Libya - Government
	A summit meeting of North African Heads of State, held in Morocco in February 1989, concluded a treaty proclaiming the Union du Maghreb arabe, comprising Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. In 1994 Libya threatened to leave the UMA unless member states ceased to comply with UN sanctions imposed on Libya, and in 1995 it refused to assume the chairmanship of the organization, owing to their continuing compliance. In late 1988 tension between the USA and Libya increased after President Reagan stated that the US Government was considering military action against a factory at Rabta, outside Tripoli, where Libya was alleged by the USA to be preparing to produce chemical weapons. In January 1989 an encounter occurred over the Mediterranean between US and Libyan military aircraft, in which two Libyan fighter aircralt were shot down. In May 1992, at Qaddafi's instigation, 1,500 People´s Congresses were convened in Libya and abroad, to enable ordinary citizens to decide the fate of the two Lockerbie suspects and their response to the UN sanctions. Arab diplomats and the more pragmatic associates of Qaddafi had begun to urge a compromise over the Lockerbie issue, fearing that the imposition of further UN sanctions, particularly an embargo on sales of petroleum, would be disastrous for Libya. In late June the GPC announced its decision to allow the two Lockerbie suspects to be tried a broad, provided that the proceedings were "fair and just". It suggested that such a trial might take place under the auspices of either the League of Arab States or the UN. In June 1995 Libya adoped legislation forbidding foreign workers without contracts to remain in Libya. The ensuing mass expulsions principally affected Sudanese workers, but in an attempt to expose the inadequacies of the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule and agreements concluded within its framework by Israel and the PLO, Qaddafi announced in September that, since their land had been liberated, 30,000 Palestinians were to be expelled from Libya. The expulsion of an initial 1,500 Palestinians provoked international concern, as Egypt, Israel and Lebanon all refused them entry, leaving the expelled Palestinians stranded in border areas without essential supplies. Following intense mediation by Egypt, the programme was suspended in October, but many Palestinians remained in refugee camps on the Egyptian border. Under Qaddafi, Libya assumed an active role in the Arab world. Various schemes for Arab unity led to the formation, in January 1972, of the Federation of Arab Republics, comprising Libya, Egypt and Syria. In 1972 Libya concluded an agreement with Egypt to merge the two countries in 1973. Neither union was effective, and proposals for union with Tunisia in 1974, Syria in 1980, Chad in 1981, Morocco in 1984, Algeria in 1987 and Sudan in 1990 also proved abortive. The explusion order was formally revoked in January 1997, but many Palestinians refused to return to Libya. In April it was reported that armed security forces had forcibly returned the refugees to Libya and dismantled the camps. In February 1996 the CIA repeated claims, first made in the US media in February 1993, that Libya was constructing an underground factory for the manufacture of chemical weapons at Tarhunah, south-east of Tripoli. In the following month the US Secretary of Defense declared that the USA would, if necessary, use force to close the plant. Libya denied the existence of the factory and alleged that the USA was using the accusation as a pretext for an attack on Libya. None the less, accusations of Libyan involvement in the production of chemical weapons continued; in February 1997 Nelson Mandela ordered an inquiry into allegations that South Africa had illegally supplied chemical weapons to Libya under his administration. In January 1998 the British press published a report, citing Western intelligence sources, alleging that Iraqi scientists in Tripoli had assisted Libya in the establishment of a biological weapons complex.

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