ACCESSION NUMBER:292793
FILE ID:TXT204
DATE:07/06/93
TITLE:SHIPMENTS TO LIBYA BLOCKED (07/06/93)
TEXT:*93070604.TXT
SHIPMENTS TO LIBYA BLOCKED
(VOA Editorial) (480)
(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America July 3,
reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)
Through the cooperation of the international community and the U.N.
Security Council, Libya has been denied shipments of materials that could
have been used in that country's chemical weapons and missile programs.
Singapore blocked a shipment of reactor vessels (containers) produced in
Malaysia that could have been used for mixing the ingredients of poison
gas. Ukraine blocked the shipment of a key ingredient in the solid fuel
used to propel ballistic missiles.
For several years, the United States and other countries have been concerned
about Libyan efforts to develop chemical weapons. Thwarting the Libyan
chemical weapons program is one of the highest priorities of U.S.
non-proliferation policy. Along with Britain, the United States worked
intensively to stop the shipment of eight Malaysian stainless steel reactor
vessels to Libya. The United States agreed with Britain that these vessels
would have been used in the production of chemical weapons. The U.N.
sanctions committee shared this judgment and determined that shipment of
the vessels to Libya would violate U.N. Security Council Resolution 748,
which prohibits the transfer of weapons or weapons-related items to Libya.
1
The government of Singapore complied with the sanctions committee decision
and blocked the shipment. The vessels have now been shipped back to their
port of origin in Malaysia, and the United States is confident that the
government of Malaysia will follow Singapore's lead in ensuring that they
will not be shipped to Libya.
In Ukraine, government officials impounded a shipment of ammonium
perchlorate from Russia that was intended for Libya. Ammonium perchlorate
is an ingredient in solid rocket fuel and its transfer is restricted under
the Missile Technology Control Regime. The United States welcomed the
Ukrainian action. Seizing this cargo demonstrates a responsible approach
to non-proliferation by the Ukrainian government. The United States urges
the government of Russia to accept return of the ammonium perchlorate from
Ukraine, and requests the assistance of all concerned governments to ensure
that this shipment does not reach Libya or Libyan procurement agents.
The Libyan regime of Muammar Qadhafi has been a state sponsor of
international terrorism for many years. Last year, the U.N. Security
Council placed sanctions on Libya because of the Qadhafi regime's refusal
to cooperate in bringing to justice Libyan officials responsible for the
1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner and the 1989 bombing of a French airliner.
The United States urges all countries to comply with the U.N. sanctions and
refrain from shipping any weapons or weapons-related items to Libya. It is
especially important to deny this terrorist state the means to produce
weapons of mass destruction or the missiles that could be used to deliver
them.
NNNN
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