PANA Mandela Calls On Sirte Summit To Back Kadhafi Panafrican News Agency <http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=Panafrican%20News%20Agency &passed_location=Dakar> (Dakar) March 1, 2001 Posted to the web March 2, 2001 Sirte, Libya Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Thursday urged leaders attending the fifth OAU extraordinary summit in Sirte to take a clear decision calling for the immediate and definitive lifting of UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Libya over the Lockerbie affair. Mandela, who was among retired African presidents invited by the current OAU chairman, Togo's President Gnassingbe Eyadema, was addressing the summit in his capacity as a facilitator in the Lockerbie affair and mediator in the Burundi crisis. He regretted that the states dealing with Libya in the affair had not respected their commitments as had initially been agreed by all the parties. "A special tribunal has just condemned one of the two Libyan citizens at the end of the Lockerbie trial. During my mediation, it had been agreed that if Libya fully co-operates, The United States and United Kingdom would do their best to lift the sanctions impose imposed by the Security Council." "It was agreed that a Security Council resolution in this direction would be tabled as soon as Libya surrendered the said suspects. I expected the powers involved to call for the lifting of sanctions," Mandela added. Mandela said that he had written the leaders of these two countries and the UN secretary general to remind them of their commitments but up to now Libya has not received any reprieve. **** Libya News and Views Friday, 2 March, 2001: Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, calling for a "United States of Africa," said Thursday that African leaders support plans for a union with a central bank, court and a single currency. Qadhafi opened a two-day summit of leaders of the Organization of African Unity by saying it marks an "historic juncture that will impact on the course of the entire world." Qadhafi said there is "a consensus" on the creation of an African union. It was not clear whether his proclamation meant the summit had already approved the declaration to create an African union. Two-thirds of the OAU's 53 countries must formally ratify it before it can become a reality. It is also unclear whether the union Qadhafi envisions would be anything more than symbolic. With Africa riven by rivalries, members are unlikely to give up any of their sovereignty. [AP] _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
