U.S., France and Britain Threaten Libya With ‘More Effective’ Sanctions

PARIS — France, Britain and the United States issued a stern warning Friday to Libya for failing to renounce terrorism or help bring Libyan suspects of two airline bombings to justice.

The nations vowed to make U.N. sanctions against Tripoli “even more effective” but gave no indication how they intended to tighten the embargo.

Libya says the U.N. sanctions that ban air travel and arms sales and curtail diplomatic relations have cost it $2.4 billion since they were imposed March 31.

It was exactly a year since the three nations demanded that Libya hand over two suspects in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, and cooperate with an inquiry into the 1989 bombing of a French UTA carrier over Niger.

Four Libyans are suspected of being involved in the UTA bombing, which killed 170 people. The Lockerbie attack killed 270 people.

Experts said the warning will achieve nothing unless the United Nations backs it by eliminating Libya’s oil-export markets--not likely because of German and Italian dependence on Libyan oil.

“They are putting pressure on Libya politically,” Mary Jane Deeb, an expert on Libya, said from American University in Washington. “They’re saying, ‘We haven’t forgotten you, and we’ll continue pursuing you.’

“But it won’t have much of an effect. It’s unlikely to be followed by oil sanctions because of the interest of Germany and Italy.”

France, Britain and the United States also had demanded that Libya renounce terrorism and stop supporting terrorist groups.

The U.N. Security Council imposed the sanctions to pressure Libya to obey these demands. The three allies said Friday that Libya has complied with none of them.