Washington, April 05: The United States has excluded former Libyan foreign minister from sanctions it has imposed on the Libyan government following the official’s defection to Britain.
The US Department of Treasury announced the decision on Monday, two weeks after President Barack Obama imposed sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan government in late February.
“One of the intended purposes of sanctions against senior officials in the Libyan government was to motivate individuals within the Gaddafi regime to make the right decision and disassociate themselves from Gaddafi and his government,” the treasury said in a statement.
The statement said that as Koussa has severed ties with the Libyan government, the United States is lifting sanctions against him and he is no longer subject to an asset freeze.
“Koussa’s defection and the subsequent lifting of sanctions against him should encourage others within the Libyan government to make similar decisions to abandon the Gaddafi regime,” said David S. Cohen, acting undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Backed by the United Nations, the West has launched a war in Libya in what it claims to be aimed at stemming Tripoli’s military offensives against revolutionary forces who now control a large portion of the country.
Critics blame the West for double standards and hypocrisy for the offensive on Libya, given their silence on brutal crackdowns on similar anti-regime movements elsewhere in the Arab world, such as in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
——–Agencies