Oil sanctions NOW: No oil in Europe from Qaddafi's bloody hands

Europe should halt imports of Libyan oil, demands the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), because Qaddafi's troops have further expanded their control over the oil industry since Monday. "Someone who systematically fires on their own people should not be permitted to do business with Europe's oil industry," asserted the head of the Africa section at the STP, Ulrich Delius, on Wednesday in Göttingen. "The oil is tainted with blood and has no place in Europe. If we want to show Qaddafi that crimes against humanity are not a trivial offense, we must hit him where it hurts: in his profits from the oil industry."

"It is time to exhaust all options, at least all political options, available that would make it difficult for Qaddafi to finance his war," demanded Delius. "If the EU continues to hesitate rather than acting, they will soon find that Libya's democratic opposition is only to be found in Qaddafi's torture chambers or in the cemetery. All of the financial travel-related sanctions from the EU to date have been well-intended, but cannot have a fast enough effect as long as the Qaddafi regime keeps adding new foreign income to the war chest." Before the unrest, Libya was Africa's third largest oil producer. Libyan oil exports made up 95% of the country's total exports, and 25% of the gross domestic product.

Last Friday the EU was not able to come to an agreement on oil sanctions against Libya, primarily due to resistance from Italy and Malta. On Sunday Libya requested assistance from Italian oil company ENI in putting out a fire in oil facilities in the harbor town of Ras Lanouf.

Europe has significant economic influence in Libya – unlike in Burma, the Sudan and other nefarious dictatorships. Before this uprising started, Libya was exporting 85 percent of its oil production business to Europe. Around 32 percent went to Italy, 14 percent to Germany and 10 percent each to Austria and France.

Shukri Ghanem, head of National Oil Corporation (NOC), the state oil company in Libya, which controls about 50 percent of Libya's oil production, on Monday called on international oil companies to restart production. "Most companies are not even considering doing so, however – with the exception of the Austrian OMV company, which continues to produce Libyan oil in spite of the catastrophic human rights situation. It is precisely because of companies like OMV and ENI, which claim to value fairness but continue to put oil profits above all other considerations, that we need clearly formulated oil sanctions in Europe."