Libya Draws the World’s Ire : U.N. takes precedential stand against international terrorism

The United Nations has imposed sanctions on transgressive states before, but not until this week was any U.N. member placed under embargo because of its involvement in international terrorism. The precedential sanctions against Libya require a suspension of air traffic to and from that country, bar arms sales to Col. Moammar Kadafi’s regime and significantly reduce Libya’s diplomatic contacts.

The sanctions are to remain in force until Libya surrenders to Britain or the United States the two suspects indicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libya must also take “concrete actions” to prove it has renounced terrorism and hand over to France four Libyan suspects in the 1989 bombing of a French airliner over West Africa.

In the short term these sanctions will probably prove to be little more than an inconvenience or an irritant. Already, nearby countries are taking steps to circumvent the barriers to air travel by providing alternative air, land and sea routes to and through Tunisia, Egypt and Malta. But the sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council, certainly in the view of Washington and London, rightfully represent only the first turn of the screw. Libya’s economy, including the income it uses to finance terrorism, depends on its oil exports. The proper next step in sanctions should be to halt this trade.

That step hasn’t yet been taken mainly because Germany, Italy and Spain, all NATO members, import Libyan oil. But there is no shortage of oil in the world, and alternative suppliers for these countries can readily be found. Compelling evidence points to Libya’s culpability in the air-explosion deaths of hundreds of innocent travelers. The rule of law--the foundation for a civilized world--demands justice. The U.N. sanctions should be tightened until that necessary goal is achieved.