First step in lifting Libya sanctions
The stalemate in the Lockerbie incident stand-off between Libya and the US and Britain is about to enter a new phase as a result of the unified action of the African countries.
The Lockerbie incident in which a US Pan-Am jet exploded over Scotland resulting in US and British accusations that the 270 killed in the accident were the result of Libyan action. This led to sanctions against Libya with the US and Britain requesting the handing over of two "suspects" for trial on their respective territories, and not in Libya or a neutral place as Libya had agreed to.
President of Burkina Faso [Africa], Blaise Compaore, headed last night to Libya in his private airplane, despite the UN imposed international sanction imposed on Libya. Burkina Faso was the summit location of the Organization of African Unity that adopted a resolution end the sanctions against Libya starting in September.
His visit to Libya by airplane is considered the latest violation of the air embargo against Libya, as he did not ask for permission from the United Nations to travel to Libya.
The Burkinabe president said, "I have not gotten permission to travel Libya, but I came to visit my friend, the Libyan president, Moammar Gaddafi." Libya approved the visit, as it is a visit from an African leader who is not convinced of the US-backed sanctions.
Meanwhile, the coordinator of the Libyan - Egyptian relations, Sayed Kazaf El-Dam, called on the Arab states to break the international embargo imposed on his country six years ago.
El-Dam said that the stance of the Arab states will be greatly embarrassing unless they take a similar stance to the one adopted at the recent African summit in Burkina Faso, where the African countries agreed to break the embargo if the cause of the sanctions (Lockerbie crisis) is not taken by the International court of justice [ICJ] for arbitration . The ICJ has ruled recently in favor of Libya saying that the court has the right to take up this issue for resolution, as has been suggested by the Arab league and its secretary general Esmat Abdel Meguid who has spearheaded efforts to find a solution to this problem.
El-Dam said that he hoped the Arab states' foreign ministers during their meetings in September "would follow the African countries." He stated that the Libyan position is flexible and said that the extremism was due to the U.S., Britain and France.
El-Dam said France was convinced by the Libyan point of view but retreated from its previous position; moreover, he said Britain was suffering from the practices of the plane victims' families, who have put the British government in an embarrassing situation. He added that the U.S. uses the issue as a way to continue its obstinate policy against Libya.
The London based Guardian today said that the US and Brittain will soon announce that they have reversed course and will announce that they have agreed to take this issue to the International Court of Justice for resolution. Several US reports following the Guardian report confirms that action is forthcoming.
This progress, one observer said, is the result of the decision of the Organization of African Unity in its last meeting to break the embargo in September if the ICJ in the Hague in the Netherlands is not handed authority over this issue for a judgment.
In the past, the US claimed that this issue should not be resolved by the ICJ and the UN Security Council in its most recent meeting on this issue decided to continue the sanctions.