992.

The Libyan government is proud of the "Great industrial river" which was completed at a cost of US $25 billion and which transports some 6 million cubic meters of waters from the south to the coastal cities. The Libyan government is also proud in that its has built in 30 years some 103 hospitals, 11 universities, 25,000 km of roads, 8 major airports and maintained a land reclamation project of 1.8 million hectares.

Nevertheless, despite the suspension of UN sanctions imposed on Libya after Tripoli responded positively to handing over the two Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie incident, improving relations between Tripoli and Washington are still beyond reach, especially as the latter views Gaddafi as a sponsor of international terrorism.

A relative detente took place in April, when Libya delivered the two Libyans suspected to be involved in the Lockerbie incident which took place in 1988 and resulted in the death of 270 persons. Yet the gap between the two countries is still wide, and disputes between them are numerous.

The US State Department has recently denied strongly that it has decided to remove Libya's name from the list of the terrorism-sponsoring countries.

Meanwhile, the deputy representative of the US at the UN, Peter Burleigh, in July ruled out any quick final suspension for the sanctions imposed by the UN on Libya.

The two Libyans are to be tried in Holland before Scottish judges in February 2000.

Previous Stories:
  Libyan official cites intensive contacts to relaunch UMA   (9/2/1999)
  Felicitations from Mubarak, Abdullah, Zien al-Abidin to Gaddafi on the Fatah revolt   (9/2/1999)
  King Abdullah In Libya   (9/2/1999)

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