Libya 'made no concessions'

2004-01-02 10:09

Tripoli - Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelrahman Shalgam insisted on Thursday that his country decided voluntarily to abandon programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction and not under international pressure.

"Libya's decision was not a concession or the result of what happened in Iraq but was a decision by the Popular Congress (parliament). It was voluntary," Shalgam said.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi surprised the world with his declaration on December 19 that Tripoli was giving up the search for chemical, biological and nuclear arms.

That pledge was followed up by Libya's announcement that it would co-operate fully with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and allow tougher inspections of its nuclear sites.

The developments were the fruit of nine months of secret negotiations between Libya and Britain and the United States, with some suggestions that Tripoli feared it could be Washington's next target after the invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam Hussein.

Libya's move also came after Iran - dubbed part of an "axis of evil" by Washington - agreed to sign up to a additional protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allowing snap inspections of its atomic facilities.

Tripoli was under international sanctions for years over the December 1988 bombing of a US airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie that killed 270 people.

The United Nations lifted its embargo in September after Tripoli agreed to pay $2.7bn in compensation and accept responsibility for the bombing, although Libya still denied guilt. US sanctions remain in place however.

- AFP