Washington: The United States imposed sanctions against the Libyan government on Friday and said that the legitimacy of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was "reduced to zero."
In response to the bloody crackdown on an uprising against Gaddafi his 41-year reign, President Obama signed an executive freeze the assets of al-Qadhafi, his family and top officials, as well as the Libyan government, central bank and sovereign wealth funds.
"These sanctions are therefore the government's goal Gaddafi, while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya," Obama said in a statement.
"By any measure, the government of Muammar Qaddafi has violated international norms and rules of decency and should be brought to justice," he added.
The U.S. Treasury said action would be to block the large amounts of money Libyan and prevent its looting of government Gaddafi, but refused the offer of dollars.
With the Libyan crisis also reviewed at the United Nations, European Union governments agreed on the idea of introducing the arms embargo, assets freeze and travel ban on oil-producing North African nation, diplomats said a formal decision will be made early next week.
Washington announced sanctions move - along with the closure of its embassy and the withdrawal of U.S. diplomats - after a chartered ferry and a plane with Americans and other evacuees left Libya earlier on Friday.
The Obama administration has been criticized for its relatively restrained response still shocks. But American officials said fears for the safety of Americans tempered response from Washington.
Obama discussed the sanctions plan in Washington with leaders of Britain, France and Italy on Thursday and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday his government was preparing sanctions against Libya, and that "Canada fully supports the UN Security Council resolution that could include an arms embargo, sanctions against individual key Libyan officials and the freezing of assets."
The Obama Administration, said earlier this week it was studying a wide range of options, including an assets freeze, travel ban on members of the government-Gaddafi, "no-fly" zone over Libya and the war.
As a first step, U.S. Treasury Department said U.S. banks to closely monitor the operations that may be associated with the riots in Libya for the possible signs that state-owned assets have been misappropriated.
Several power of American companies in Libya - including Marathon, Hess and Occidental - continued to work through the crisis, as other foreign firms reduced or suspended operations.
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