|
|
"A collaborative political resource." |
Libya Discloses Mustard Gas Program and Stockpiles
|
| Parent(s) |
Candidate
-
|
| Contributor | Sherlock Holmes (a retired OC public servant collecting his pension) |
| Last Edited | Sherlock Holmes (a retired OC public servant collecting his pension) Mar 05, 2004 07:03pm |
| Category | News |
| News Date | Mar 05, 2004 12:00am |
| Description | ibya disclosed in a formal declaration today that it had produced and stored a vast stockpile of over 20 tons of deadly mustard gas, according to an international disarmament body that monitors the ban on chemical weapons.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the group based in the Hague charged with ridding the world of chemical weapons, said that a Libyan official had turned over to the organization more than a dozen folders containing details of the illicit chemical weapons program that Libya renounced in December in an effort to normalize its relations with the West. The Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, also renounced nuclear and biological arms.
Advertisement
Officials for the weapons-control group said Libya had acknowledged that it had made the mustard gas in the Libyan desert and kept the gas and a variety of chemical precursors intended for nerve agents at two storage facilities. Libya also declared that it had tested the gas as a weapon and made thousands of bombs to deliver the lethal agents as part of its secret chemical weapons program, which began in the 1980's.
In an interview today, Rogelio Pfirter, director-general of the organization, called the mustard gas stockpile "quite sizable" and noted that it could have caused "serious havoc to civilians and armies of the region" had it been used. But he said that the Libyan officials who met with him this morning had told his organization that the mustard gas had been tested but never used in a conflict or even put into bombs or other weapons.
He lauded Libya for renouncing its banned weapons, saying the action would put pressure on governments that had not agreed to abide by the 1997 treaty banning chemical weapons to join the 159 nations that had done so.
"Libya should be praised for its vision and pragmatism," said Mr. Pfirter, a lawyer and Argentina's former under secretary for foreign policy. `This is a success story for the international community |
| Article | Read Article |
|
|
