Source: IAC
Back to UN-sanctions pageThe UN Security Council retained sanctions against Libya on Thursday in a stormy session in which non -aligned envoys argued for a compromise on the location of a possible trial of suspects in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and despite new information that Libya was not responsible.
African and Asian nations were urging that the Lockerbie trial not be held in Britain or the United States, as demanded in a resolution passed by the council in 1992. The Council was consulting on the matter in accordance with its resolution 748 (1992) which calls for a review of the measures every 120 days or sooner.
Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Elaraby said many council members supported Egypt, Kenya and Guinea-Bissau's effort to find alternative venues for the trial and to have the United Nations study the impact of the sanctions on Libya and its neighbours.
"Today was not a routine review," he said. "Without a trial, no one can say who committed this heinous crime. The innocent people of Libya, the innocent people of neighbouring countries are suffering, and the Security Council, in my view, has not discharged its responsibility in this affair."
The Arab League and the Organization of African Unity have proposed the two Libyan suspects be tried by Scottish judges under Scottish law at the World Court in The Hague or by a special criminal tribunal to be established there or in a neutral country determined by the council.
Organisation of African Unity Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim recently called for intermediary measures to alleviate the air embargo .
"We have agreed therefore to put forward to the Security Council the three specific proposals which have been made by the Arab League supported by the O.A.U. and the Non-Aligned Movement," he said. Besides calling for the lifting of all the sanctions, Salim added: "We are also going to ask for a special consideration to be given, to take some measures to alleviate specific problems of the air embargo."
South Africa has confirmed that it is willing to serve as a neutral venue for the trial of two Libyans accused of being behind the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo recently remarked that South Africa supported Libya's insistence on a neutral venue for the trial of the two Libyans accused of having been behind the Lockerbie bombing
The South African Government has demonstrated its skill at helping to resolve seemingly intractable diplomatic and political disputes and it should take the initiative in attempting to bring to a conclusion the longstanding tragedy of the Lockerbie bombing.
Speaking to the press after Council consultations, the Council President Ambassador Peter Osvald of Sweden said that during a wide- ranging debate Members of the Council presented a number of views and referred to several documents, including a letter from the League of Arab States and the Organization of African Unity, and a letter from the Permanent Representatives of France, the United Kingdom and the United States. "After hearing all the opinions expressed in the course of consultations, I concluded that there was no agreement where the necessary conditions existed for modification of the measures of sanctions established in paragraphs 3-7 of Resolution 748 of 1992", the Council President said.
Libya's UN Ambassador Abuzid Omar Dordah, said that Libya "would study this carefully with our brothers" in Africa.
Libya is calling for a Pan -Arab unification of Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The proposal provides for the creation of a Collective Presidential Council in which each Arab country will keep its sovereignty but strategic sectors such as defence, economy and industry will be unified.
Libya's People's Congresses (parliaments) will organize marches to Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria this year to promote Arab Unity, PANA sources said recently in Tripoli.
The first march to Egypt will take place on July 23, the anniversary of former President Abdel Gamal Nasser's revolution of 1952.
The second to Algeria is scheduled for November, to coincide with the country's Revolution Day.
The third march to Tunisia will take place on November 7, the 10th anniversary of the coming to power of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
On July 1st, hundreds of children and adults led a march to the United Nations in New York. They demanded that the children of Iraq be allowed to live and play as children deserve.
The march was a funeral procession, mourning the lives of the hundreds of thousands of children and demanding the end to further killings. By the UN's own estimates, more than 4,500 children under the age of five are dying every month in Iraq due to the UN blockade. Approximately 750,000 children have already died since the imposition of the blockade in 1990. One third of Iraq'sīsurviving children have stunted growth and serious nutritional deficiencies that will deform shorten their lives. This is a crime that violates all standards of morality.
The procession met at 47th St. and 1st Ave. in the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, where speakers addressed the rally. An introduction was given by Sohair Soukkary, of the Arab Women's Solidarity Association, and Sara Flounders, of the International Action Center, and then followed by a minute of silence. Children from the Bruderhof Communities shared a song about the blockade, and urged everyone to work together -- to take a stand together against the injustice imposed on the people of Iraq, for only together can we succeed in lifting the blockade.
Additional statements were made by representatives of sponsoring organizations, including: Dr. Mohamad Mehdi (National Council of Islamic Affairs), Dr. Hani Awadallah (Civic Organization), Ramsey Clark (former US Attorney General, International Action Center), Rania Masri (Iraq Action Coalition), Felicity Arbuthnot (British Against Sanctions on Iraq Campaign), Yuriko Moto (Peace Suitors of Tokyo), and the well known doctor, author, and human rights leader, Dr. Nawal El Saadawi (Arab Women's Solidarity Association). Each of the speakers discussed the horrific impact of the blockade, and demanded the immediate end to the blockade. The blockade on the people of Iraq must be lifted, and the silence - by the media - must be broken.
The procession then began marching to the accompaniment of Chopin's Funeral march performed by five musicians. Two white horses led a black hearse carrying the casket of the unknown Iraqi child. Each child held a white carnation with a placard stating "Let the Children Live," "End the Sanctions on Iraq," "Save the Children of Iraq". Huge banners and posters demanding the end of the blockade were carried in the rally. Seven child-size coffins were carried by the adults and the children in the procession. The march proceeded down several blocks and chanted, all the while, "Kill the Sanctions, not the Child," "End the Blockade." Numerous people from the street joined the march in support of the cause.
The march was attended by more than 200 people, who kept the energy level consistently high. The demonstration was broadcast on CNN worldwide, Fox Channel 5, and New York 1, and was given press coverage by numerous media outlets, including the Associated Press.
After the march, an international delegation of human rights activists met with Mr. Ibrahim Fall, the assistant to the United Nations Secretary General, and representatives from the High Commission on Human Rights, the Legal Affairs of the Security Council, the Department of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Iraq Program. The delegation was led by Nawal El Saadawi and Sohair Soukkary (Arab Women's Solidarity Association), and included: Sara Flounders (International Action Center), Rania Masri (Iraq Action Coalition), Felicity Arbuthnot (British Against Sanctions on Iraq), Yuriko Moto (Peace Suitors of Tokyo), Walid Raboh (Arab Media Association of America), Mohamad Mehdi (National Council of Islamic Affairs), and Hani Awadallah (Civic Organization). Two members of the press accompanied the delegation: Samy Atwan (Freedom Newspaper) and Anisa Masoud (Arabic PressAssociation).
The delegation brought messages and letters from human rights organizations in approximately 100 cities worldwide where gatherings had been organized to reveal the horrendous impact of the blockade and to demand its immediate end. In clear terms, the international delegation conveyed their disappointment in the United Nations, and presented their stance, a stance supported by thousands worldwide: the blockade on the people of Iraq is a criminal act that has had genocidal effects on the people, especially the children; the blockade is a violation of the UN Charter; the blockade must be lifted immediately. As requested by the delegation, Mr. Ibrahim Fall promised to convey the delegation's message to the Secretary General who would then also convey them to the Security Council.
The Children's March to the UN was actively supported by the: Source: IAC
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