Libyan Moslem leader appeals for Indonesian support

Libyan Moslem leader appeals for Indonesian support

JAKARTA (JP): A Libyan Islamic leader made a direct appeal to
Indonesian Moslems yesterday to help remove United Nations'
sanctions against his people, saying that Libyans have been
prevented from performing the haj pilgrimage.

"We hope to inform the Indonesian people on the tremendous
suffering happening in Libya," said Syeh Ibrahim Ali Arrabu,
Deputy Secretary General of the Jami'ah Dakwah Islam
International organization based in Tripoli.

Even if at the moment they cannot do much to help, they will
at least know of the adversity we are facing, he said yesterday.

Ibrahim, who is here on behalf of the Libyan government, left
for Malaysia yesterday after a three-day visit in Indonesia to
garner grassroots support for the cessation of a three-year old
sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Ibrahim told The Jakarta Post that during his stay he has met
with officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the
Foreign Ministry's Director for African and Middle East Affairs
Djamaris B. Suleman along with a number of Islamic organizations.

He pointed to Indonesia's growing importance in the
international community and its large Moslem population as a
reason for his desire to seek support here.

The sanctions came as a result of Libya's refusal to hand over
two of its citizens, Al Amin Khalifa Phimah and Abdel Baset Ali
Al Megrahi, who are suspected for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am
plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed over 270 people.

"The issue is not a matter of yielding the two men...the issue
is our sovereignty, freedom and self-respect," Ibrahim said
countering the allegations on Libya's refusal to hand over the
two suspected terrorists.

Last year Libyan foreign minister Omar Mustafa Al-Muntasir
came to Indonesia to request the assistance of President Soeharto
as chairman of the 110-nation Non-Aligned Movement to help settle
the problem.

Ibrahim said he appreciated the efforts of the NAM chairman
and that of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in their
support for Libya through the release of several resolutions.

However he was saddened that neither one of the resolutions
had been heeded by the United Nations.

Ibrahim explained that the sanctions are merely another tactic
of the superpower countries, namely the United States, Britain
and France, under the cloak of the United Nations.

One of the most notable restrictions imposed is the screening
of Libya going abroad. This sanction has brought on a paradox
where Libyans cannot freely go on the haj, the holy Islamic
pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Libyans going on the haj have to first receive permission from
the United Nations.

Ibrahim raged this sanction describing it as an intrusion into
the Islamic faith.

"It cannot be tolerated...for that reason the Libyan
government have decided not to let its citizens go on the haj if
it means having to get permission of Boutros-Ghali," he said
referring to the UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

He warned that such intrusions may be the beginning of
superpower intervention in Islamic life.

"This goes against the Libyan Constitution, the UN Charter and
logic," Ibrahim argued.

Between 30,000 to 40,000 Libyans usually attend the holy
pilgrimage each year. (07)