US call to perpetuate sanctions on Libya

Some 13 members of the US Senate have called upon US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to continue US sanctions imposed on Libya until the trial of the two Libyans suspected of being involved in the Lockerbie incident is completed.

10 Democrats and three Republicans in the Congress said in a message they sent to Albright that the US should not accept ultimate lifting of the sanctions before the end of the trial, noting that the commitment towards the families of the Lockerbie victims requires waiting until the end of the trial.

United Nations sanctions on Libya have been suspended since Libya handed over the two Libyans who are suspected in the Lockerbie issue. Observers say that reimposing the suspended sanctions will be impossible because this requires the consent of nine members at the UN Security Council.