MONGABAY.COM
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
|
|
Libya
Index
Britain's relations with postrevolutionary Libya were strained
because of the close political, economic, and military relationship
the British had cultivated with King Idris. After Qadhafi came to
power, Britain suspended sales of military equipment, and Libya
nationalized British Petroleum's interests, ostensibly in
retribution for perceived British complicity in the Iranian
occupation of three Persian Gulf islands. Libya supported Malta
during that country's negotiations regarding British military base
leases. Libya also allegedly supported the Irish Republican Army
(IRA). Nevertheless, in an October 1978 address in Tripoli, Qadhafi
stated that there were no differences so severe as to preclude the
establishment of good relations with Britain.
However, British-Libyan relations deteriorated markedly during
the 1980s. A critical point was reached in 1984 when a British
policewoman was killed by a gunman inside the Libyan People's
Bureau (embassy) in London. This incident led to the breaking of
diplomatic relations. Further discord followed the arrest of six
British citizens in Libya, evidently in retaliation for the arrest
of four Libyans in Manchester on charges stemming from March 1984
bombings in London and Manchester. Relations plummeted when Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher permitted United States aircraft to use
British bases on April 15, 1986, for a strike on Libyan cities.
Data as of 1987
|
|