The Presidential Council (PC) has rejected the intention of the UK House of Commons to vote for using Libyan frozen assets to compensate the victims of the Irish Republican Army attacks in Britain.
“We totally reject such a decision as freezing Libyan assets came by a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution under Chapter 7 and it is binding all countries, including the UK.” The PC said in a statement.
It added that this is a very serious decision as it goes at odds with the international law and it violates the Libyan sovereignty, saying the UK’s intended action could be a pretext for other countries to use Libyan frozen assets.
“The IRA issues and Gaddafi’s regime connection to them were tackled previously and Libya cooperated with the UK, thus ensuing normal relations and massive investments for Libya in the UK after years of severance of ties.” The PC indicated.
It added that such an act could negatively impact the relations between Libya and the UK, calling on the British government to be fair to Libyans and on the UNSC and the sanctions committee to commit to protecting Libya’s frozen assets.
“We respected the UN Security Council’s resolution No. 1973 in 2011, which imposed sanctions on the former regime of Gaddafi and froze all Libyan assets and funds abroad, despite the ailing economy in Libya and the dire living conditions of Libyans amid lack of services.” PC’s statement reads.
UK House of Commons to vote for allowing the government to use Libya’s frozen assets in Britain to compensate IRA victims.
