SENATE RESOLUTION 285--RELATIVE TO SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBYA (Senate - April 09, 1992)

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Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. D'Amato) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

S. Res. 285

Whereas 441 people were murdered as the result of terrorist attacks against Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and UTA flight 772 in 1989;

Whereas these attacks killed nationals from more than 30 countries;

Whereas Libya has engaged in repeated terrorist actions, either by its own nationals or through proxy terrorist organizations, against not only Western nations, but those of the Third World;

Whereas the United Nations Security Council has called on Libya to cooperate fully with the United States, Britain, and France in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attacks on Pan Am flight 103 and UTA flight 772 and to cease all support for terrorism;

Whereas the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 731 on January 21, 1992, calling for Libyan cooperation and, after weeks of fruitless negotiations, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 748 mandated sanctions against Libya, including an end to all air service and arms sales to Libya and a significant reduction in the Libyan diplomatic presence abroad; and

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 748 represents the first time that the United Nations has adopted sanctions against a country carrying out terrorist attacks, thereby demonstrating the world community's opposition to such assaults on international security: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) Libya should--

(A) comply with all provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 748 and release to the United States or the United Kingdom for trial the two Libyan suspects in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103;

(B) cooperate with the French judicial investigation into the bombing of UTA flight 772;

(C) compensate the families of the victims of those aircraft bombings; and

(D) cease support for terrorism;

(2) the United States and United Nations Security Council should consider additional measures against Libya if it does not fully cooperate with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions;

(3) all countries should adhere to the United Nations sanctions against Libya, as embodied in United Nations Security Council Resolution 748;

(4) the United States Government, the United Nations Security Council, and other nations should work together to ensure that the sanctions are adhered to;

(5) the United States, through the Congress and the executive branch of Government, and other nations should consider additional measures against violators of the United Nations sanctions; and

(6) all United States nationals who are contributing to the Libyan economy should leave Libya promptly, and Congress and the executive branch of Government should work together to increase penalties against those United States individuals who choose to remain in Libya in defiance of United States law.

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today I am joining Senator Lieberman in introducing a resolution calling for international compliance with the sanctions against Libya approved by the U.N. Security Council.

I was proud to have served as a member of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism. As my colleagues know, that Commission was formed to look into the circumstances surrounding the bombing of Pan Am 103, and to make recommendations on improvements to security.

A major recommendation of the Commission was what we called national will. In summary, we were talking about the will to resist terrorism; to fight terrorism; and to cut off terrorism at its source.

The sanctions approved by the United Nations take an important step forward in demonstrating that we and the majority of the world have that will.

U.N. Resolution 748 called on Libya to turn over indicted suspects in the bombing of Pan Am 103 to the United States or Great Britain for trial. It was a call for justice. Unfortunately, Libya has so far ignored that call.

In the event that Libya doesn't comply by April 15, the U.N. resolution calls for sanctions against Libya. The message is simple. If Libya is going to stay in the business of terrorism, the world community isn't going to do business with Libya.

The resolution that we are introducing today supports the U.N.'s actions. Further, it calls on the United States and other nations to consider additional measures--stronger measures--if Libya continues to refuse to cooperate.

It is essential that state sponsors of terrorism understand that the United States and other countries will not tolerate terrorism, and will do what's necessary to stop it.

Mr. President, we and other nations will continue to be victimized by terrorism as long as we allow ourselves to be victims. By insisting that Libya comply with the U.N. resolution, and having the will to act decisively if it doesn't, we can strike out at terrorism.

The United Nations has shown that it is finally willing to take a stand against terrorism. I hope that the international community has the will to back up that position.

I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this resolution.

Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, while terrorism is ultimately the weapon of the cowardly, it still represents one of the major security threats of our era. This is particularly true of the airline industry. Two decades ago, the airline industry was plagued by a series of hijackings. Thanks to new security measures, hijackings were reduced significantly. But terrorists then switched to high explosives, and succeeded in destroying an Air India aircraft in 1985, killing four people on TWA 840 in 1986, blowing up Pan Am 103 in 1988 and the French aircraft, UTA 772, over Niger in 1989. More than 600 people were killed by these attacks.

It is heartening, therefore, that the United Nations has finally gone on record in condemning Libyan responsibility for the attacks on Pan Am 103 and on French UTA flight 772. The Security Council voted 10 to 0 to apply sanctions. Five nations, India, Zimbabwe, Cape Verde, Morocco, and China, abstained because of a misguided sense of Third World solidarity.

The U.N. Security Council Resolution 748, which was passed on March 31, requires that all nations end air service, arms sales and the sale of aircraft and military spare parts Libya until it agrees to the following conditions:

Turns over for trial the two Libyan intelligence agents, who were indicated for the attack on Pan Am 103;

Cooperates with French authorities in their investigation into the attack of UTA flight 772, whose victims included Americans;

Compensates the families of the victims; and

Ends all support for terrorism.

Libya's involvement in terrorism goes back to the early 1970's, when Qadhafi publicly offered to help publicly international organizations and dispatched terrorists to Italy to shoot down an Israeli airliner. During the 1980's, Libyan agents, among other operations, killed a Libyan dissident in the United States and killed three individuals, including two United States servicemen, in the La Belle Disco bombing in April 1986.

Libya's support for terrorism has extended to non-Libyan terrorists, such as the Japanese Red army and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-general command, which have been guilty of attacking United States targets. Libya also harbors one of the most murderous terrorist organizations in the world, the Abu Nidal Organization. Among ANO's reprehensible actions are the machinegun massacres at the Rome and Vienna airports in 1985 and on a Greek tourist boat in 1988. These operations have earned Qadhafi the opprobrium of the world.

I am introducing today a Senate resolution in support of the U.N. resolution and its accompanying sanctions. The Senate resolution also expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States and the United Nations should consider additional measures against Libya if it does not fully cooperate with the U.N. Security Council Resolution. The international community chose not to boycott Libyan oil, but a boycott, some believe, would have represented a decisive blow against Qadhafi's regime. This option, which was used against Iraq, should be studied.

Additional sanctions should also include measures against violators of the U.N. sanctions. Any country or company that tries to skirt the embargo should be made to pay a price through financial penalties or denial of access to the U.S. market. Finally, the several hundred United States nationals who still work in the Libyan oil industry, in defiance of existing United States law, should be prosecuted if they remain.

Mr. President, the U.N. resolution will help to deter future terrorist attacks and may offer some small solace to the families, some of whom I have met, who lost loved ones in these vicious attacks. The Senate resolution also puts the Senate on record as condemning these cowardly acts and expressing its willingness to consider additional measures.

The U.N. reslove--and the promise of sterner measures--should demonstrate to other terrorists and their sponsors that they will continue to be treated as international pariahs if they continue in their ways.

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