Albright extends Libya travel ban

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, concerned about increased anti-U.S. violence in the Middle East, extended for a 20th year restrictions on travel by Americans to Libya.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker announced the extension hours before a midnight Friday deadline for renewing or suspending the ban on using American passports for travel to Libya.

President Reagan, citing concern for the safety of traveling Americans, first imposed the ban in 1981. The prohibition has been renewed annually since then.

Reeker noted an increase in anti-American sentiment throughout the Middle East following the breakdown of the Middle East peace process. Numerous anti-American demonstrations have been held in Libya, he said.

'We are concerned about Libya's commitment to a complete and enduring cessation of support for terrorist activities,'' Reeker said.

Speculation that the travel sanction could be suspended grew in March when Albright sent four officials to Libya to determine whether the country was safe for American visitors. The officials reported their findings to Albright, but they have not been disclosed.

Officials said earlier in the week that the administration has been reluctant to suspend the ban on passport use before the end of the trial of two Libyans accused of blowing up Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988. The attack killed 270 persons, many of them Americans.

Reeker said there was no direct link between Albright's decision and the Pan Am trial, which is being held in The Netherlands.

But, he said, ''Libyan cooperation throughout the trial will be an important indicator whether Libya is serious in its claims of having renounced terrorism.''

Some families of American victims had urged the administration not to lift the ban. Albright's decision was welcomed by Daniel Cohen, of Cape May Courthouse, N.J., whose daughter, Theodora, was killed on the Pan Am 103 flight.

Cohen said Albright apparently paid heed to the appeals by the families.

Despite the travel ban extension, the Clinton administration's stance on Libya has softened over the years, reflecting Libya's more moderate behavior.

In a speech a year ago, Ron Neumann, a top aide in the State Department's Near East bureau, said ''Change can now be imagined.'' But, he said, an accommodation with Libya ''is not necessarily a near-term likelihood.''

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On the Net:

State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs: www.state.gov/www/regions/nea/index.html